Jan 18, 2024

Introducing The 2024 January Magazine Covers We Love

Erika Alexander, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross Graces Cover of ESSENCE 's January/February Issue

Even before they became American Fiction’s leading ladies on the big screen, Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross and Erika Alexander were queens of the small screen who gave Black women just what we needed. As they play the leads of the film –American Fiction, we see Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae and Erika Alexander as we’ve likely never seen them before. For the three women—each one with a prolific comedic career—it’s easy, almost expected, to think you’ve seen the breadth of their work on screen; but think again.

Click here to read full cover story.

Writer: Kimberly Wilson

Kimberly Wilson is a seasoned media professional, entrepreneur and professor with over 10 years of experience working at the intersection of social justice, media and education. She has led award winning campaigns and strategy for the NAACP, Color of Change, ESSENCE, Univision and Black Enterprise, among others.

Photographer: Micaiah Carter

Micaiah Carter is a photographer/director based in Southern California, available worldwide. Publications include Vogue, WSJ, The New York Times, Vanity Fair, and GQ. His commercial clients include Nike, Apple, Verizon, Lancome, Pyer Moss, Thom Browne, Ralph Lauren and Valentino.

Tolu Coker, Priya Ahluwalia, and Torishéju Dumi Graces Cover of British Vogue's January Issue

Today, in a sunlit Tottenham photo studio, Coker’s hand-deconstructed denim will be celebrated alongside designs by her fellow cover stars, visionary creative directors Priya Ahluwalia and Torishéju Dumi, both 31. Where Ahluwalia is a master of artisanal knits and zinging prints, Dumi’s monochromatic looks are about structure; in her hands, deconstructed blazers become a blueprint for extraordinary silhouettes using offcuts of fabric salvaged from large wholesale warehouses.

Click here to read full cover story.

Interviewed by: Julia Hobbs

Julia Hobbs is recognised as one of the most influential voices in British fashion. During her time at British Vogue, Julia has presented fashion documentaries, live panels, radio shows and red-carpet reporting for Vogue, Burberry, Google, BAFTA, LBC and the BBC, alongside her written trend commentary as the magazine’s first Fashion News Editor. She is currently British Vogue’s Acting European Fashion Features Director and the founder of the Closet Clear-out Club.

Photographer: Charlotte Wales

The British fashion photographer and filmmaker has become a signature eye for some of the world’s biggest fashion houses, shooting covers for British Vogue, Vogue Paris, Pop Magazine, Dazed and The Face and campaigns for, Hermès, Bottega Veneta, Chanel, Cartier, Chloé and Louis Vuitton. Charlotte has also forged long term creative partnerships with young designers Area and Chopova Lowena. Helping establish their visual identity and publishing several books, most recently, ‘Conversations with Angels’ written by Precious Okoyomon, featuring Chloe Sevigny.

Teyana Taylor Graces Cover of Blanc Magazine's “Nothing Lasts Forever” Issue 25

“A Thousand and One has changed me tremendously. I think also I want to say maybe even healed a lot of, or I don’t want to say a lot of, but some of my trauma, specifically my childhood trauma, things that I probably didn’t understand then that by doing this movie, I understood now. And even in the midst of doing that, I understood what it was like to truly be a mom.”

Interviewed by: Lena Waithe

Lena Waithe is a natural-born storyteller. She's known as much since she was a child, when she passed the time like most kids: in front of the TV. For her, that meant hour upon hour watching reruns of A Different World, which followed student life at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black university. "The show meant a lot to me because it featured dynamic characters who showed up in the world in their own way," says Waithe. "They were smart, proud, funny, and flawed."

Photographer: Djeneba Aduayom

Djeneba Aduayom is a photographer whose work is marked by a sense of movement, performance, and personal interrogation. Her aesthetic is as much influenced by her multidisciplinary training and extensive travels as it is by her multicultural heritage. Despite her work's dreamy aspect, Aduayom always seeks to capture layers of emotions contained within people and their relation to landscape, with hints of abstraction and surrealism.

Halima Aden Graces Cover of Grazia Magazine's The Big Party Issue

Her story is the stuff of fashion fairy tale. A former Somali refugee, in 2016, aged just 19, Aden caught the world’s attention – including French fashion icon Carine Roitfeld – when she became the first contestant to compete at the Miss Minnesota USA beauty pageant in traditional modest Muslim attire. A global modelling contract with IMG soon followed, along with a lucrative career, walking in catwalk shows for the likes of Tommy Hilfiger in New York and Max Mara in Milan.

Click here to read more.

Interviewed by: Emma McCarthy

With over a decade of experience as a fashion and beauty editor, Emma is Grazia’s Acting Associate Editor overseeing all fashion, beauty and luxury content for the brand’s print, digital and social platforms. Emma joined Grazia from the Evening Standard newspaper where she spent 10 years working across fashion and beauty, covering everything from red carpet round ups to trend features and reporting live from international fashion weeks.

Photographer: Danny Lowe

Born in North Yorkshire, Danny Lowe is currently based in London. Danny has dedicated his working career to full time photography. Working between both studio and location, Danny showcases a dynamic portrayal of high energy and playful imagery to gripping portraits. He has experience shooting internationally and prides himself as an adaptable creative.

Tems Graces Cover of The Cut's January Issue

At 28, Tems has become one of the top streamed female artists in sub-Saharan Africa, and it’s hard to talk about the New Wave of Afropop artists without making note of her and the already visible influence of her genre-blending sound. She’s at home next to budding peers like Tyla and Ayra Starr and stands apart for the soul-stirring emotionality of her songwriting, the woolliness of her alto croon, and her insistence on producing many of her own tracks. Her discography is slimmer than PinkPantheress’s, but she already has a Grammy, a Golden Globe nomination, and a Billboard record for the earworm “Free Mind,” which spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on the “R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay” chart.

Click here to read full cover story.

Writer: Connor Garel

Connor Garel is a writer based in Toronto who covers music, film, and visual art. He is a contributing editor at Dazed and a contributing writer for The Walrus.

Photographer: Andrew Vowles

Andrew Vowles is a professional photographer based in London, England. He has been taking photographs for over 20 years and has built a successful career in the industry.

Lisa Rinna Graces Cover of Cosmopolitan's Sex After 60 Digital Issue

Blowback: The most recent of which concerns her leaving The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills franchise after eight tumultuous years. (We’ll get to that later.) But exiting the show has been freeing for Lisa, who celebrated her 60th birthday in July. And her new freedom—which includes eschewing the responsibilities and emotional stress of reality television and enjoying a renewed commitment to staying in the moment—seems to be the overriding theme of Lisa’s aptly called sexagenarian decade.

Click here to read the full cover.

Writer: Valerie Monroe

Valerie Monroe was beauty director at O, The Oprah Magazine for nearly 16 years. She currently writes the Substack newsletter, How Not to F*ck Up Your Face, where she offers philosophical and practical advice for anyone who’s ever looked into a mirror.

Photographer: Brendan Wixted

Brendan Wixted is a Portuguese and Irish American photographer / director. After graduating with a BFA in Photography in 2013, he moved to New York City to pursue his career.

Usher Graces Cover of Vogue’s Winter 2024 Digital Issue

Here’s what Usher is dealing with: the physical demands of a so-sold-out-they-extended-it-twice Las Vegas residency (Usher: My Way, The Vegas Residency) for which, three nights a week, until December 2nd, he would be almost constantly singing, dancing, and occasionally roller-skating, all through an R&B fantasia, replete with exotic dancers, a peach-shaped disco ball, and several costume changes and elaborate set pieces. (Not unrelatedly, he has a bunion that requires surgery.) He’s also recording a new album, Coming Home, his ninth, all while planning the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show, the biggest single televised moment of his career. He’ll be maintaining this momentum past the show, he tells me, and seeing his therapist and doing his daily meditation practice and working out and eating right and being a good partner and raising four children, two of them under the age of four here at this sleek five-bedroom home his family found for the Vegas run.

Click here to read the full cover story.

Writer: Alessandra Codinha

Culture Editor for Vogue.com, admitted sybarite, and proud parent of an increasingly gargantuan golden retriever. Never underestimates the power of a statement coat.

Photographer: Campbell Addy

Photographer and artist Campbell Addy (b. 1993, London, UK) graduated from Central Saint Martins and founded Nii Journal and Nii Agency. Built to challenge perceptions of what it means to be beautiful, it offered an alternative perspective on who and what constitutes beauty and style in our modern fashion industry.

KentheMan Graces Cover of Sheen Magazine's January/February Issue

KentheMan, the epitome of musical prowess, graces our cover, sharing insights into her empowering melodies. "My music gives off confidence… I just feel like it’s everything a girl would want to say. Even the ones that are shy to say it." KentheMan declares. With a string of chart-topping hits, she emerges as a rising star, encouraging all women to break free from anything that hinders their progress.

Writer: Aniliyah Richardson

Born between poverty and grass greener than the money folded in her back pocket. Aniliyah the girl who wants it all. Coming to the terms that words hold a meaning held in the right brain stems. Aniliyah is the established chaos we underestimate. To raise havoc against the barriers holding her against freedom of speech. Taught to be silent in the presence of her own thoughts. She writes for women none specifically but all. “Show me the ways of this women’s worth I’ll show you the ways of why you aren’t.” Women were created separately and are to be treated as such.

Photographer: Cameron Perry

Cameron Perry is a freelance and self-taught editorial, fashion, beauty, and portrait photographer who is based In Houston, Texas. Known for creating high quality, rich, and vibrant imagery. As a published photographer with 10+ years of experience, Cameron pushes himself to deliver the highest quality performance in everything he does.