The Great Kate Debate
Marie Claire sure knows how to get people thinking. Our newest cover, featuring a hyper-real, fan art tribute to Kate Middleton, has been dubbed a ‘bad Photoshop’; a way of faking it till you make it.
However, the cover is neither of those things. The ‘model’ was our sub, her face, an illustration, and the designer proudly South African. Harking back to the first, illustrated magazine covers, this unusual combination has drawn mixed reactions. As Marie Claire South African editor Aspasia Karras said, ‘We wanted to recreate the classic fashion magazine covers of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s where illustrations were used to pay creative tribute to icons of the day.’
The daring use of art – especially hyper-real art – has incited one of the first discussions about a local magazine cover in a wider forum. Karras explains, ‘There is no more internationally iconic woman than Kate at the moment and we wanted to celebrate her through a series of illustrations whilst bringing her to South Africa on a much desired state visit,’ she continues, ‘Call it wishful thinking with the added bonus of presenting her in South African designer outfits. She has an immediate impact on fashion sales in the UK and we wanted to rub some of that magic dust off onto our own designers. The whole thing is a fun fantasy, challenging perceptions playfully.’
There are articles about it in The Telegraph, E! News, Huffington Post, The Frisky, The Examiner, and Fashionista, to name a few. The cover has also made it onto sites in Qatar, Australia, Malaysia, Russia (we think) , and Italy.
Karras has been discussing the matter with the curious and the belligerent on Twitter since the cover was launched on our website last week. Mail&Guardian online columnist Verashni Pillay tweeted, ‘Eish. Not sure how I feel about July’s Marie Claire cover: Kate Middleton’s face on a model in SA design.’ Mistakenly irked that Marie Claire doesn’t feature South Africans on our cover (our June issue featured Terry Pheto), Karras and Pillay have decided to expand the discussion over the 140 character limit on Twitter and have a coffee instead.
Join in the debate by tweeting your opinion with the hashtag #MCKate.
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Shame on you for using a likeness of anyone without permission.
I think it is an absolute circus. This is all about the cold hard sell.
You did not have permission to use this woman’s face and yet you did it anyway. It is reminiscent of those disgusting tabloids in the UK who Photoshop things and advertise falsely for profit.
They should sue you. What’s to stop (say) Women’s Health from Photoshopping Cameron Diaz’s head onto a cover model because they ‘think she’s quite fit’? You have stepped away from your brand and resorted to Photoshop theatrics to spike your sales. I thought MC had more integrity. You are a disgrace.
Hi Laura,
Our intention was not to mislead anyone with our August cover. We stated on the cover that this is a fan-art tribute and we continue inside the magazine to explain the idea behind this concept and why we have decided to do it. This pictorial was done to honour Kate in a unique and playful way by celebrating her through various sketches and illustrations done by some of SA’s illustrators.
Thank you so much for your feedback, we never wanted to offend or trick anyone. Please read our rationale behind the cover here: http://bit.ly/NCBjTH
It’s quite pathetic that Marie Claire SA, can’t come up with a cover idea without stealing & photoshopping, Kate Middletons face onto a models body that looks to be near death.
Your lame excuse for using Ms. Middletons image, “that you wanted to be daring & bold,” blah blah blah, is so full of sh**, it can be smelt across the continent.
It is so obvious Marie Claire SA, editors are trying to stop the bad publicity, with such rediculous excuses.
I’ve been a fan of Marie Claire for years, but have to say, after seeing your shameful cover, & knowing you had no right to use Ms. Middletons image without her permission, you have caused a chain reaction as to how Marie Claire magazine is perceived elsewhere.
As a result, I can no longer have faith in a magazine that practices deception, & have asked that my subscription be cancelled.
No magazine is worth reading, if the contents are a lie.