Model Kate Upton’s most visible magazine presence this month must be the cover of July’s GQ, where she’s wearing a tiny American flag bikini and licking a red, white, and blue ice pop. That issue hits newsstands tomorrow, but those who look closely will find Upton within the pages of a different Conde Nast fashion rag. The Internet-famous model has made it into the July issue of Vogue.
“I enjoy fashion so much,” Upton says in the story, which is not yet online but can be found on newsstands. “But I don’t think people realize it, because I’m always in a bikini.”
Unlike the racy Terry Richardson shoot for GQ — and the sensation that is the “Cat Daddy” video — the photo shoot for Vogue is decidedly more demure, with Upton in a Michael Kors dress and coat, a hat from Hermes, and Givenchy boots. Later, she’s pictured in an Altuzarra blazer and skirt, leaning on what looks like a fence at the edge of a farm. Clearly, the magazine is trying to make the argument that she can shed her skin-baring image and make the transition to high fashion.
Michael Kors seems to be going along with that idea.
“I think we have a new generation of designers who don’t understand why a Sports Illustrated model can’t be in the mix,” he told Vogue.
Joseph Altuzarra’s a fan, too.
“I personally love a beautiful bust, a curvier body,” he said. “When I was growing up, it was the supermodel era—they were goddesses!”
While it’s unclear whether these designers are planning on having Upton in the mix this September, when New York Fashion Week rolls around, the article itself is an accomplishment. It was just a few months ago that Page Six reported that Upton had to pay her way into the Costume Institute Gala, the ball where every attendee is personally approved by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
An appearance in the magazine, though, means that the model will probably get the nod gratis next year. Especially if she ups her high-fashion credentials between now and then. But who will invite her up to the runway? We can’t think of many designers who look to the “Cat Daddy” video for inspiration, but then again, 8 million viewers can’t be wrong.