Vogue magazine has issued a statement apologizing for their August cover story, which featured Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid, after they received a ton of backlash online. While the photos of Zayn and Gigi are undeniably gorgeous and impeccably styled, the iconic fashion mag got flack for calling the attractive couple "part of a new generation embracing gender fluidity." The story cites the couple borrowing each other's clothes as evidence of their gender fluidity, however, neither stars identify themselves as gender-fluid or non-binary.
"I shop in your closet all the time, don't I?" Hadid, 22, flicks a lock of dyed-green hair out of her boyfriend's eyes as she poses the question. "Yeah, but same," replies Malik, 24. "What was that T-shirt I borrowed the other day?"
While it's great that these two don't let gender norms inform their entire lives and embrace gender fluidity, many people believe that Vogue should have featured the people Zayn and Gigi embrace instead of Zayn and Gigi.
After hearing the backlash against their cover story, Vogue issued a thoughtful apology concerning the issue. A spokeswoman for the magazine told Fashionista.com:
The story was intended to highlight the impact the gender-fluid, non-binary communities have had on fashion and culture. We are very sorry the story did not correctly reflect the spirit â we missed the mark. We do look forward to continuing the conversation with greater sensitivity.