Jake Silverstein, editor in chief: “Lorde has been shot for a lot of magazine covers, usually in a way that emphasizes her prettiness and/or awesome hair. We wanted a picture that captured something else — her originality, her mysteriousness, her odd maturity. The mastery of shadow in this photo is amazing, and the dots, a clever nod to her synesthesia, give the whole thing a surreal beauty.”

Read the cover story by Jonah Weiner, “The Return of Lorde.” See all past covers here.