Vogue cover goes black after 126 years as Beyonce picks photographer, Tyler Mitchell

When it comes to diversity, headlines still shock us and we keep wondering if it will ever be fulfilled in all industries anytime soon.

A few weeks ago, it was reported that Kylie Jenner was the youngest self-made millionaire of this generation. This was met with a lot of questions until the real self-made billionaire emerged:  black British makeup artist  Pat McGrath.

This morning, we woke up to the news that Beyonce will be gracing the cover of Vogue’s September edition, which happens to be the most important issue of the magazine’s monthly publication. This isn’t the first time Beyonce has featured on the cover of the magazine: her last feature was in 2015, but the twist begins here.

Vogue Magazine editor Anna Wintour, the editor for the last 30 years, has given Beyonce the unprecedented power over the September issue.  This means that she has the last word over every single detail that will be published in this issue.

To kickstart her campaign, the music icon selected young photographer, Tyler Mitchell, to work with her on the cover.

At just 23, Tyler will be the first black photographer to shoot for the Vogue cover since its establishment in 1892.

This simply means that in its 126 years of existence, no black photographer has shot for the cover of the magazine! We don’t know why it has taken so long for this to happen, but we are excited about the direction that Beyonce is taken with this issue.

Beyonce will also be writing her captions and selecting the photos that will make it into the issue.

Tyler Mitchell is a photographer already making waves in the industry. His slow but steady rise has had his portfolio boosted with names such as Teen Vogue, Givenchy, Nike and Ray-Ban, making him one of the most sought-after photographers in the industry.

Black culture and Tyler Mitchell have Beyonce to thank for this historical step.

Born in Atlanta Georgia, Tyler developed an interest for capturing things at a very early age and would spend his pass time taking pictures and videos of friends and family. He moved to New York to attend New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Shortly after school, he became a regular contributor for magazines such as Fadar, TeenVogue and later moved to Cuba on a program where he documented the skateboarding scene and architecture in Havana and self-published a book El Paquete.

In an interview with the New York Times in 2017, Tyler explained that “I depict black people and people of colour in a really real and pure way. There is an honest gaze to my photos.”

We are looking forward to celebrating the Vogue Magazine September issue. This marks another step in history and a beginning of great things for the young and passionate photographer from Atlanta Georgia.