Vanity Fair dropped its 2016 Hollywood issue cover on Monday, February 1, and it features the standout actresses of this year —affectionately dubbed by the mag as “a female tour de force” — including Jennifer Lawrence, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis and many more.
All five of the Best Leading Actress Oscar contenders (and a select few of the noms for Best Supporting Actress) participated in the Annie Leibovitz–shot spread.
The stunning cover is in the usual foldout format and features Alicia Vikander, Saoirse Ronan, Lupita Nyong’o, Charlotte Rampling, Brie Larson, Rachel Weisz, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and the venerable Helen Mirren and Diane Keaton. By the numbers, this talented group of 13 stars has collected 35 Oscar nominations and nine wins.
The mag’s style director, Jessica Diehl, dressed all of the stars in black and explained why she opted for this aesthetic. “The dresses on the cover are all black because that lets each actress’s face stand out — faces that are expressive, and in many cases even transformative,” she noted in a statement.
Equally stunning are the inside shots that include Keaton in a top hat and Lawrence with the legendary Fonda. Shutterbug Leibovitz also captured emotional images of Davis, Rampling and Nyong’o — all topless.
The Hollywood issue hits stands in NYC and L.A. on Thursday, February 4.
