Kate Upton appears in her very first Vogue feature in the magazine’s November issue (the one with Rihanna on the cover), and the results are surprisingly diverse and sort of wonderful. In some of the shots, Kate is still very much a swimsuit babe, and in others (such as the above picture), she’s almost unrecognizable. A couple of the shots look sort of budget, but the overall effect is quite lovely and a happy medium between her Sports Illustrated cover and her recent ill-fated attempt to go high fashion. In the interview, Kate talks about her body (of course) and stresses (once again) that she’s not willing to starve herself for her career, and good for her. Here are some excerpts:
On moving beyond swimsuit spreads: “Coming from a sports-fanatic family, I really didn’t know a lot about the small fashion circles,” says the 20-year-old. Reaching the pinnacle of swimsuit modeling was her goal, pure and simple. “When I was able to accomplish that, I slowly started figuring things out–and when I have a goal, I do everything to accomplish it.”
On her curvy body: “I don’t want to starve myself. I still want to hang out with my family and be a normal girl. You have to be confident, and that doesn’t mean starving yourself. I think it’s important to look at magazines and think a healthy lifestyle is attainable. Now that the fashion industry likes the idea of me, I’m happy if I can have an influence. When I lived in Florida, the swimsuit was the key wardrobe piece. I lived ten minutes from the beach, but I never sat there and said, ‘I want to be every man’s fantasy.’ It wasn’t a big deal to be in a bathing suit. Now, whenever girls come up to me saying they’re happy to see I am confident about my body, it makes me feel good that I am contributing in a way among people my age, people who could be my friends.”
[From Vogue]
Obviously, one doesn’t have to starve themselves to be a successful model like Kate Upton, and I wish more models had that attitude. Kate may be a bit silly at times, but she really is a positive role model for young girls who might otherwise decide to emulate the many abundant stick-insect examples within the fashion industry.
Do you like this shoot? I really do, and this shot in particular is breathtaking. Go Kate!
Photos courtesy of Vogue
Good for her ! I like this girl
Me too. I prefer seeing and reading an article about Upton rather than about Stodden and her creepy hubby.
I like her very much too! I think she has a very err healthy looking body and think she is good at high fashion modelling as well (even though most think she should be limited to being a glamour/swimsuit model). She also seems very fun.
Me too! I find her kind of refreshing.
I agree. She’s great.
She’s only refreshing if you’ve never been in a mall in your entire life. Otherwise, she is very average; there are girls like her everywhere. Not just looks, but overall very bland. Since when does being completely unremarkable (aside from the boobs, I’m sure men “remark” on those!) make you a model?
Eh, she seems like a fun, sweet kind of girl with a pretty face, but she just seems like a by-word for budget in my book.
I don’t see anything wholly unique about her that warrants the kind of coverage she is getting. Maybe it’s because I’m not particularly clued up on what she’s done. I came back from Uganda a little while ago and *BAM* she was everywhere. Well, a quick google should sort that out …
Agreed. She seems adorable and fun and cute and to top all that, she is gorgeous, BUT… she just is so budget.
It’s something that has nothing to do with body shape, weight, height or other material attributes. Much like Blake Lively, this girl has a budget quality to her.
That’s not necessarily bad, it’s just how it is.
Agreed. I don’t really know anything about fashion/modeling, and obviously she’s very attractive… But these pictures don’t look high fashion to me for whatever reason. Budget fits.
He face is what’s budget.
It’s natural but that Marilyn Monroe beauty mole and her whole look facial structure wise went out with Anna Nicole being the last trying to be Marilyn look alike.
Wow, her body is so beautiful! I’m glad she did this classy/’fashiony’ shoot!
She looks outstanding here!
Have you ever heard her talk? She’s so dumb. She’s not a role model for young girls.
She may not be a rocket scientist but she’s not dumb.
No, she IS an absolute bimbo.
She’s just okay in my book but I think she does play up her sexuality to stay relevant. It’s good to see her in a more girl friendly pictorial. Wonder if she was doing the Cat Daddy dance in between the photo shoots.?
She created her own career using social media. A lot of consultants get paid a lot of money doing the same thing for corporate clients. She may not be a great public speaker, but she is no dummy.
It used to be said that once a model had posed in her knickers, she basically gave up any chance of doing high fashion stuff.
Not anymore it would seem. Kate’s a pretty girl, obviously, but since when has Vogue had underwear models on its covers? It seems Vogue is just another celeb mag these days, not the sophisticated, aspirational high fashion mag it once was.
Uhh, a lot of models have posed in their underwear and still do high fashion. Whoever said that doesn’t know anything about the fashion world.
Perhaps they do now, but traditionally, the worlds of high fashion and ‘glamour’ modelling have been seen as quite incompatible.
How many top catwalk models are best known for posing in their knickers?
@ Christina
Cindy Crawford & Naomi did Playboy mag & still GOT Vogue covers.. So it’s entirely possible. I think Kate’s gorgeous & should have gotten the mag cover NOT Rihanna
Shitler,
Did Cindy and Naomi models do Playboy before or after they were established as high fashion models? Once a model has already earned a reputation as a top catwalk model, it’s relatively easy for her to do ‘glamour’ stuff. The other way round is not so easy.
@christina: Helena Christensen, also Candice Swanepol(spelling?) from Victoria´s Secret is doing well when it comes to high fashion.
Uhh, Kate isn’t on the cover of Vogue. Good try though!
Also elle macpherson ? She has a lingerie line & did playboy (:
BUDGET, cheap and trashy. I don`t understand the hype around her. Pretty girl but not a model and definitely not high fashion.
I would go lez for her
Me, too!
Me three. She is insanely gorgeous!
i love the picture where she’s wearing a black top, white pants, and stacked bangles. i think it’s great to see a model with breasts and body fat who isn’t considered plus size. she looks christie brinkley/cheryl tiegs healthy and exhuberant, not fatigued and hungry like a lot of top models nowadays.
+1
I’m just happy to see a model looking like she’s actually enjoying herself.
she’s cute and I love that shot with the white pants and arm bangles, but she’s still not high fashion. Her face is just not that interesting. Also, the photoshop on her legs is super weird, IMO.
When I saw the first pic, I was like – uh oh! Anna Wintour really DOESN’T like this girl. Not a complementary pic, at all. The rest, however, are fantastic. Kate is gorgeous and down to Earth. I’m glad she got into Vogue; though, I wonder how she got through to Wintour?
Because Wintour is — above all else — a PR shill. Her rag sales are in the toilet. And she’s DESPERATE to find a way to increase sales. Guys LOVE Kate. Particularly college guys. And so their girlfriends all want to BE Kate. For a fashion mag — doesn’t get better than that…
The only reason Wintour was able to diss Mrs. Beckham for so long is because Posh wouldn’t bring more sales to Vogue. Wintour is a has-been. (Or more precisely, a “Has-Bag”.) And she’s looking for relevance.
Kate Upton is a very pretty gal. With a banging bod. And while some posters are calling her “low-rent” — her family is anything but. Google them.
O man the runway models are HATING right now lol. Rihanna should be too cuz that cover up against Kate looks a downright hot mess lol
I love that she’s wearing flats in all the shots.
Me, too! I hate when they have to do those jumping shots in 6″ heels.
I like everything but the shoes; they remind me of something you’d find at Payless Shoe Source. (no offense, Payless Shoe Source).
Much better than those shots in Jalouse.
She can wear clothes and don’t let them wear her.I like it.
Please I want those first sandals… badly! lol
Lovely. She reminds me of some 80s swimwear model.
White blonde with big boobs… I’ve never seen something like that…
What a pretty girl……..thats all I wanted to say…she looks well……..’Real……
she’s a classic apple shape, not curvy, like they all say. she still has a gorgeous body and it’s nice to see a model who doesn’t look like she’s starving herself get attention
Kate looks sleekly modern and retro at the same time. Beautiful! We need many more Curvy Kates. Fifteen year old skeletor models met their “”sell by date” about 10 years ago. It is refreshing to see a model who probably ate a real meal for breakfast. Like bacon and eggs real meal.
1+
Rihanna looks like she got busted halfway through doing a #2 in a field.
Terrible face, flower rebel. Terrible.
Haha. She looks like an alien, and not the beautiful ethereal ones. The ET kind.
Whether you love her or not she’s making a statement. A POSITIVE statement. Human’s come in all shapes & sizes & I think it’s high time fashion started showing some diversity. We’re not all stick thin with bones sticking out. I for one think that’s why women are getting so much plastic surgery. They’ve starved away all their curves & have to resort to bolt ons to have some semblance of a figure. So sad. I’m looking forward to seeing Beth Ditto on the cover of Vogue one day.
True.
She looks great but some of those shots look like they were styled for a Sears catalogue or Gap commercial. Nothing about this shoot says high fashion.
+1 Agreed.
She looks pretty, but this isn’t a high fashion look.
i recommend exercise for this gurl. it’s gonna get reeeely uglee if she doesn’t pump it up
She ha a great body. And maybe she enjoys life enough to not consider “lifting heavy bars” a fulfilling activity.
Now we’re snarking on people’s possible future bodies? Jesus.
She’s not fat, but she has NO tone. Skinny does not always equal being “in shape”.
I usually think this girl looks so budget. She has a way of making anything look trashy. I have to say that she looks pretty good here, though. Definitely not high fashion, but she looks gorgeous.
Her budget face is the only thing I can see – I think you could put her in a million dollar outfit and it would still unfortunately look like Target.
I think if she were serious about wanting to be high fashion, a change of hair colour would be best for her… That skanky blonde looks cheap on her, especially with her dark ‘brows.
I like her. She is cute and busted her ass to make things happen. Good for her.
She needs a darker shade of blonde, otherwise she will always look budget.
It’s ok. She is pretty -I’ll give her that!
I still don’t get this girl’s hype; or why she’s famous. Whatevs.
The clothes look beautiful on her. That’s really the only thing that matters– she can sell the hell out them.
Anna Wintour is off her tree these days. I like the black and white picture, though.
The legs in the first photo seem distorted and like they belong in a gallery of “Photoshop Disasters”… wtf?
They’ve done some sort of gumby and pokey thing to her legs.
She’s not willing to starve herself for her ….. bla bla bla.. Why would she starve herself, look at her body, it’s perfect.. If i had her body type, i wouldn’t want to starve myself either . Some models gain weight only by eating so little, they need to work hard and starve themselves sometimes to be up to today’s harsh modeling standards.. I am not saying it’s good to do that, but that’s the reality.. what can they do.. If it was the case for her, i doubt she’d say that, she would be starving herself too >_>
She seems ok. The pics are nice. Not as pose-hardy as that last photo shoot.
There’s a little bit of those old Hilfiger, Guess type ads about her. It’s just meh.
She is so pretty. Look at those eyes in the close up! I LOVE that blue motorcycle jacket.I really don’t understand the controversy over using her as a model. She looks fine to me. If she knows how to move and pose then a photographer will hire her. There’s room for all different types of models. Obviously she is getting work so, if she can move products that’s all that agencies and companies will pay attention to. I think it’s lovely that she doesn’t starve herself.
Her face is so boring.
She looks like every other girl out there, nothing special about her looks at all.
Bland.
Gorgeous and she has personality and by personality I mean she has big boobies and yet those arent the only things I notice.
She is very pretty and has a great body. But there are a million models who are very pretty and have nice bodies. I simply don’t get anything special about her. I get that guys look at her and see boobs, and that’s good enough, but I don’t see anything interesting beyond that.
She dating Justin Verlander of Detroit Tigers, Go Tigers!!!
She did great. Good job Kate. I’m tired of women looking for BS reasons to tear each other down. She’s a model, not a role model, not a rocket scientist. Who cares about how intelligent she might be? She did her job well.
I think the pictures are great. She looks very all-American. Gorgeous!
I agree. The shot of her in blue is gorgeous. I love the black tunic white pants, reminiscent of Halston.
Bar still has the best bod.
She’s pretty and I’m obsessed with her dark eyebrows.
I just wish she had some low-lights added to her hair to give it more depth and make it look more natural. Also, she needs cool/ash tones not warm tones for her skin to avoid this brassy-haired look.
Clever styling: Preppy, All-American- to go with her more wholesome well fed look (relative to most models).
i am surprised that she made an issue of vogue, but i understand she paid to attend the met gala so maybe she did the same here…nothing wrong with that. apparently anyone can be bought. i never cared for vogue all that much i found its fashion unrealistic for the average woman who works for a living. she is a model and ‘in’ right now, so hence the layout i suppose. but really, her strut down the runway at the victoria secrets show will forever define her imo.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I really don’t get why HW it’s trying to make this chick happen. I don’t find anything about her interesting except for the fact that she has this Rebecca Romijn air about her.
Sorry but I just don’t think she is a ‘high fashion model’, and she just doesn’t suit Vogue. I think these photos and herself are very budget.
JMHO.
You know it’s funny I never really liked her, she kind of irked me – – until now.
She works this shoot and does awesome with what she has. I like the way she has embraced her body and worked it to her advantage.
She reminds me a little of Cindy Crawford back in the late 80’s, early 90’s. I never found Cindy very ‘high fashion’ (not like Naomi or Linda) and I see something of her look in Kate Upton (LOL and its NOT the mole!)
You hit the nail on the head. Her face is very throwback late 80s/early 90s model. Its not my cuppa and, for whatever reason, she usually looks budget to me. I LOVE the 3/4 and profile shots. Her profile is stunning. The rest? Meh.
I recently met Kate for about 10 seconds…she is very cute and bubbly in person. With very little makeup, she seemed about 17. Except for the body. Holy crap there. Not Vogue-ish. She actually seemed very nice to everyone.
Can we let go of the high fashion crap like it’s something hard to do?
I mean I am wearing my Old Navy House Robe with my Michael Kors flip flops and digging through my Gucci bag for my Wal Mart wallet; this ladies is HIGH fashion.
Just wait, she will be bitten by the starving to get into high fashion bug. Anybody remember sophie dahl??? Yes another model who was plus sized and supposedly proud of it. Then she dieted (coffee and ciggs) down to high fashion sized. This girl will go the same way
What’s with all the blonde hate on this sight. Well maintained beautiful light blondes ash blonde beach blondes are not budget. They are actually expensive to maintain more than out of the box brown dye. And if you can maintain health and length with blonde hair you have really really awesome hair. I think she’s pretty not budget. She reminds me of sexy 80’s models. Guys do look and people do notice blonde hair when it’s healthy done right it’s breath taking. It’s people with nasty snarly Christina aguilera hair that’s nasty. Not someone like her. I think she’s a cutie. Beer commercial cutie, maxim cute, guy movie cute. And who’s complaining if she’s inside in a editorial. Ri Ri on the cover is waaaayyyyy uglier.
This has nothing to do with her, but god, I hate it when they Photoshop all the veins and tendons out of models’ bare feet so they look like flippers made of Silly Putty.
On gosh yes!
She puts me in heat…
All these people saying ‘budget’…what on earth are you on?
The girl is beautiful. Her body is DELICIOUS. It makes me happy looking at these photos. She wears the clothes and owns them. What more can you expect from ‘high fashion’?
She’s has an old school supermodel look.
Plus, she’s so sexy I would jump the fence for her ; )
Well she is beautiful and her pictures are better than rhiannas
Yep, the black pantsuit shot is great. The rest seem a little more Marie Claire than Vogue.
I don’t find her attractive in any way, and certainly not high fashion style. Her nose is very wide and so is her waist. No I don’t think she is fat she is just rather shapeless
+1 They have to photoshop her to hell and back, lest she look like SpongeBob SquarePants in the pics and they can’t have that. I wish for Kunty Karl to chime in and opine on this one if he even knows who she is.
She’s conventionally pretty.
She’s also forgettable as a model. No intensity in the poses. The fashion angles seem very ‘soft’ and amateurish. IMO she’s not good at posing without selling her sex appeal.
That shot of her jumping? It would have been better if she had a sharp stare and a pout.
Her close-up photos would have turned out better, IMO, if she didn’t look like she’s trying to seduce you in every single shot. She has a pretty smile, but there’s no need to look coy all the time.
The photos look straight out of a catalog, not Vogue. She’s trying to look sultry and sexy when she doesn’t need to be.
She’s very pretty in a basic way…like Heidi Klum.
She’s a commercial model, not a high fashion one.
Now Rihanna’s cover is pretty good. She has an intense stare that catches the eye.
“The photos look straight out of a catalog” — that was my exact thought after seeing them, like something out of the Spiegel or JC Penney catalog.
Disgusting….she doesn’t belong anywhere near high fashion…far too common looking…not thin not fat just plain…no striking features or charisma….
better than that Jalouse mess-those were hideous.
Budget Cosmopolitan for sure. Since when does Vogue do ads for Target nowadays? Keep trying girl because that’s all you’ll ever do.
She’s beautiful but not high fashion or haute couture material.She’s the girl making bick bucks with contracts with Pepsi,Maybelline.
When I think high fashion,I see more Inès de la Fressange,Katoucha or Nadja Auermann.
And if you want successful blondes in the high fashion industry, pick Julia Nobis, Daria Strokous,Patricia van der Vliet, Melissa Tammerijn, the girls you actually see on the catwalks for Dior, Valentino, Giambattista Valli even if they’re not famous names for a general audience.
Kate Upton is not in that market.
Vogue isn’t what it used to be, class high fashion top editorial pics, models à la Iman Bowie, interesting articles… I mean look at this, it looks like a Asos catalogue 🙁
And as long as she doesn’t say anymore foolishness such as being a Bond Girl, I’d tolerate her.
Beautiful young healthy girl way better that twigs that are around now!
She’s gorgeous with an amazing figure. Not sure what else people want out of a fashion model. Very old-school Cindy Crawford style.
& Every crying “budget”… Like, let’s be honest, here. These pics are less classy and aesthetically pleasing than a starving teenager with unflattering hair and makeup (a.k.a. the usual high fashion mess)? I mean, really???
It’s true that “high fashion” is skinny women with harsh make-up glaring at the camera and looking miserable and but that hasn’t been original or “edgy” since about 1976. Perhaps it’s not the end of civilzation as we know it if Vogue does one spread with a pretty young woman looking pretty. I’m sure next month will be back to all scowling, all the time.
If she has naturally dark hair, as evidenced by her thick dark brows, why not embrace that, instead of being this fake blonde which makes her look like Anna Nicole?
I think she would look so much better as a brunette… just saying.
I’m a fan of Kate too.
She looks great. I love the one with her in the coral top. So beautiful.
I think part of the problem with the high fashion shoot was that she had heavy heavy dramatic eye makeup that looked more sultry than what was appropriate for that shoot.
Kudos to anyone who can secure a spread in Vogue 🙂
Whereas she is pretty she doesn’t have the “it” factor,I see diverse in the clothing and poses but not in her expressions-the are all the same which is not the mark of a high fashion model.
hahaha noone is perfect… check out her creepy little toe in the first pic
She looks beautiful and healthy.