Issy Wood painted Charli XCX for the cover of Vanity Fair's first art-themed issue in nearly two decades. The oil-on-velvet portrait, titled *Charli 2* (2025), depicts the singer amid gauzy stars and white forms, inspired by the length and quality of her career before the global success of *Brat*, the candor of her lyrics, and their shared Britishness. Wood, a rising star of the British art scene known for paintings of leather car seats and body parts, is currently the subject of a show at Schinkel Pavillon in Berlin.
This cover marks a rare intersection of pop music and the visual art world, spotlighting Wood's rapid ascent—her works have sold for over $500,000 at auction—and Charli XCX's growing engagement with art, including a stop at Storm King Art Center on her *Brat* tour and a planned role in the film *The Gallerist*. The collaboration underscores how contemporary figurative painting continues to capture mainstream attention, while also blurring the lines between fan art and high art, as Wood herself embraces the label.