BUTTERFLY KISSES
With America furiously debating the parameters of free speech, we wanted this issue, including the visuals that introduce it, to reflect expression without limitation. To bring that concept to life, we tapped 25-year-old photographer Kelia Anne, among PLAYBOY’s youngest cover artists to date. Kelia Anne’s surreal, colorful world, starring a preserved butterfly perched on the tip of model Jesi Le Rae’s tongue, is at once inviting and startling, nostalgic and fresh. These tensions make for an arresting image while capturing the complexities of silence and speech. “I envisioned a scenario in which voices are expressed visually, as sweet and fragile, and silence is on the cusp of being broken,” says Kelia Anne. “I also considered the false negative implications associated with breaking it.” The intimate shoot was rife with special moments: “At one point, Jesi was balancing the butterfly on her mouth, and her breathing was moving the wings. Everyone on set was in awe. Balancing a butterfly on your tongue is no easy feat.”
FINE LINES
Myriad artists have reimagined Vampirella since Trina Robbins, using Playboy model and longtime employee Barbara Leigh as her muse, drew the now-iconic heroine into the comicsphere in 1969. Award-winning illustrator Joyce Chin conjures the latest Vampi for Make Up to Break Up, an exclusive installment penned by Gail Simone. “I love her fearlessness,” says Chin of the character. “She has always been unapologetic about her physicality, her sexuality and how she moves through the world.”
2019 BUNNY BOWL
Day drinking, anyone? Our Rabbit celebrated super Bowl LIII with the Bunny Bowl, a special edition of LAVO Party Brunch in Las Vegas, where football fans joined Playmates Gia Marie, Stephanie Branton, Ashley Doris and Carly Lauren for drinks, eats and touchdown-worthy tunes by DJ Lema.
THAT'S A RAP
You’d expect setting up a tête-à-tête between two of the world’s most famous rappers to be complicated, but getting Travis Scott and Nas in the same room was surprisingly easy. In fact, the biggest challenge was getting them to stop: The two were going so deep during the Q&A for Rapper’s Delight, they had to be interrupted so we could begin Scott’s photo shoot. Above, a candid snap from that afternoon.
FUN IN THE PACSUN
As September 2012 playmate Alana Campos makes clear, playboy’s spring/summer 2019 collaboration with PacSun takes athleisure to new levels of luxury. The collection features classic silhouettes, gold metallic details and plenty of
pointy-eared cameos. pacsun.com/pacsun-collections/
