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Wait, They Actually Turned Vogue Covers Into Crazy Cool Art! 11 Wild Illustrated Covers From Way Back
Hey, wanna see Vogue covers before Insta, selfies, and epic photo shoots? Back in the day, Vogue was all about art and paintbrushes. From fanciful ladies riding giant peacocks to mind-bending surreal scenes by Salvador Dalí himself, these covers were like mini art galleries. Let’s dive into this colorful, creative Vogue time machine.
This fab collection from the art world of Facebook’s Enigma Elysium shows how Vogue turned fashion into a fanciful fantasy playground before cameras stole the spotlight. Ready? Scroll down for some vintage cover magic!
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Vogue 1922: Palm Trees, Greyhounds, and Elegance by Helen Dryden
Picture a classy lady in a swishy white dress, strolling under pink palm trees with a fancy parasol and her speedy spotted greyhound. That’s Helen Dryden’s vibe - she was like the queen of commercial art back then, mixing Art Nouveau with Art Deco. Bonus: she even designed car interiors later. Talk about multi-talented!
When Condé Nast grabbed Vogue in 1909 and zoomed in on women and fashion, cover art got seriously fancy. Artists like Helen Dryden and Eduardo García Benito filled pages with women riding peacocks, chilling under pink palms, or strutting with bold zigzags all over. And then came the surrealists! Dalí and Christian Bérard gave Vogue a dreamy twist.
The first full-color photo cover popped up in 1932 thanks to Edward Steichen, and from there, photography slowly stole the show. But don’t worry, those painted covers are still super collectible and pop up again now and then, like when Andy Warhol and David Hockney took a turn painting covers in the ’80s.
Vogue 1926: Roaring Twenties Chic by Eduardo García Benito
Roaring Twenties style alert! Eduardo García Benito nailed this super chic lady rocking a red cloche hat and perfect bob haircut, flashing stacked bangles against a screaming zigzag background. It’s like Art Deco took a fashionable selfie.
Vogue Paris 1983: Princess Caroline Rocking Pop-Art by Andy Warhol
Princess Caroline stepped up as guest editor, and Andy Warhol gave her the pop-art royal treatment. Her flaming red hair and poised profile pop right off the cover in his iconic loose lines. Totally cool and artsy!
Even though photos pretty much won, that art vibe never totally died. Today’s collectors go wild for these painted beauties, and Vogue still loves a good painted cover throwback now and then. So every now and then, Vogue says, “Hold up, let’s get artsy again!”
Vogue 1918: Woman and Her Big Fancy Peacock by George Wolfe Plank
This cover features a stylish lady in a black gown hanging out with her crowned white peacock buddy. George Wolfe Plank, a self-taught dynamo who made tons of Vogue covers, nailed this artsy scene. Bonus: this issue was a shout-out to soldiers in WWI, asking readers to send copies to the front!
Vogue Paris 1947: City Chic With a Parisian Twist by Giulio Coltellacci
Imagine Paris as a fashionable lady! Giulio Coltellacci dressed her up with an Eiffel Tower bodice, perched her on the Arc de Triomphe, and let her lean on the Vendôme Column - all while the masthead floated above in feathers. This issue came hot on the heels of Dior’s famous New Look, so the city was definitely owning its fashion crown.
Vogue 1939: Colorful Drama by Christian Bérard
French artist Christian Bérard brought the drama with this bold cover: a model in a dark gown strikes a pose against bright stripes of pink, orange, yellow, and violet. Painted just after WWII kicked off, it’s one of the last Paris fashion updates before the world changed big time.
Vogue 1946: A Surreal Christmas Dream by Salvador Dalí
For Christmas, Dalí whipped up a dreamy wonderland with snow-kissed trees topped with stars, crumbled stone arches, and columns dripping emerald. But wait - peek closer and you’ll see lips and faces hiding in the architecture. Dalí even split the Vogue masthead in two for extra quirky fun!
Vogue 1939: Roses for a Head by Salvador Dalí
Dalí shows a woman whose head blooms into a bunch of roses, inspired by one of his earlier paintings. Somewhere in the background, a girl is skipping rope, and a ghostly ship floats in a dreamy pink and gold sky. It’s surreal fashion magic at its finest.
Vogue Paris 1985: Picasso Vibes by David Hockney
David Hockney took a shot at the Vogue Paris holiday cover with a bold face straight out of a Picasso painting. One eye looks right at you, the other in profile, set against eye-popping yellow and blue. The cover text? Just a simple “Par David Hockney.” Talk about making art speak for itself!
Vogue 1944: Letters That Are Totally Livin’ by Salvador Dalí
For the Mid-Spring Fashions issue, Dalí made the Vogue letters come alive. Each letter is made from something different - flowy fabric, bricks, a sprouting tree trunk, roses - all wrapped in a red ribbon. Beneath, a knight on horseback casts long shadows on an empty plain. It’s Dalí doing his signature surreal thing.
British Vogue 2020: No Models, Just Art and Landscapes by Lubaina Himid
After lockdown hit, British Vogue ditched the models and celeb covers for August 2020. Instead, they showed 14 beautiful landscapes from all over the UK, painted and photographed by big-name artists like David Hockney and Tim Walker. This one’s the Lake District, painted by Turner Prize winner Lubaina Himid, with her signature mix of patterns and collage vibes. The original art was auctioned off to help COVID-19 relief. Stylish and charitable!
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