Anna and Franca: The modern day editor 

When Anna Wintour took over American Vogue in 1988, it was the beginning of a new era. The time of the swinging 60’s and glittering 70s were long gone, as were Diana Vreeland’s version of a Vogue for the emancipated and sexy woman[1]. Under the reign of Wintour, Vogue has become an institution which prides itself in inventing the supermodel, creating trends as well as being the nr. 1 fashion Magazine of the world. However, its commercial success happens on behalf of creativity and discussion, which begs the question – what is the role of the modern day editor? Many might argue that the answer to this is to sell clothes and create a world filled with fantasy for the reader to fall in love with – but can this fantasy happen in a world, where everything around us seems to fall apart? Where wildfires and climate change, demonstrations and terror attacks are everyday news, and pandemics are the new normal?

 

When Vogue was first published in 1892, it was mainly targeted towards the upper-class women, focusing on fashion and leisure activities[2]. Though the magazine has changed, not only when becoming a part of Condé Nast, but also as the 1900s progressed, its focus still lies on making Vogue for the upper-class. The idea of Vogue as an advertiser for luxury goods might be the clearest in Wintour’s American Vogue, as it features a fantasy world filled with gowns and celebrities, for which most people have a hard time relating to. American Vogue does what it can to not be controversial or participate in the discussion of society, which stands in stark contrast to the rebelliousness of the Italian Vogue, both under and after Franca Sozzani’s reign. 

 

Italian Vogue, which started in 1964, became known as the contentious child of the Vogue family under Franca Sozzani, where the magazine featured an all-black edition in 2008, a curvy issue in 2011, as well as numerous editorial shoots with themes ranging from oil spills to domestic violence.  Sozzani’s Italian Vogue, made it clear that the themes and discussions that make up our lives outside of fashion’s fantasy world, also can be reflected in the same fantasy. Though most editors might use their creativity to reflect a more commercial and escapist-driven editorial, Italian Vogue has dared to show the world as it is – albeit through the glamorous lens of high fashion. 

 

The legacy Sozzani created for Italian Vogue, still lives on today, where current editor in chief Emanuele Farneti, has been the mind behind several conversation sparking editions. This year alone the magazine has featured a completely white cover followed by a white cover filled with children’s drawings in relation to the Corona virus and the many people affected by it. As well as a real or not issue, debating the use of CGI in fashion and advertising, an issue made exclusively with drawings from up and coming artists, as well as an issue printed with 100 different covers with people ranging in age, profession and ethnicity. Italian Vogue has become a place for creativity in a corporation driven by sales numbers, as it proves that fashion needs to be political in order to speak to its ever changing audience.

 

Thus, the attention falls back to Anna Wintour and American Vogue – what is the next step? Wintour has proven with her latest issues, that she does not wish her magazine to revolve around important discussions happening in society, but rather keep giving her audience the possibility to escape to a place reserved for the rich and – most probably – white. The escapism is still living well in the minds of Vogue creatives, however, for the world around them, people are demanding a reality check, where privilege and prejudice is getting attention. It seems that the American Vogue simply refuses to take part of the discussion, as their response to the BLM protest in June/July was a cover of a rose, to symbolize “beauty, hope, and reawakening”[3], while other branches of the magazine gave a voice to the protesters. 

 

As she steps into her fifth decade as editor in chief, the question is if Anna Wintour should realize that the world as she sees it, no longer exist?

 

 

 

[1] (Condé Nast, u.d.)

[2] (Graziano, u.d.)

[3] (Vogue, u.d.)