How to Create a Cover and Succeed in the Attempt: Gloria Estefan’s Case at Vanity Fair

The vast majority of the teaching team is made up of active professionals working at Condé Nast and at some of the most influential brands in the industry.

If we were to list all the profiles that make up the faculty, we would quickly run out of space. Among the most common are editors, photographers, stylists, art directors, graphic artists, public relations professionals, and marketing experts, among an endless etcetera. These profiles also include entrepreneurs from luxury and trend-led brands, designers, and company CEOs. Students are always grateful for the advice they receive, the contacts they are given, and above all, the experience and stories these professionals share.

A clear example of this can be found in the directors of the Vogue Diploma in Creative Direction and Digital Art, Ángel Perea Malo and Fer Vallespín. They are also the creative directors of Vanity Fair, GQ, AD and Traveler—all part of the Condé Nast group, just like Vogue. In short, they are responsible for the visual identity of the magazines: coordinating teams so everyone works under a shared vision, and translating the editorial concept into a coherent, recognisable and aspirational visual language for each title.

In their day-to-day work, they experience all kinds of adventures. One of the most recent—and one they highlight in particular—is the cover featuring Gloria Estefan for Vanity Fair. The singer came to Spain to give a concert, celebrate the anniversary of a new album, and receive the Vanity Fair Person of the Year award. The magazine captured all of this by featuring the iconic artist on the cover of its November 2025 issue. Estefan is, after all, the voice behind anthems such as Mi Tierra, Conga and Con los años que me quedan, among many others.

“For me, a cover that really works has to convey and humanise the concept: a smile, a caress, a gesture… something that makes the reader empathise with the moment,” Perea Malo explains.

In Estefan’s case, he tells us they drew inspiration from musical films of the 1950s and 1960s and their sets. “Like Singin’ in the Rain, but with a Caribbean twist.” On the cover, we see the Cuban artist in a red, sequinned dress, arms open and gaze lifted to the sky, against a red background with several people seated at a bar table. A ballroom lamp frames the image from above, while a theatrical spotlight illuminates the scene. “For the production, we worked with a group of dancers, and the experience of coordinating everything was incredibly enriching. On top of that, it was amazing to work with a figure of such international relevance. The collaboration with photographer Felix [Valiente] and his artistic vision ultimately shaped a spectacular result,” he concludes.

Beyond its visual impact, projects like this are also a showcase of how the creative industry really works: a combination of talent, strategy and teamwork where every detail matters. And that is precisely one of the cornerstones of the education at Vogue College of Fashion. Learning from professionals who live these processes from the inside allows students to understand not only how a great cover is created, but also how to lead a team, compose an image, work with a subject and make them shine across markets.