Photo: Courtesy of Mario Testino/Vogue. Kendall Jenner just got the American Vogue cover treatment for the first time. Granted, it's the cover of a special edition issue that will be sent out to subscribers in New York and Los Angeles. (You can't buy a copy on newsstands, nor will it be packaged with your April issue if you live anywhere else.)
Inside the issue, Jenner discusses her social media prowess with writer Robert Sullivan — the headline and cover even tout her 64 million followers (on Instagram and Twitter combined), and since the issue was printed, that number is already up to 68 million. Jenner credits being "organic" yet maintaining a sense of "mystery" about what and when to post for her insane following. She also hangs out in a variety of settings with a diverse slew of VIPs across industries in the story, including shooting hoops with Carmelo Anthony and stopping by Tory Burch's studio.
Jenner doesn't talk too much about her swift success trajectory in the fashion industry, though she calls herself "this baby businesswoman," presumably referencing her various modeling, fashion, and beauty endeavors. (Though the business of simply being a Jenner or Kardashian is obviously an ever-evolving endeavor...)
Photo: Courtesy of Theo Wenner/Vogue.A couple of major designers sing her praises in the piece: "She is a very sweet person. Very caring and not at all spoiled by those superficial successes. I must say I love her," Karl Lagerfeld tells Vogue.
Calvin Klein's Francisco Costa doesn't just fawn over Jenner, he lauds what her robust following can do for a brand. "Her social media reach is just incredible... As a house, you become part of the culture by embracing someone like her.”
Photo: Courtesy of Theo Wenner/Vogue.Marc Jacobs, the man who basically put Jenner on the map in the fashion industry (talk about a high-profile first big show to book), chimes in, too, stressing that her appeal extends far beyond her famous brood. "When we first saw Kendall, we wanted to book her on her merit," Jacobs tells Vogue. "Not on the fact that she was a Kardashian.”
So, technically, it's not the "real" Vogue cover score that's on many a model or celebrity's bucket list. (She has already been on the covers of Vogue Brazil, Vogue Japan, Vogue Paris, and Vogue China before.) But it's certainly one step closer to that top-shelf cover coup.
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