Vogue's 2026 September issue is a nostalgic nod to one of its beloved covers of the past. But the internet has other thoughts about the throwback-inspired cover shoot.
Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere are making waves as fashion icons and as the stars of FX’s “The Shards,” Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ coming-of-age novel. The two actors are posing together on Vogue's cover nearly 35 years after their famous parents, Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, posed on their own 1992 cover.
Will Vogue's editorial team or Chloe Malle herself issue a public response within September?
And while Gerber and Gere's best-friend-style shoot received some praise from fashion industry insiders as well as the actors' famous families, the September issue cover — which has served as the holy grail of elaborate celebrity images throughout its history — has sparked online criticism for lack of creativity and has been dubbed the latest "nepo baby" spectacle.
"Nepotism pro max. The September cover used to mean something," one Instagram user commented on Vogue's post of the cover.
Another added, "This looks like the cover of some cheap magazine, not even Vogue, and definitely not a cover for the September issue."
On Threads, users further critiqued the magazine cover and even went as far as to recreate the Gerber and Gere photo as a faux Target campaign image.
View on Threads
"Nothing says 'American fashion in 2026' quite like Vogue putting two nepo babies on its September cover to recreate their famous parents’ shoot against millennial gray," one Threads user posted. "Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere are gorgeous. But my god. Where is the risk? Where is the ART??"
"Combine nepotism, denial and this economy and BOOM! This year’s September issue. Yawn," another user said.
Crawford, one of the world's most famous supermodels, and Gere, the actor of "Pretty Woman" fame, were the ultimate '90s power couple. The pair, who met in 1988, married in 1991 in a no-fuss wedding ceremony “at 6 o'clock on Thursday night,” the model told Arsenio Hall on an episode of his eponymously named talk show. The fashion wasn't fancy either. Crawford went on to say at the time that she put on “some old suit that I'd had forever” and made their wedding bands herself, using tinfoil. Shortly after the couple was married, they posed together for their iconic Vogue cover shoot, photographed by legendary photographer Herb Ritts.
Crawford, now 60, and Gere, 76, announced their split on Dec. 1, 1994. Fast forward to 2026, Crawford’s daughter, Kaia, with husband Rande Gerber, and Gere’s son, Homer, with ex-wife Carey Lowell, play love interests in the new FX series. The nostalgic fandom surrounding the two actors and their famous parents was the inspiration that landed them on the September cover of Vogue.
In a recent interview with USA TODAY, Gerber explained how she and Homer Gere broke the ice before filming by addressing the elephant in the room: their parents' past relationship and marriage.
"I knew obviously we were going to address it," Gerber said at "The Shards" July 27 premiere at New York's SVA Theatre. "So I think I just was like, 'If I say it first, then we don't really ever have to talk about it again.' And I think we both literally immediately were like, 'Well,' and hugged and then very quickly realized we have so much more in common in other spaces, and that was kind of like the least interesting thing about our relationship."
Later, Homer Gere shared kind words about his kindred costar. "She's very friendly and intelligent and quirky," he said. "She's just a good, nice person."
On Tuesday, Aug. 11, following the news of the Vogue cover reveal, Crawford took to Instagram to express her excitement for her daughter's own Vogue moment, despite the swirling negative commentary.
Reposting the cover image on her Instagram Story, the model wrote, "so proud of my girl @kaiagerber."
Contributing: Kalia Richardson, Erin Jensen
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Critics call out Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere 'nepo baby' Vogue cover
