Zelenskyy & his wife Olena Zelenska shoot for Vogue magazine, gets heavily trolled

Another season, another Vogue story on a politician causing a kerfuffle. After the hoo-ha over the magazine not giving Melania Trump a cover, comes a new controversy, related to a 'digital cover' released online featuring Olena Zelenska, the Ukrainian first lady.

Titled 'Portrait of Bravery,' the article is a collaboration between the Condé Nast Vogues (pretty much all of them) and Ukrainian Vogue (a licensed magazine owned by Media Group Ukraine).

It has moody, graceful portraits of Zelenska by Annie Leibovitz: sitting on the marble steps of the presidential palace, staring grimly ahead; holding hands with her husband, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; and standing next to female soldiers at Antonov Airport, clutching the lapels of a long navy overcoat. The photos are accompanied by a lengthy interview and some BTS video footage of the first couple and Leibovitz. It will appear in print later this year.

Zelenska appears polished, but the story focuses on the pain and trauma of her country and its people, as well as the couple's relationship. None of the subjects are smiling. A single line under one photograph notes that Zelenska is wearing entirely Ukrainian designers and lists their names. This may seem like a small thing to most viewers, but it takes the commercial element out of the shoot. Whatever it's selling - and it's definitely selling something - it isn't clothes.

The article has provoked something of a backlash. Some viewers have a visceral reaction to juxtaposing the idea of 'Vogue' - with its historic connections to elitism, fantasy, wealth and frivolity - and the reality of war. It looks, they say, tasteless. "While Ukraine is going through hell, Vogue is doing a photoshoot for the President & his wife," wrote Amrita Bhinder on Twitter.