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Many online critics felt the images were fetishized and pandering to a White gaze, ironic, considering the editorial team behind them consisted almost entirely of people of African descent.

Ghanaian writer Natasha Akua wrote in a private message on Instagram: "When I saw it I immediately was shocked ... I feel like I know what statement he was trying to make visually but turning these black models into this strange tableau straight out of a horror movie just felt instinctively wrong."

"Why darken their skin beyond recognition?" she asked. "To make some statement about being unapologetically black? Unapologetically black means being who you are and does not require this manner of hyperbole."

"I find the lighting and tones beautiful," Daniel Emuna wrote. "But my personal complaint is that publications and brands are constantly communicating that the deepest darkest hue in complexion represents the truest essence of Blackness or even Africanness. This is clearly a mark of the white gaze."

"We don't want you to make us the Black you want. We want us as us."

In an article published on the Vogue website, British Vogue's Editor-In-Chief Edward Enninful OBE describes the models (Adut Akech, Anok Yai, Majesty Amare, Amar Akway, Janet Jumbo, Maty Fall, Nyagua Ruea, Abény Nhial, and Akon Changkou) as "a powerful cohort of reigning and emerging superstars who have not only come to rule catwalks and dominate campaigns but have shifted the lens through which fashion is seen the world over."

He added: "No longer just one or two dark-skinned girls mingled backstage, but a host of top models took a meaningful, substantial and equal place among the most successful women working in fashion today. It means so much to me to see it." https://citizen.digital/lifestyle/is-br ... ty-n290769

'This is one of the worst Vogue covers ever': Magazine featuring nine African models is branded offensive for 'fetishising' them with lighting that hides their features and makes them 'look like mannequins' https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/arti ... -fans.html

For the first time in the history of the glossy magazine, the April edition of Vogue Italia features a blank, totally white cover. It’s certainly not the lack of content or images but the decision was taken to go blank as a symbol of a brighter future. A statement by editor-in-chief Emanuele Farneti reads,” White is the color of the uniforms worn by medical workers on the front lines putting their lives at risk to save others, and a blank space for future creative endeavors. “Above all: white is not surrender, but a blank sheet waiting to be written, the title page of a new story that is about to begin.” Italy is one of the worst-hit countries of the COVID-19 and the magazine takes its role seriously.