In March I wrote a 3-part blog series on the documentary The September Issue—which is about Anna Wintour, Vogue Magazine Editor-in-Chief—her dogmatic management style and her pervasive influence in the international fashion world. I liked the documentary but didn’t like Ms. Wintour’s over-blown sense of self-importance and off-putting persona portrayed in the film.
The real star of the documentary was Grace Coddington, Vogue’s creative director. She infuses the magazine with her artistic eye. Plus she seemed like a terrific person; the kind of woman you’d like to hang out with.
Ms. Wintour, on the other hand, infuses the Vogue organization with fear and intimidation. Ugh. Treating employees and business associates like they are a cootie-infested nuisance is uncouth, uncool, and unstylish.
I think it’s interesting that Grace has a warm and graceful personality and Ms. Wintour’s (pronounced “Winter”) is cold and chilling.
I’ve never been a huge fan of fashion magazines (even since I was a teen and read in Glamour magazine that girls aren’t supposed to sweat. The magazine advised that before you go to a party you should pin dress shields under your arms. Oh brother…)
Halle Berry "graces" the cover of the famous September issue of Vogue Magazine. Good article and gorgeous photographs of her. Plus not-so-good articles and cheesey photos and advertisements. But I do like the fuchsia-colored lettering.
But I do like to look at cool clothes and shoes even though the price tags and my clothing budget are farther apart than the amount of the U.S. deficit. But occasionally I will buy Vogue to see what’s up.
Ever since I watched the Vogue documentary I’ve looked at the magazine with an even more jaundiced eye—as in a ‘much-ado about nothing.’ This month’s issue seems peculiar to me. What’s going on at Vogue? If I had to guess, I’d say—like the rest of the publishing industry—that readership is down and the publisher is harping on Ms. Wintour to sell more ad space!
Since when did PayLess Shoes start advertising in Vogue? And Walgreen’s and QVC? Some of the hair and make-up ads look more like they belong in Life and Style or In Touch magazines. The have about as much élan as a K-Mart store. Oh wait, even K-Mart has a four-page fashion spread in this issue! (The clothes are actually kinda cute for K-Mart.)
The entire issue had a dissonance about it—elegant and imaginative pieces mixed in with schlock. It was like eating a Chez Panisse gourmand special with a side dish of green bean/cream of mushroom soup casserole topped with canned onion rings (recipe courtesy of Family Circle Magazine circa 1970).
There is a really tacky spread by White House/Black Market. (Is that a store?) The model is not beautiful/alluring/Voguish. The clothes look like a souped-up Frederick’s of Hollywood menagerie.
Ms. Wintour had to be flipping out over the inclusion of these and other print ads in her “masterpiece” issue.
And as I flipped through the pages, it was like, “Good, bad, ick, interesting, weird, ugly, huh?” This September issue was jarring to your aesthetics! Too many cringes…
Can’t be good for business. Is Vogue becoming un-vogue? In this day and age, does it matter?
