Waitrose Cashier Turns British Vogue Cover Star - The New Frontline

Tuesday 2 June 2020

• Keyworkers, including supermarket assistant from Waitrose, chosen for historic front cover providing a special moment of thanks during pandemic
• Photographed in London supermarket, with worker on shift in uniform 

British Vogue is breaking with their usual cover stars - a space normally reserved for ‘A’ list celebrities and supermodels, and instead have devoted their iconic cover for the July 2020 issue to honouring key workers who have been working tirelessly during lockdown.

Gracing the front cover is Anisa Omar, 21 who works as a Supermarket Assistant at  Waitrose King’s Cross. Normally serving customers on the checkouts or replenishing the shelves with much needed essentials, Anisa was snapped in her uniform during a regular shift.

She is one of three frontline workers to appear on a special gatefold cover. The three different versions will feature Anisa and the other two cover stars – London Overground train driver Narguis Horsford, and midwife Rachel Millar – who will each take a turn on the front, and inside the gatefold of the other copies.

Renowned fashion photographer Jamie Hawkesworth, who has previously shot models including Kate Moss and Gigi Hadid, spent two weeks photographing frontline workers for the historic edition, which includes portraits of NHS staff, delivery drivers, teachers and MPs across 20 pages in the issue, available from Friday 5th June. Jamie said “I didn’t really want to photograph people in action, in the motion of doing their job; I thought it was really important to give them a moment away. It was in the store, so there’s a bit of context, but I like that everybody had their own moment”. 

The decision to use non-celebrities for the cover was taken by editor-in-chief Edward Enninful OBE: “This moment in history has seen society shift its attention on to some of the people who are not usually afforded the spotlight,” he explains. “I am proud that British Vogue’s July issue is able to provide a special moment of thanks to the NHS and everyone on the frontline saving lives every day. Our trio of cover stars represent the millions of people in the UK who, at the height of the pandemic, in the face of dangers large and small, put on their uniforms and work clothes and went to help people".

Anisa describes the whole experience as “Crazy - but so nice to be appreciated in this way! It’s nice being a key worker. My job was not something that was that big of a deal before. But now it’s like we’re important. We have to be here, regardless of what’s happening in the world. It’s more than just a job now.”

“Being on the cover of Vogue is not something I ever imagined I would do, but I feel so lucky to be a part of this experience. I live in a house of key workers - both my brother and sister work in different Waitrose branches so we will be excited to see the magazine on sale in our shops when we arrive at work”!  

CREDIT LINE TO RUN IN FULL - Read the full feature in the July issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands Friday 5th June.*

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDIT- Jamie Hawkesworth**

IMAGES FOR ONLINE USE CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE -https://we.tl/t-V5QLAQio09

IMAGES CANNOT BE CROPPED OR ALTERED

USAGE: ONE USE ONLY

ARTICLES MUST LINK BACK - https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/keyworkers-july-2020-issue-british-vogue

1. Fellow Waitrose Kings Cross Partners Eddie Byrne (Meat & Fish Specialist) and Youna Kabongo (Supermarket Assistant) were also interviewed by Vogue and photographed by Jamie Hawkesworth
2. Waitrose & Partners has 338 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. Waitrose & Partners exports products to more than 50 countries worldwide and has nine shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers. 
3. British Vogue has been the undisputed fashion bible for over 100 years. Under Edward Enninful’s editorship, British Vogue has celebrated diversity in all forms, including race, sexuality, age and social background. British Vogue represents the world in which we live in, whilst inspiring its readers with talent from the UK and around the world. British Vogue remains the cultural barometer placing fashion in the context of the larger world– how we dress, entertain, what we eat, listen to, watch; who leads us, excites us and inspires us. From its beginnings to today, three central principles have set British Vogue apart: a commitment to visual genius, an investment in storytelling, and a selective, optimistic editorial eye. British Vogue has a combined print and digital circulation of 192,212 (ABC January to June 2019); and unique users to the website which includes Vogue Video total 3,690,395 (Google Analytics October 2019 – December 2019).
4. Together with John Lewis, Waitrose is working hard to support our customers and its communities during the crisis, whether it's delivering care packages to NHS heroes or sharing ideas for lockdown lunches. The Your Partners Through It All page is full of information on virtual services and experiences, lockdown video diaries from Partners and lots more.

About the John Lewis Partnership

The John Lewis Partnership owns and operates two of Britain's best-loved retail brands - John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners. Started as a radical idea nearly a century ago, the Partnership is the largest employee-owned business in the UK and amongst the largest in the world, with over 80,000 employees who are all Partners in the business. For all intents and purposes, the Partnership is a social enterprise; the profits made are reinvested into the business - for customers and Partners. John Lewis & Partners operates 50 shops across the UK (36 department stores, 12 John Lewis at home and shops at St Pancras International and Heathrow Terminal 2) as well as johnlewis.com. Waitrose & Partners has 338 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 61 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. Waitrose & Partners exports products to more than 50 countries worldwide and has nine shops which operate under licence in the Middle East. The retailer's omnichannel business includes the online grocery service, Waitrose.com, as well as specialist online shops including waitrosecellar.com for wine and waitroseflorist.com for plants and flowers.