The biggest Vogue of the year, the vaunted September issue (832 pages, four pounds, three ounces), is now on the stands. On its cover is arguably the biggest star of the moment, Beyoncé.

Among celebrity profiles, Vogue is very nearly the holy grail. Submitting to a top-tier magazine profile means a peek behind the well-guarded curtain, a soul-baring interview plus a few hours gamely spent on publicist-arranged fun. For Vogue, they have fed elephants (Reese Witherspoon), browsed Birkins (Anne Hathaway), even wept, albeit over onions cut in a cooking class (Scarlett Johansson).

It is part of the bargain struck between celebrities and the news media, where face time and a few juicy first-person revelations are traded for a starring role.

But inside Vogue’s September issue, Beyoncé says not a word.

The magazine’s photo shoot with her is accompanied instead by a short essay on her star quality by Margo Jefferson, who won a Pulitzer for criticism while at The New York Times. “It was definitely posed to me as … call it a think piece if you want,” said Ms. Jefferson, reached by phone. “I had no contact with her camp.”