as someone who doesnt know that much about the fashion industry, but is very interested in creativity of any form, i was
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DogtownGirl — 16 years ago(October 19, 2009 06:12 PM)
Khaderach19:
Wintour has to be decisive in her job. Dealing with highly creative people with strong points of views; who dont know how to edit themselves, she needs to be the one with the direction to know where to go.
I agree, and this is why people like Wintour get misunderstood, or get thought of as being B's. My friend Eugene, who worked with Wintour and used to book models, such as Naomi (Yes, THAT Naomi) Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christie Turlington, says that if one isn't strong, then one does not survive.
He told me that Wintour is nice but not "pleasant" and has no time for making friends, or for wondering how your children are doing, etc. if you and she happen to meet, or to see one another after a long time apart. Eugene told me that the whole fashion world is a bit callous-seeming, and ONLY meant for those people who have their armor already on, and who can fight to get to where they want to be.
He also tellingly told me that one can ask someone to lunch, after having just called them an A-hole, and that duplicity was widely accepted!
No joke. -
bing-57 — 16 years ago(March 01, 2010 03:04 PM)
Even though coddingtons entire shoot is amazing, if it doesnt sell a product then whats the point.
Except that this is a magazine. It is supposed to be a big book of pretty pictures. The company sells advertising space to make its money. The prettier the pictures the more advertising they can sell.
Yes, most shoots feature some specific designer's clothes and are just a free advertisement for that designer. But I'm not sure that the magazine gets any direct revenue from those sales.
As with most magazines, the company will do anything to get readers to buy it and advertisers to pay for it. Not every square inch has to be selling something.
What Would Jesus Do For A Klondike Bar (WWJDFAKB)? -
frumwannabe — 16 years ago(March 10, 2010 07:22 AM)
In brief, the fashion industry needs to advertise in order to increase consumption. Just like MacDonald's doesn't rely on customers deciding for themselves to buy their food; they create specials, toys with purchase, movie tie-ins, seasonal offerings (the St. Patrick's Day green mint-flavored milkshake, unavailable year round), anything to make people think of their product and desire it.
Fashion is just clothing, a necessity. It's a big industry in the USA and provides employment to thousands of people. To increase the amount of money people would spend if they just replaced worn-out goods and bought necessities, the advertisers created luxury goods (status), new designs (fear of appearing unsavvy of the trend), clothes which work together or are easy to care for (convenience and time saving), flattering styles (beauty) It uses the same points as any salesman and appeals to the human desire for change (and status and attractiveness and competition, etc.).
Even isolated, primitive cultures without fashion magazines enjoy creating adornment. The designer/fashion magazine culture is no more hysterical and self-conscious than, say, the tobacco industry. -
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maryschroer — 16 years ago(March 20, 2010 07:29 AM)
I don't "get" it either. Anna is a good business person, but so are thousands of others. She's not unique or particularly special, and there are many good business people who also manage to be warm the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
Vogue is just a bunch of photos of models wearing garish costumes that are inaccessible and irrelevant to the majority of the population. Really, can they blame people for not taking them seriously?
I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, no more than there is anything wrong with comic books, but I don't think either of them contributes anything enduring to society. Poor Anna, whose family finds her career "amusing" well that's more charitable than I would be. -
quangtran65 — 15 years ago(July 23, 2010 08:09 AM)
Vogue is just a bunch of photos of models wearing garish costumes that are inaccessible and irrelevant to the majority of the population.
How about these models wear the real clothes that you see in Prada, Oscar, etc. Not the clown outfits they use only for Vogue and runways?
Vogue isn't supposed to be accessible. That's part (if not most) of its appeal to the it's readers, as in it sells the readers fantasies of luxury and prestige, and supposed to represent the spectrum opposite to that of the real clothes seen in the Target catalogue. -
ShanaLD — 14 years ago(October 14, 2011 12:09 PM)
Think about this: in the mid- to late nineties, Tom Ford started showing 80s inspired clothing on the Gucci runway. Huge shoulder pads, bold colors, skinny pants, over-sized shirts. What do you see lots of teens wearing right now?
It works like this. Vogue, Bazaar and lots of other high end fashion magazines like Gap Press (a Japanese magazine) see what the high end designers are showing, they then interpret what they think are the most common and the best trends of any given season. Readers look to those magazines for fantasy, but it also influences how they will dress (color is a big thing). Moderate to low end designers look to it for inspiration and clues as to what their customers are going to want to wear the next season. I've designed for both Michael Kors ready to wear line and even companies that sold to Wal-Mart and Kohls. This clothing is designed a good year in advance of when it gets to you, so we had to know what you'd be wanting to wear months and months from the moment we sat in front of our computers and started sketching and going through fabric and color books. Knowing whether or not people are going to want low-waisted skinny jeans or high-waisted wide leg trousers pays a lot of salaries. Frankly put if Anna was just okay at her job she wouldn't be there.
And if you think comic books don't "contribute anything enduring to society", pick up Maus, Inconegro, V for Vendetta, Girls or any number of amazingly well written stories that also feature amazing art. Hell Superman and Batman have had pretty enduring effects on society as a whole. -
MydnightRose — 14 years ago(December 08, 2011 10:46 PM)
I'm not that into fashion, I don't have the patience for that kind of life. But even Im not as dumb as to think that fashion does not contribute to society. What we wear sends a statement to those around us; which is why we dress our best when going on a job interview. If fashion and attire didn't matter, you could get a bank job by wearing sweat pants and a ratty tshirt.
What society wears also signifies changes within it; for example the changing of woman's attire during the Edwardian era and the 1920's. Shorter skirts, visible ankles, short hair etc. signifying a change in how women are viewed.
Lois
&
Clark
4EVER!!!
DC can SUCK IT!!!! -
a13815 — 11 years ago(June 01, 2014 08:24 PM)
I don't "get" it either. Anna is a good business person, but so are thousands of others. She's not unique or particularly special, and there are many good business people who also manage to be warm the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
Vogue is just a bunch of photos of models wearing garish costumes that are inaccessible and irrelevant to the majority of the population. Really, can they blame people for not taking them seriously?
I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, no more than there is anything wrong with comic books, but I don't think either of them contributes anything enduring to society. Poor Anna, whose family finds her career "amusing" well that's more charitable than I would be.
My thoughts exactly. Well said. -
loveDetroit — 16 years ago(March 30, 2010 07:56 AM)
Nitekat01and everyone else
I get what you are sayingI love to look at magazines, at the unbeleivable creative forces in fashion, and just marvel at the vision of the people who make these fashions, do the hair/makeup, photograph them, etc. I also dream about what it would be like to actually wear something like that, or even to be in a store where couture is sold. But that's exactly what it is for many, many of us: a dream. Most of us cant, and never will be able to have fashion like that, so it always makes me wonder WHO exactly is Vogue's real audience? It seems to be an inner-circle clique of celebrities, wealthy people, socialites, and models who really get what's going on in these magazines.
But, I do think in all the fur, crazy feathers, bizarre wigs, gaudy accessories there does lie some hint and truth as to what the fashion will be for -for all of us- next season. For example, in "The September Issue" a lady said in the very beginning "it's all about jackets, not coats" which, of course always rings true in the fall. This issue came out in 2007 and now that it's 2010 I can look back and say "Hmm bright bold colors (like those in the tights) did make a comeback around then" and feathers seemed to be a big fall thing accessory around that time. I guess what I am trying to say is there are teeny bits of normal fashion we can pull out of the crazy couture fashions of Vougue and use in our every day lives. Doesn't have to be a $10,000 ostrich feather jacket by Oscar De La Renta, it could be a $5.00 fake feather hair clip from Forever 21.
Another thing that clicked with me while watching this movie..every single aspect of the fashion industry seems to revolve aruond total bitchiness. From the expressions on the models faces as they go down the runway, to the photographer, to Grace having to defend her photos at ever turn, down to Anna herself. It seems like a very dog-eat-dog world, which again, most of us are not that way. Makes it seem like high-fashion and beauty is only attainable for people who are completely mean and shrewd. I think that's another reason why many people feel so disconnected from the fashion industry. -
smoko — 13 years ago(May 28, 2012 07:04 AM)
@nitekat01 I still don't get Vogue or fashion either, even after watching this. It amused me when someone would say that a photo was perfect or hideous, when to me it looked neither.
But there was one quote that stood out to me like a sore thumb, it was about how "fashion is this world of play and make-believe." I think that might explain the appeal of fashion. Kids like to play dress-up, and fashion is the grown-up version of it. -
Dash99 — 12 years ago(June 30, 2013 11:16 AM)
I think if you want to take anything from the fashion world is one its an industry it is there to make money plain and simple. But in saying that it is also an art form, I'm sure designers whether they are real designers or just some teenage girl decorating her backpack just creating something because they want to create art. This is where couture comes in. Although one could argue couture is becoming a business more and more now.
Vogue is just a way to sell the clothes. Whether you see the magazine as an art form is up to you really. If you're not into fashion you might not know that The September Issue featured in the film has a total number of 644 pages, only 128 pages of that are actually articles and editorials. The rest, 516 pages is all advertisements. It pretty much sums up Vogue for me. -
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ShizaMinelli — 12 years ago(December 05, 2013 04:48 PM)
This is the most valid criticism I've seen so far despite not necessarily agreeing. If you still didn't get fashion after watching this, though, then it kind of failed at its main mission imo.
When you're 17 a cow can seem dangerous and forbiddenam I alone here?