Beyoncé will leave no magazine cover bereft of her face. Even those that are as far from Shape and Marie Claire as possible, like French fashion title L'Officiel. Beyoncé, who is extra-important by nature, covers the magazine's extra-important 90th anniversary issue. The shoot is Beyoncé and L'Officiel's tribute to Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician and human rights activist whose music inspired Beyoncé's upcoming album. A statement from the magazine explains:
Far from the glamorous Sasha Fierce, the beauty posed for the magazine with amazing fashion designers clothes, but also in a dress created by her mother. [It is] A return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened.
The choice of makeup, Jezebel notes, flirts with controversy. Meanwhile, her mom Tina's dress might flirt with having a displeasing effect on the fashion as a whole — the thumbtack in the bowl of M&M's. (With the Oscars upon us, let's remember when Beyoncé wore House of Dereon to the ceremony in 2009.) Now check out a French video of Beyoncé on the shoot!
