An iconic kiss for a hugely controversial couple. At least now we know, Taylor Swift probably didn’t approve of this either.
Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West will be featured on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar for their Icon Issue by Carine Roitfeld, due for release this September. The couple graces the cover in a Notebook-esque pose, each inches away from embracing in what looks to be a steamy smooch.
Stephen Gan, the creative director for the shoot alongside Karl Lagerfeld, says, “Kanye asked for it.” Gan remarks, “It happened at the end of the shoot and we don’t have many frames for it. The next day during another shoot Carine walked over to me and said, ‘I can’t take the image of the kiss out of my head.’”
This is Kimye’s second magazine cover together as a couple. The first being the stigmatized and highly controversial April issue of Vogue. In the wake of that particular issue’s release, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, commented on the cover, “I think if we just remain deeply tasteful and just put deeply tasteful people on the cover, it would be a rather boring magazine!”
Ouch, fingers crossed that Lagerfeld won’t resort to calling his cover couple ‘tasteless’ to keep the critics at bay. No offense, but that ‘Famous’ bed of Kanye’s can’t get much bigger.
Rest assured, folks. Roitfeld is completely on board with Kim and Kanye’s cover photo and 17-page portfolio as she tells WWD, “Each season Stephen and I try to find icons who can make things more interesting,” she explains, “This time we were thinking about Kim and Kanye. They are a controversial couple and they will not please everyone, but we like them because they are different and represent positivity.”
Gan concurs as he revels in the power Kimye holds, “Kim and Kanye were the best example of music meeting fashion and meeting pop culture. There’s no denying how powerful and diverse they are as a couple.”
As far as Lagerfeld and the Kardashian-West clan goes, there is nothing but love. Not only did Lagerfeld debut on Kim’s mobile game back in November, but the German fashion designer actually photographed Kim and Kanye on his own antique bed sheets for the Harper’s Bazaar shoot in Paris. The original sheet set was apparently unsuitable for Lagerfeld’s vision, so with a cell phone in hand, the designer loaned his own sheets and shot the couple.
Harper’s Bazaar executive editor, Laura Brown, conducted a Q&A with the couple, asking their favorite body parts of one another. If you’re like us – you obviously guessed Kanye would choose Kim’s heart. In fact, both parties chose each other’s heart as their favorite organ, although West admitted to loving Kim’s nude social media posts as well: “I think it’s important for Kim to have her figure. To not show it would be like Adele not singing.”
Kim’s husband isn’t the only one who appreciates her assets. Roitfeld concurred with Kanye as she showed her own appreciation for the Kardashian’s curvy figure: “I think Kim totally changed the proposition of the body in fashion. She has a very curvy shape, which was different from what designers use on the runway,” Roitfeld stated.
Roitfeld’s advocacy for the couple as well as Kanye’s person accomplishments on the runway is enduring. At the Yeezy Season 3 show earlier this year, Kanye even called her “a real b—h” (admittedly in an endearing manner). In turn, Roitfeld featured Kim on the September cover of her CR Fashion Book.
This September, Harper’s Bazaar will host a party at New York’s Plaza Hotel to celebrate the Icon issue. In the past, those icons honored usually performed for the event. It was Lady Gaga in 2014, Katy Perry just last year and now we could be anticipating a Yeezus performance, although the magazine was unable to confirm (or deny).
While Kimye haters may rebuke the cover and overall celebration of the controversial couple, one thing cannot be denied. Kim and Kanye are always the talk of the town – and whether you like it or not – are an iconic fixture in this pop culture era.
Photos by Karl Lagerfeld via Harper’s Bazaar
