Tyra Banks will grace the September cover of Harper's Bazaar. A Hearst spokesperson confirmed that the talk show hostess will appear as Michelle Obama in a photo editorial.The spread features a Barack look-a-like as well as a young girl standing in as one of the couples two daughters.
Selecting a black covergirl for a Fall issue makes a strong statement. Historically, September editions of magazines are the most important for generating advertising revenues. This makes healthy newsstand sales and the titles distribution essential.
Until recently, it has always been conventional knowledge that using a black model on cover will decrease sales. The decision to use Banks may have been somewhat motivated by both the critical and financial success of Vogue Italia's "Black Issue". Shooting Tyra for the cover coupled with efforts to support the new black presidential candidate will bring media attention to the title. (click images to enlarge)
