This cover is not just a Kate Moss cover but also a self-portrait of the photographer, Mario Sorrenti, naked. I told him that I would love for him to be on the cover of this Fall/Winter 2008 issue, but wearing the least amount of clothing possible. His response was to hide behind Kate. For Mario, though, Kate’s not just the world’s best model — they used to be lovers before becoming famous. This intimate cover introduces an all-new section, Purple Portraits, all of it shot by Mario, where you’ll find more of his self-portraits along with an interview about him. Besides, I realized that the entire issue turned out to be a gallery of intimate portraits — the Interview section, the Naked story by Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin with Trish Goff, the visual essay by Richard Prince (photographs of his studio, two local girls and Terry Richardson), and…