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Why Is the Cover of Vogue Italia Blank For Its April Issue?

Vogue Italia's April Cover Is Left Blank Out of Respect and Hope For the Future

For the first time ever, Vogue Italia has left its cover completely blank. Debuting on April 10, the #Imagine issue is the start of an initiative that comes brand new to the entire worldwide publication. "[The white cover is] a mark of respect, a blank page to be filled with imagination and creativeness. And it's a tribute to the white coats of the doctors and nurses who are saving lives," Editor in Chief Emanuele Farneti said. This comes at an important time in our world's history, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, when we all need a little hope and courage. Vogue states that it released this special issue to stay "faithful to its noble tradition of not turning away."

"White is not surrender; it's a blank page to be filled."

Inside the magazine, readers will discover the first major fashion feature from lockdown. Over the course of one week, 40 industry leaders including Gigi and Bella Hadid, Petra Collins, and Paloma Elsesser took photos in their homes using seasonal clothing or their own collections to create special images. A wonderful collection of fashion designers — Stella McCartney, Michael Kors, Miuccia Prada, Maria Grazia Chiuri, and Jeremy Scott, to name a few — also sent original sketches to the magazine as a gift to readers during this time, and others reflected on how the fashion world will change, designers like Alessandro Michele and Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli providing insight on how they have been working from home.

This issue, which can be downloaded free of charge, is certainly made to be something for everyone and is a piece of uplifting history in its physical form, to say the least. If you don't want to wait to read the magazine cover to cover on the date of its debut, this quote from Farneti's editor's letter elaborates on the sentiment of a white cover a bit further:

"White is, first and foremost, respect. White is rebirth, light after the darkness, the sum of all the colours. White is the uniforms of those who have saved lives while risking their own. It's time and space for thinking. And for staying silent too. White is for people who are filling this time and space with ideas, thoughts, stories, verses, music and kindness to others. It's a reminder that after the crisis in 1929, clothes turned white, a colour chosen to express purity in the present and hope for the future. And above all, white is not surrender; it's a blank page to be filled, the frontispiece of a new story about to begin."

Image Source: Vogue Italia
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