The April 2008 issue of Q magazine won the best cover award from the Maggies, beating 30 other nominees. The cover features Lily Allen and two panthers. It makes a really bold statement, having dangerous animals on the front, implying that Lily is also ferocious. However in reality Lily isn’t as brave as she looks. In fact, the pictures of the panther were digitally put in.
Lily Allen is a strong personality, amongst a fickle celebrity world. By photographing her with the panthers, her character is reflected. Her black hair, monochrome skirt and black tights compliment this, as well as the fact that she is wearing little else. Having the cover just in black and white, with just the redness of the Q icon, makes the cover stand out and give it a traditional vibe.
The way Lily is standing – her back towards the camera, glancing over her shoulder – seems as though she doesn’t want to give all herself away to the media. Yet at the same time, the caption states that we know all of her wild adventures, “Beast Lily and her wicked, wicked ways”. According to one review, Allen’s management liked the idea of her being photographed with panthers to showcase her “wild image”
For me, I don’t see the significance in her having no top on, apart from maybe to show a vulnerable side. Maybe it just comes down to our society. Sex sells.
There are conflicting views on the Internet as well as within Q. The photographer, John Wright, said that “she wasn’t sure about taking her top off but we got there in the end.” Whereas in Lily’s own single The Fear, she sings, “I’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless”, so why the shyness? She even admits in the interview that years ago she used to get her hair cut for cheaper by flashing her breasts at the hairdresser. “If I did it enough, I’d get it for free.”
She is apparently also a fan of the naked female form and attends strip joints, although she does admit to feeling awkward.
I do like the bold statement that this front cover makes, but if we take the other nominees into consideration, there wasn’t much competition for it to win the best cover of the year. The only main contender for me was the cover for the first issue of Love magazine, which featured a striking naked Beth Ditto. Putting a very curvaceous woman on the front cover in a society obsessed with size zero is daring in itself. The other covers were fairly bland. From the Christmas Radio times of Wallace and Gromit to Ok!’s portrayal of Jade Goody’s wedding, from Glamour’s Kiera Knightely shot to GQ’s David Beckham, these were all general shots of celebrities that we see every month. Where has the originality gone?
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