VOGUE’S FRONTLINE COVER STARS
VOGUE has ditched its celebrity cover shots in favour of the new heroes of the coronavirus era.
The magazine yesterday unveiled its July issue featuring three people who have been putting their health at risk for the rest of the nation.
Narguis Horsford, a train driver, Rachel Millar, 24, a community midwife, and Anisa Omar, a 21-year-old supermarket worker, were selected to represent the millions of people who are “on the new front line” of the pandemic.
Edward Enninful, editor-inchief of British Vogue since 2017, said: “I can think of no more appropriate trio of women to represent the millions of people in the UK who, at the height of the pandemic, in the face of dangers large and small, put on their uniforms and work clothes and went to help people.”
Anxious
Ms Horsford, who has been driving trains on the London Overground for five years, said: “I don’t feel anxious about going to work.
“My job is to provide an essential service for people who need to travel safely.
“That gives me such a rewarding feeling, even more so during these times.”
Passengers have been more appreciative than ever, too, she revealed. “One morning at Barking, as I was changing ends, a lady smiled at me and said, ‘Thank you, driver’. I smiled and said, ‘You’re welcome’. I felt such a sense of pride.”
Ms Millar, who works in east London, said she hoped the appreciation of the health service would continue long after the pandemic is over and the Thursday night applause comes to an end.
She said: “After the 8pm clapping fades, I hope the NHS won’t be forgotten. To resume to ‘normal’ would be a step in the wrong direction.”
Ms Omar, who works at a branch of Waitrose in King’s Cross, north London, said: “Before the pandemic, my job was not really that big a deal. But now it’s like we’re important. It’s nice.”
Pride
Photographer Jamie Hawkesworth captured the pictures which feature in a 20-page portfolio for the new issue of Vogue.
He said they showed the “extraordinary people” who are putting their health at risk for the rest of the nation. He added: “All expressed a renewed pride in what they, and their colleagues, do, but none saw themselves as exceptional.”
A spokesman for British Vogue added: “This moment in history required something extra special, a moment of thanks to the new frontline. It is an uplifting tale of kindness and revived community spirit, of people pulling together.
“But it is one that also freshly exposes the deep inequalities in our society.”
● READ the full feature in the July issue of British Vogue, available on newsstands and to digitally download from Friday.