Madonna Gives Fashion Rocks the Brush-Off

In the fashion world, you don't say no to Anna Wintour if you know what's good for you. But there are a few people with the clout to break that rule, and Madonna is one of them. The chameleonic singer, I'm told, was the Vogue editor in chief's first choice to appear on the cover of Fashion Rocks, Conde Nast's annual supplement about music and style. Only after she declined did Wintour turn to Jennifer Lopez.

In other words, the former Fly Girl is still a backup dancer.

Fashion Rocks is part of a corporate ad-sales program that also includes a televised concert, set for this Friday. Lopez will perform, along with Usher, Aerosmith, Maroon 5 and others. "The cover is always a performer from the show," says a Conde spokeswoman. "Madonna was never confirmed for the show; hence she was not in consideration for the cover."

But my source says Wintour was not expecting a rebuff: "Anna was a little peeved, to say the least."

No wonder -- she's not used to not getting her way. Drew Barrymore once called off a Vogue cover shoot rather than pose in clothes by designers who use fur. She ended up sending a groveling letter to Wintour, and landing on the cover five years later.

But Madonna's in a class of her own: She's one of the few stars -- perhaps the only one -- who can dictate her terms to fashion magazines without fear of refusal. Most notoriously, she got Harper's Bazaar to use what was essentially an outtake from her Gap ad campaign as its cover image.

So don't take it personally, Anna.