BELLA Unveils Its September/October 2026 Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue Honoring Dolly Parton
Some covers celebrate a moment. This one celebrates a legacy.
BELLA Magazine proudly unveils its September/October 2026 Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue, honoring the incomparable Dolly Parton—a woman whose influence transcended music to leave an indelible mark on fashion, entertainment, business, philanthropy and American culture.
From a one-bedroom home in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee to stages around the world, Dolly built an extraordinary life by remaining unapologetically herself.
She was a songwriter and storyteller whose words became part of the American songbook. A fashion original who turned towering blonde hair, rhinestones, sequins and unabashed femininity into cultural iconography. An actress and entertainer who crossed effortlessly from Nashville to Hollywood. An entrepreneur who took her success back home, investing in the people and communities that helped shape her. And a philanthropist whose passion for childhood literacy grew into Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, putting hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children around the world.
But perhaps Dolly's greatest contribution was something that can't be measured in records sold, awards won or businesses built.
She gave women permission to be more of themselves—not less.
Dolly never seemed interested in choosing between femininity and power, glamour and intelligence, ambition and generosity. She understood that a woman could be all of those things at once.
That philosophy sits at the heart of this issue.
Why Dolly. Why Now.
BELLA had already chosen Dolly Parton to represent our Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue before her passing.
Then the world lost her, and this cover took on an entirely different meaning.
Rather than create an issue centered on saying goodbye, we chose to remain true to why we selected Dolly in the first place: to celebrate her.
Inside the issue, BELLA looks beyond the iconography to explore the extraordinary woman behind it—from her beginnings in Tennessee and evolution into one of music's great storytellers to her unmistakable personal style, Hollywood career, entrepreneurial vision and extraordinary commitment to giving back.
BELLA CEO + Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Coppes also shares a personal connection to Dolly's legacy, reflecting on her first family trip to Pigeon Forge in 2019 and experiencing firsthand how deeply Dolly's generosity, businesses and love for her hometown could be felt throughout the community.
It is a reminder that true legacy isn't simply about what we accomplish.
It's about what we leave behind for others.
The Fashion. The Art. The Culture.
Beyond our cover celebration, BELLA's September/October issue turns its lens toward the people, ideas and creative forces shaping culture now.
Fashion becomes a language of identity. Art becomes a vehicle for storytelling. Culture becomes the thread connecting where we've been with where we're going next.
And through it all runs the same spirit embodied by our cover star: individuality, creativity, courage and the confidence to make your own rules.
For Dolly, those rules created a life unlike any other.
For us, they created an icon worth celebrating.
This isn't our goodbye.
It's our thank-you.
For the music.
For the stories.
For the books.
For the laughter.
For the sparkle.
And for showing generations of women that there is tremendous power in knowing exactly who you are.
DOLLY PARTON
A TRUE ORIGINAL. FOREVER.
BELLA Magazine | September/October 2026
The Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue
Order the new issue now at BellaMedia.co.
BELLA Magazine unveils its September/October 2026 Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue featuring Dolly Parton, celebrating the legendary singer-songwriter, actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist and fashion icon whose influence helped shape American music and culture for generations.
Some covers celebrate a moment. This one celebrates a legacy.
From her beginnings in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee to becoming one of the most recognizable entertainers in the world, Dolly Parton built an extraordinary career by remaining unmistakably herself.
She was a songwriter whose deeply personal stories became part of the American songbook. A fashion icon who transformed blonde hair, rhinestones, sequins and unapologetic glamour into an instantly recognizable personal style. An actress who successfully crossed from Nashville to Hollywood. An entrepreneur who invested her success back into the Tennessee community that raised her. And a philanthropist whose commitment to childhood literacy through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helped put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children around the world.
But Dolly Parton’s legacy extends far beyond music, movies, fashion or awards.
She showed generations of women the power of being entirely themselves.
Why BELLA Chose Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton was selected for BELLA Magazine’s Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue because few women have influenced all three worlds as distinctly as she did.
Her fashion was an extension of her identity. Her music transformed personal experiences into universal stories. And her cultural influence reached far beyond entertainment into business, philanthropy, literacy and the community she never forgot.
Following her passing in August 2026, BELLA’s celebration of Dolly took on an even deeper significance.
Rather than center this issue around saying goodbye, BELLA chose to remain true to the reason Dolly was selected for the cover in the first place:
To celebrate her life, her individuality and the extraordinary legacy she created.
Dolly Parton: Fashion Icon, Songwriter and Cultural Force
Inside BELLA’s September/October 2026 issue, we explore the many chapters of Dolly Parton’s remarkable life and career.
From her childhood in Tennessee and rise through country music to songs including “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “9 to 5” and “I Will Always Love You,” Dolly established herself as one of America’s great musical storytellers.
But her influence didn't stop with music.
BELLA explores Dolly Parton’s iconic fashion evolution, from the towering blonde hair and rhinestone-covered stage costumes to the hyper-feminine silhouettes that became part of her cultural identity.
Her style carried a message that feels as relevant today as ever: femininity and power are not mutually exclusive.
Dolly didn't become less of herself as her influence grew.
She became more Dolly.
From Dollywood to the Imagination Library: A Legacy of Giving Back
Dolly Parton also understood that success could create opportunities far beyond herself.
Her investment in Dollywood and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, helped connect her global success to the region where her story began. Her entrepreneurial ventures created jobs, attracted tourism and allowed Dolly to maintain a powerful connection to her East Tennessee roots.
Her philanthropic legacy became equally significant.
Inspired by her father's inability to read and write, Dolly launched Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in 1995. What began as a local literacy initiative grew into an international program providing free books to children from birth to age five.
It remains one of the most meaningful chapters of the Dolly Parton story: a woman who turned something deeply personal into an opportunity to change the lives of millions of children.
Vanessa Coppes on Experiencing Dolly Parton’s Pigeon Forge Legacy
In her Editor's Letter, BELLA Media + Co. CEO and Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Coppes shares her own connection to Dolly Parton's legacy.
During a family trip to Pigeon Forge and the Great Smoky Mountains in 2019, Coppes experienced firsthand how Dolly's influence extended far beyond Dollywood.
From visiting Dollywood's Splash Country and businesses connected to the tourism community Dolly helped build to learning more about her life and commitment to East Tennessee, the experience revealed another side of the global superstar.
Pigeon Forge became a special place for Coppes and her family—one she would return to the following year.
The experience underscored something at the heart of BELLA's Dolly Parton cover story:
True legacy isn't simply about what you accomplish. It's about what you leave behind for others.
Inside BELLA Magazine’s Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue
Beyond its Dolly Parton cover story, BELLA Magazine’s September/October 2026 Fashion, Arts + Culture Issuecelebrates creativity, individuality and the people and ideas influencing culture today.
Fashion becomes a language of identity.
Art becomes a vehicle for storytelling.
Culture becomes the thread connecting where we've been with where we're going next.
And few people embodied that intersection more completely than Dolly Parton.
This isn't our goodbye.
It's our thank-you.
For the music.
For the stories.
For the books.
For the laughter.
For the sparkle.
And for showing generations of women that there is tremendous power in knowing exactly who you are.
Dolly Parton: A True Original. Forever.
BELLA Magazine | September/October 2026
The Fashion, Arts + Culture Issue
Order the new issue now at BellaMedia.co.
