Is Bella Hadid too obvious a choice for Vogue Arabia's September issue?

Karl Lagerfeld photographed model-of-the-moment Bella Hadid for the September issue of Vogue Arabia

Bella Hadid on the cover of the September issue of Vogue Arabia, shot by Karl Largerfeld

The cover of the September issue of Vogue Arabia was unveiled today.

Traditionally the biggest issue of the year, September is the one that pulls in all the advertising and garners the most exposure (after all, American Vogue's September issue warranted its own documentary). It is also the issue that sets the tone for the coming season, so it is a real coup for Vogue Arabia to have model-of-the-moment Bella Hadid on the cover, shot by none other than Karl Lagerfeld.

It is easy to see why Hadid was selected for this issue. She is young, beautiful and wildly photogenic; her dark hair and feline features stand out from any page. She also hails from a mixed American-Palestinian background, and is a Muslim, so there is an obvious alignment there.

Having Lagerfeld on board is also huge, and he has, unsurprisingly, shot Hadid head-to-toe in Fendi (he has been the brand's creative director since 1965). As a fan of fashion, it is deeply gratifying to see the rest of the world finally starting to pay attention to this region (because, let's face it, only a few years ago, having Lagerfeld’s involvement would have been unthinkable). The only fly in the ointment, for me, is that it suddenly feels like the Hadid sisters are the only two models in the world.

When Vogue Arabia launched in March this year, blonde-haired Gigi was on the cover, wearing a jewelled veil. Now, just seven months later, Bella is the star. That they are both beautiful and worthy of covers is not in question. But it does feel like these young women, who until very recently were marketed as all-American gals, are suddenly being held up as poster girls for the Arab world. As cover girls that speak to the region, Halima Aden made me feel far more at ease – and not because of the headscarf. Certainly, not all magazines in this part of the world are obliged to have Muslim or Arab models on their covers. But if that is the intended message, they should at least be authentic.

This does, of course, highlight a much larger issue: a lack of models that are truly representative of this region. But this, ultimately, is Vogue Arabia's greatest responsibility - to find and cultivate new and emerging talent, and to discover the next great Arab supermodel, rather than relying on existing formulas and formulaic faces.

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