Nicki Minaj Covers 'W' November 2011

Nicki Minaj graces the cover of W‘s November issue.

Artist Francesco Vezzoli transformed the 28-year-old rapper into an 18th-century courtesan, wearing elaborate pieces by Dior Haute Couture, Vera Wang, and Western Costume Company.

“I wanted to play with the public image of a female hip-hop star. During my entire career, I have always been fascinated by powerful women in history. I have spent a lot of time researching the ways they were represented in art and how their images were used to mold the public imagination – and to convey aesthetic and philosophical ideas about beauty and sexual desire. My main interest has been to link the historical artistic approach to female representation to contemporary icons of the media era,” Francesco shared about working with Nicki.

For more on W‘s November issue, check out WMagazine.com!