Forget The Kim K Part: The New 'Vogue' Cover Teaches Us About The Power Of Persistence

Nine times out of ten, the consumer reaction upon seeing Kanye West and Kim Kardashian cuddled in bridal wear on the cover of Vogue (aside from awww, eye rolls or sucking of teeth) was, "FINALLY!"

For a steady couple years, one of the ongoing jokes of the internet was when the stoic Anna Wintour would honor Kanye's request to put the mother of his child on the cover of American Vogue. It was the stuff of comedy because nobody expected that day to come. No one expected the revered Artistic Director of one of the biggest media companies to honor the seemingly trivial request. To "cave." But she did, and for the month of April we will be staring KimYe in the face every time we run to our local CVS for a toiletry run.

The tweets collected under the cumbersome #WorldsMostTalkedAboutCouple hashtag have echoed everything from disappointment in Ms. Wintour to utter shock to shaming the publication for pandering to social media gimmicks.


Now, whether or not Kim Kardashian deserved her cover spot is neither here nor there (she's already solidified in ink, so you will have to deal). What's really worth noting here is Kanye West and the $5 proof of the power of persistence.


The adage "Ask and ye shall receive" is easy to regurgitate, but difficult to take for face value. How can it be that easy? It's not, but Kanye West proves time and time again that it is possible. In addition to pushing his own music and fashion agenda, he's been steadily lobbying for Kim Kardashian to get her "dream come true."

A very pregnant Kim was his date at the 2013 Met Ball, amidst the swirl of rumors stating she was deliberately not invited. She was there in all her floral couch print glory. There have been reports that he's cornered Anna Wintour at a Beverly Hills hotel to talk her ear off. That may or may not be true, but knowing Ye, it's highly believable. Last October, he vented to Ryan Seacrest about Kim deserving a shot and his dismay for her being cropped out Vogue's "Best Dressed" gallery. "There’s no way Kim Kardashian shouldn’t be on the cover of Vogue," he protested. "She’s like the most intriguing woman right now. She’s got Barbara Walters calling her like everyday … and collectively we’re the most influential with clothing. No one is looking at what President Obama is wearing. Michelle Obama cannot Instagram a bikini pic like what my girl Instagrammed the other day… so it’s to say when we are there and editor-in-chief of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld, supports my girl, that’s a breakthrough.”

Now, Wintour released a statement to the public saying that no, Kanye didn't persuade her to give Kim a cover. Kim earned it because of her heavy social influence (and the heavily anticipated KimYe wedding on the horizon). Right, right, right. I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe that Kanye's gift of gab had nothing to do with it. That's not necessarily a bad thing.
Kanye West is the walking definition of "not taking no for an answer." That's admirable. While sometimes Ye's delivery goes down like Buckley's cough mixture (*shudders*), his persistence is often what gets results. He has drive and a vision that he will stick to no matter how blind his target audience pretends to be. If people used that unbreakable backbone approach, sure some people will be a little annoyed in the process at first, but having your goal actualized is a feeling you wouldn't know otherwise. You technically can't say they didn't earn this cover. Kanye made like a business and courted his client until he closed the deal. Message!

Kudos to Kanye for not only being a supportive friend/spouse-to-be, but for once again putting the idea of "working hard for what you believe in" in the forefront. I leave you with words from Ye himself:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Past “Should”

In 2017, I sat in the pews of three churches or the rows of fancy reception halls watching two people in love become one union. And for the weddings I didn’t attend, I saw enough of the ceremony on social media to make me feel like I was there, dodging the thrown bouquet per usual. I always wonder if their special day came close to (or exceeded) what they drummed up in their dreams prior to. Culturally, we joke and say that from youth, us women, prayerful brides-to-be, spend years planning for their weddings, regardless of if the husband part of the equation has been factored in yet. We know the style and cut of engagement rings, possible surprise engagement scenarios, the type of dress and hair, locations and venues, months, seasons, guest lists, table decor, honeymoons, you name it. And it’s a fun and wonderful thing to imagine. I love to chime in to the building of this fantasy as, through age, we inch towards their realities. All my life I’ve wanted to become a best friend turned...
Read more

Whose Life Is This?

my life doesn't feel like my own. it's a funny thing to wake up in the morning, feel around in the darkness with my fingertips, trying to find orientation from the safety of my bed, walk over to the mirror, flick on the lights and see nothing. not literally of course. there i stand, looking back at myself, wiping the crust from my eye corners and staring down a shell. a big ball of empty housed by a brown body prepped for a daily routine of busywork, and a wandering mind, brimming with problems both real and imagined, blocking a purpose.   what am i doing? why am i doing this? wordlessly, the refrain haunts me as i fight morning fatigue, standing soapy under running warm water, fixing eggs and tea, slipping on one shoe then the other, setting foot outside, already looking forward to when that same foot will step back inside the house at the end of the day, and my bed's call will be answered. repeat. i am 28. i am 28 and lost. i am 28 and lost and living like I have to be t...
Read more

Must I Remember?

I keep seeing the ghosts of things I've wanted but could never have. I think I have a knack for preparing people for their next best things. Or, at least it always feels that way. And since this is clearly the era of seeing, remembering--frequently, at that--even when you don't want to, I suffer. Memories real and hypothetical wring at my insides. I saw a Him I wanted once in the train station today. He still looked like the gentleman that I knew him to be. Button down shirt, slim jeans, dress boots. Tall and lanky with the swagger of a Harlem trumpeter. A quirky tangle of locks that had nearly doubled in length since we were last in each other's midst. Engaged. Invisibly, of course. You can't tell on the outside--the She was not there--but I know. Thanks to the joy and unwanted charity of social media, and that we remained "friends" on one the most visual platforms of our generation, I see constant proof that the flame I'd hoped for three or so years ag...
Read more