Spoiler alert: it's all fake.
Vogue was a high society lifestyle magazine established in 1892 by Arthur Turnure for "New York City’s social elite". Condé Nast Publications bought Vogue in 1909 and reconstructed it into a women’s fashion magazine. In 1988, the Anna Wintour became editor and revolutionized Vogue. All of these elements came together to create Vogue's image of the sacred writings of fashion. If they told you something was fashionable, it was fashionable, no questions asked.
But times are changing, and Vogue is no longer the center of the fashion world. Even Elle and Harper's Bazaar are falling out of favor. Magazines are losing their grip because they are predictable, commercialized, and outdated.
In order, these are the covers from 1929, 1937, 1976, 1996, 2016 and 2022.
As the years go on, the creativity dwindles down until the only thing left to grab readers' attention is the celebrities on it. The covers are boring, stale, and predictable. Big magazines like Vogue are supposed to keep fashion fresh and captivating, Everyone says fashion is a form of art, a way to express yourself. So why aren't magazines reflecting that? Twitter user @daintyandsweet said, "this entire thread really makes me feel like american vogue is a sell-out that gave in to boring hollywood pop culture to stay “relevant”", perfectly describing the situation.
Another critique with the modern covers is the lack of diversity. There have been few instances when a Black woman has appeared on the cover, and even fewer for Brown people and other minorities. The #voguechallenge on TikTok with 1.2 billion views unintentionally highlights the fact. The most popular ones are with those featuring BIPOC, LGBTQ+ couples, and cats. The trend is not only for minorities, but they seem to be the ones connecting with it the most, as most never saw anyone like them on a cover. And most of these covers were on par with - or dare I say better - than authentic Vogue covers.
The next reason why the most trusted fashion magazines are dying out is because it is so commercialized. Let's say a magazine has a deal with Prada. Prada gives them a million dollars and in return, the magazine has to put a bunch of Prada ads, and give them positive reviews. A writer is in charge of reviewing their latest show. The writer thinks the show is absolute garbage, and tells their readers that. What happens? Prada gets mad and threatens to take back the money if they don't recant what they say. Magazines' main source of income is their ads, and they can't just lose a million dollars. So they recant, get their money, and life goes on.
This may not seem like a big deal, but it is. We aren't getting people's true opinions anymore. Big magazines which rely on ads can't give their true thoughts in fear of losing money. Popular designers abuse their power to change the way articles are written. This is why there is no passion behind reviews, and we don't learn anything new. Constructive criticism is arguably the most important skill if you are working in the fashion industry, and apparently some people can't take it.
The last major reason why publications like Vogue are leaving the spotlight is because they are outdated. Linking back to the first point, they are predictable and lack diversity. And the two things Gen Z love are the unpredictable and diversity. Print magazines are becoming less valuable ever since people switched to digital content, mainly to appeal to the younger generation. This allows them to publish content frequently, and in short bursts. The only problem is they now have an abundance of redundant content. The younger generation (aka the future of the world) wants fresh, new, and real things. Not fashion talked in a superficial manner.
Vogue, as mentioned at the beginning, is elitist. There's a certain air of superiority around it. Which, as you may have guessed, does not appeal to the youngsters. As Odunayo Ojo described it on The Fashion Archive, Gen Z and young Millennials want a "fashion democracy". Everyone is represented, and has equal say. With things like Vogue, that's not really possible. Big publications run by people who are still living in the past have no possible way to succeed in today's world.
These are the top three reasons why big magazines like Vogue are are losing their touch. I hope you enjoyed today's professional, vaguely essay-like format. I want to make more of these types to really hone in on my writing skills, and I'll probably make more of these in the future. They won't completely replace the normal, fun posts, but they may not be as regular. Next week I'm planning on compiling all of my resources for trustworthy news in the industry, so stay tuned! In the meantime, if there is one thing I want you to take away from this is it's all fake.
Works Cited
“#Voguechallenge Hashtag Videos on TikTok.” TikTok, www.tiktok.com/tag/voguechallenge?lang=en. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022. Anja Aronowsky Cronberg. “Will I Get a Ticket? | Vestoj.” Vestoj.com, 3 July 2017, vestoj.com/will-i-get-a-ticket/. Bennett, Anita. “Vogue Magazine Criticized for Styling of Cover Featuring Black Models.” Urban Hollywood 411, 14 Jan. 2022, urbanhollywood411.com/vogue-magazine-slammed-cover/. hatlestad. “Is Vogue’s Influence Positive or Negative?” Medium, 19 Feb. 2018, medium.com/@margowhitaker7/is-vogues-influence-positive-or-negative-b20cbadaf2e1. “Https://Twitter.com/Jordandonnaa/Status/1212922500436369408.” Twitter, 2 Jan. 2020, twitter.com/jordandonnaa/status/1212922500436369408. Accessed 18 Apr. 2022. “The Complete Vogue Archive.” Vogue | the Complete Archive, archive.vogue.com/issues/2022. Accessed 15 Apr. 2022. “The Death of Fashion Magazines (RANT).” Www.youtube.com, www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOAaO9YH-ZE. The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Vogue | American Magazine.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Vogue-American-magazine. “Vogue Has a Race Problem. It Can’t Be Fixed with a Few Token Black Models | Priya Elan.” The Guardian, 16 June 2020, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/16/fashion-industry-race-vogue-anna-wintour. Wikipedia Contributors. “Vogue (Magazine).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 May 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_(magazine).
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