Rabat – Moroccan models Nora Attal and Imaan Hammam are continuing their ascent to global superstardom despite the world being on pause. Vogue Arabia selected the sought-after models to create two of the magazine’s four covers for its May 2020 edition, dubbed the “Do It Yourself” issue.
The May 2020 cover stories feature self-portraits curated by four top models: Attal, who was born in London to Moroccan parents; Hammam, who hails from the Netherlands and has Eygptian and Moroccan ancestry; Czech model Eva Herzigova; and French model Constance Jablonski.
Vogue has largely suspended productions due to the COVID-19 crisis and social distancing measures, pushing Editor-in-Chief Manuel Arnaut to get more inventive in his content creation.
Arnaut decided to invite the four models to photograph themselves while in isolation at their homes.
“If the world is practicing new skills and we are invited to do more and more with our own hands, why not ask our cover stars to produce, style, and photograph their cover shoots?” Arnaut said.
“I was completely blown away by the quality of the images that we received from our fantastic casting. They also did their own makeup and wore their own clothes,” he continued.
In each shoot and corresponding interview, the models reveal how they are using the COVID-19 crisis and confinement measures to engage in thoughtful self-reflection.
Hammam offers a glimpse inside her New York City apartment, where she has been meditating, reading, and day-dreaming of life after lockdown.
In styling herself for the shoot, Hammam, whose mother is Moroccan, decided to channel her roots, wearing scarves that remind her of Morocco and an abaya she got during a recent trip to the Gulf.
Attal revealed to Vogue she was initially grateful for lockdown, considering it a much-needed reprise after a hectic Paris Fashion Week, but said the adjustment to life indoors has become more testing.
“I was used to flying at least once a week, and meeting lots of people during shoots. Being in quarantine is a completely different world,” she said, adding that she adopted a routine to keep restlessness at bay.
As she reflects on her career, Attal is hopeful the COVID-19 crisis may inspire a restructuring of the fashion industry.
“Maybe brands won’t feel the need to express their collections as fashion shows, but instead tap into different, more sustainable ways,” she mused.
Vogue Arabia is not the only spread Attal has appeared in this month. She is the star of photographer Sean Thomas’s “In Another Land” editorial for British Vogue’s May 2020 edition, where she appears alongside fellow Moroccan models Malika El Maslouhi and Tilila Oulhaj.
Vogue Arabia’s May 2020 “Do It Yourself” issue is part of the magazine’s ongoing #stayhome campaign.
“The aim is to encourage our community to adopt the prescribed safety procedures communicated by the healthcare authorities in each country,” said the magazine’s editor-in-chief.
Read also: Amazigh Women Inspire Vogue Arabia’s January 2020 Cover
