The Weeknd to Perform at Harper’s Bazaar Icons Party, Front September Issue

Alexandra Steigrad

Updated August 3, 2017 at 12:01 AM

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, is getting the Harper’s Bazaar treatment.

The musician will perform at Bazaar’s annual Icons party at The Plaza Hotel in New York on Sept. 8, and he will also appear on the cover of Bazaar’s September issue, which hits newsstands on Aug. 22. Sponsors of the party include Laura Mercier, Stella Artois, Fujifilm and Swarovski.

This year’s September issue includes an 18-page portfolio of “Icons” in music and entertainment imagined by global fashion director Carine Roitfeld. This year, the spread includes Courtney Love, Dionne Warwick, Grimes, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Miranda Lambert, Travis Scott, Adriana Lima, Natasha Poly, Joan Smalls, Kelly Rohrbach, Irina Shayk, Candice Swanepoel and Karlie Kloss — all of whom are slated to attend the bash next month.

“From rock to hip-hop, classic to country, and electric to soul, this unique group of Icons is about diversity, that is what I love,” Roitfeld said. “Celebrating a universal language of music and fashion is important to the world today.”

Shot by Brigitte Lacombe, the portfolio will run in all 32 international editions of Bazaar’s September issue, fronted by The Weeknd. Lacombe shot the group on June 4 in a white photo studio in New York.

In a one-page interview in the upcoming issue, the artist remarked on his on-stage character, noting: “Kind of like pulling a Ziggy Stardust. Maybe I’ll retire from being The Weeknd. Or maybe I’ll just give him a break.”

When writer Brooke Mazurek asked him to shed light on the disparity between his “lyrical and real-life personas,” he added: “I’m not in a rush to let people know everything about me. Mystery is always great.”

Mazurek didn’t make much headway on piercing The Weeknd’s actual personality, even as she noted that the pop star has a very public presence on Instagram with 14.4 million followers. So, how’s he going to guard his privacy, she asked one last time.

“Luckily, the only thing the world demands of me is music,” he offered. “I don’t have to give them anything else for the rest of my life.”

Famous last words.

For More:

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Media People: Q&A with Carine Roitfeld

Carine Roitfeld Talks Harper’s Bazaar Coup

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Cover Harper’s Bazaar Icons Issue

Kanye West Enthusiasm Runs Out at Harper’s Bazaar Icons Party

Harper’s Bazaar Hosts Second Annual ‘Icons’ Party

Harper’s Bazaar Celebrates Icons with Lady Gaga

Launch Gallery: Harper's Bazaar Icons Portfolio