Lana Del Rey lands Vogue UK cover, causes controversy

Lana Del Rey. Controversy. What's new?

In a move that stunned the fashion community on Thursday, British Vogue announced the 25-year-old indie songstress as its March cover girl.

And the backlash has been tremendous.

This is not Del Rey's first time gracing the cover of a glossy, but what irks people in this case is that someone so obscure is plastered on the front of the holy grail of fashion publications- a privilege given to musicians like Rihanna, Beyonce and Lady Gaga.

Del Rey has been the subject of significant amounts of buzz leading up to the release of her album Born to Die. For legitimate reasons.

She comes from an extremely privileged background. The girl has beautiful features- a puffy pout, dramatic blue eyes, sky-high cheek bones- all of which will be put to good use since she recently signed with NEXT modeling agency. Her voice is haunting, her lyrics resonate with those who've experienced heartbreak, and some of her songs are downright alluring, if not seductive.

But it's not all good.

There was that cringe-worthy SNL performance last month. She's changed her name from Lizzy Grant to Lana Del Rey (and for some reason, that bugs people). Then there's rampant speculation that her lips have been injected with vials of Botox- a rumor she's furiously denied. If people adore Lana on one end of the spectrum, the opposite side is full of passionate critics who cannot fathom (or stomach) her brewing success.

They slam Del Rey for being "fake." And some of her most outspoken critics are in fashion, because the industry is about authenticity, originality and creativity.

Which leads us to her Vogue UK cover. After news circulated that Del Rey was the publication's cover girl Thursday evening, many were not pleased.

On Friday, in response to the overwhelming criticism, Alexandra Shulman released a portion of her Editor's letter:

"I am many of the thousands of people enraptured by the throaty, seductive voice of Lana Del Rey. Once I had seen Lana play at a small event in London, I was convinced that she would be a great Vogue cover girl, even though she is probably one of the newest stars in her field that the magazine has ever had on the cover."

What are your thoughts? Do you think Lana deserves to land a Vogue cover?

The issue is available on February 6.

More from Vogue UK / Read Dan DeLuca's review of Born to Die