Photo: Courtesy of ELLE France.Lupita Nyong'o is an absolute vision in a yellow Giambattista Valli gown on the cover of ELLE France (apologies for the cliché, but it's true). This is Lupita's second July cover; you'll recall she fronts this month's Vogue. We have to say, though, we much prefer this ELLE cover to the Vogue one. Apologies, Anna Wintour, if you're reading this.
First of all, the styling just screams "summer" — "été," actually. Second, Lupita's facial expression, pose, and gorgeous dress are much more aligned with the actress' fun personality we've come to know and love from her Instagram. The photo is reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's subway-grate moment, but it still manages to feel original and fresh.
The solid fuchsia background gives the whole thing a three-dimensional quality, as though Lupita's exploding off the page. That's how you make a cover exciting, Vogue. Not that more serious covers don't have a time and place, but it's July. Have some fun with it! We'll even bust out a rare exclamation point to show how strongly we believe this.
The coverline declares, "Superstar in less than one year! Lupita Nyong'o inspires the planet." Yes, that she does. And, she's about to inspire even more planets when she appears in the new Star Wars. Lupita Nyong'o: primed for universal domination. It has a nice ring to it. (Just Jared)