ESSENCE magazine will have the honor of having the cover of its 50th Anniversary issue feature an icon who is gracefully hitting the half-century mark herself.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell made history for the publication’s Special Collector’s Edition by producing her own portraits for the edition while she is in isolation during the coronavirus pandemic.
“You can choose to be down about it and live in anxiety … or you can just embrace it, be still and make the best of it…” Campbell told the magazine about social distancing.
According to ESSENCE, Campbell’s photos were self-shot with an iPhone while she was self-isolating. The publication said she has made history as the first cover star to shoot their own pictures.
Campbell, who also owns the titles of philanthropist and entrepreneur, did her own hair, makeup and styling for the shoot.
The supermodel tweeted the “unusual” experience was “a very special honor,” but also a “sad reminder for me of all the people in media and production who are not able to work during the coronavirus.”
It was a very special honor and unusual experience for me to be able to shoot and style my own cover for Essence' 50th Anniversary Issue. While it was a sad reminder for me of all the people in media and production who are not able to work due to the coronavirus pic.twitter.com/C7kgXN9HV5
— Naomi Campbell (@NaomiCampbell) May 5, 2020
ESSENCE bills itself as “the longest-running Black media platform” and covers fashion, beauty, entertainment and culture. It primarily targets the black women audience.
This is Campbell’s seventh time appearing on the cover of the magazine.
Here is what she told the publication about turning the Big 5-0:
“I’m embracing being here, living, breathing. All the simple things we took for granted now matter so much more than ever before. … I do believe that I will rest when God wants me to. But until then, I’ll keep going…”
.@NaomiCampbell covers the 50th-anniversary issue of ESSENCE making ESSENCE history as her own photographer. #InMyFeed https://t.co/cEHCWpD7D2 #Essence50 pic.twitter.com/SnhJ5RIcif
— ESSENCE (@Essence) May 5, 2020
Campbell will turn 50 on May 22. ESSENCE’s 50th Anniversary Issue, which is the publication’s May/June 2020 edition, will be released May 12.
This is ESSENCE’s first edition that was launched entirely remotely, the publication said.
