It’s Vogue magazine’s biggest issue of the year, and one of the world’s biggest music stars is on the cover: Beyonce. This is only the third time a black woman has covered the September issue, excluding fold-out extensions. Naomi Campbell graced the cover in 1989 and Halle Berry in 2010.
[Related: Beyonce Launches New Flash Tattoo Line]
The songstress is wearing a gown by Marc Jacobs, who told the magazine that Beyonce “exudes charm and a lovable quality.â€
“Her appropriation and assemblage are based on the understanding that a mass audience is a mass of niche audience,” the magazine says about the cover girl. “Each has its own history, with its own desires, and she empowers them all.”
Watch behind-the-scenes video below of the star during her cover shoot, set to Édith Piaf’s “Autumn Leaves.â€Â The issue hits newsstands Aug. 25.
This has been a year of wins for Queen Bey, with her latest being landing a spot as a performer for this year’s Global Citizen’s Festival, alongside Pearl Jam and Coldplay in Central Park Sept. 26.