New York’s latest issue features two cover stars: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, on the cover of the Cut’s Fall Fashion Issue and Megan Thee Stallion on the cover of New York’s Fall Preview Issue.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — in her first solo cover since leaving the royal family — is profiled by features writer Allison P. Davis. Meghan goes into those rocky, early post-palace days, but Davis spends most of her time observing Meghan at home in Montecito as she settles into life without the Firm (or the British tabloids) breathing down her neck every second — picking Archie up from school, launching a podcast, and navigating a massive Netflix deal.
On the other side of the magazine, the cover of New York’s Fall Preview Issue, Megan Thee Stallion (who is celebrating the release of her new album, Traumazine) is profiled by contributor Ashley C. Ford. Megan Thee Stallion is also featured in the Cut’s fashion portfolio wearing Vivienne Westwood, GmbH, Tom Ford, Balenciaga, and more — “sexy in a way that’s, well, classy, bougie, and ratchet,” as the Cut’s editor-in-chief Lindsay Peoples notes in her editor’s letter, in which she highlights the inspiration behind the issue.
“The magazine for us is more than just what appears in these pages or on the site; it’s a space for readers to feel seen and heard and to hear from women and femmes who speak to them — people who go against the grain, who are unapologetically determined to live in their truth no matter the consequences,” says Peoples. “So who better to represent that this fall than Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Megan Thee Stallion, two Black women whose lives have been filled with criticism and critique but used it to fuel the fire of their next act? In a world where misogynoir is everywhere, both have faced enormous hurdles and both are standing tall.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Megan Thee Stallion were both photographed by Campbell Addy, who photographed Naomi Campbell for the Cut’s 2021 Fall Fashion Issue. Elsewhere in the Cut issue: Fashion critic-at-large Cathy Horyn profiles Jonathan Anderson, and features writer Matthew Schneier reports on the future of Off-White following the sudden death of Virgil Abloh. On the New York side: National correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti explores the long relationship between Joe Biden and Barack Obama, and contributing editor Reeves Wiedeman discovers that it’s boom times for a certain type of baby formula.