Fashion magazines have always been the most sought after source of information if you want to know what’s new in fashion. Magazines like Vogue have been a dominating voice in the fashion industry for more than a century. With almost 25 millions readers worldwide it is the most established fashion publication, often referred to as “the fashion bible”[1]. With this almighty status, Vogue has become the hegemony of the fashion industry, creating a centralized fashion system, where only a handful of people control the fashion narrative. This has resulted in a narrow and restricted exposure to the fashion industry that fails to portray the critical aspects in the world of fashion. 

 

In order to understand the complexity of this system, we need to understand the purpose of the fashion magazine. It seems as if the main purpose is simply to communicate the latest fashion news and trends, but the actual motive is to sell products. This is achieved through advertising, where a disproportionate amount of magazine content is dedicated to advertisements. 

 

Why is that a problem you might wonder? According to Tansy Hoskins, the author of Stitched Up: The Anti-capitalist Book of Fashion, the root of the problem is found in the fact that publishers sell their magazines for less than their actual production costs, which requires them to make all their profit through advertising[2], meaning that the survival of the magazine depends on brand advertising. This correlation positions the role of the journalist in a restricted situation. The journalist is therefore mainly employed to attract more readers and create a bigger platform for advertising. This is problematic according to Hoskins because studies show a direct connection between advertising and the exclusion of social and political issues from magazines[3]. This can also be said about journalistic criticism, where advertising withholds the critical perspective on fashion. 

 

Gloria Steinem first formulated this problem as complimentary copy[4]. Her concept describes how brands have the power because publications depend on them for income. Therefore journalists are obligated to write complimentary features that praise the featured brands in order to maintain them as “customers”. This interdependency is essentially affecting the journalistic narrative, where lack of criticism leaves no room for journalistic independence.

 

It also leaves very little room for smaller, up and coming brands to enter the fashion scene, because they rarely have the capital to pay their way to the pages of Vogue. Once again this constructs a very monotonous representation of the industry, where the same handful of designers and brands determines the content.  

 

Luckily the prospect of a more decentralized fashion discourse is approaching. Social media has become a platform where independent fashion enthusiasts can create content that critiques fashion rather than market it. This is challenging the traditional fashion media, because it is not restricted by advertisers and sponsors, and therefore able to provide a more inclusive and diverse image of what constitutes fashion. Contrary to the hegemony, they can say whatever they want. 

 

In a capitalist society the conflict between the advertisers and the editors will forever be en vogue, but is it possible to have a profitable fashion publication that critiques fashion? 

 

Cited works

condénast.com. (u.d.). Condé Nast. Hentet fra Vogue: https://www.condenast.com/brands/vogue

Hoskins, T. E. (2014). Stitched Up: The Anti-capitalist Book of Fashion.Pluto Press.

Steinem, G. (1994). Moving Beyond Words: Sex, Lies and Advertising .Bloomsbury Publishing.

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[1]condénast.com. (u.d.). Condé Nast. Hentet fra Vogue: https://www.condenast.com/brands/vogue

[2]Hoskins, T. E. (2014). Stitched Up: The Anti-capitalist Book of Fashion.Pluto Press.

[3]Ibid.

[4]Steinem, G. (1994). Moving Beyond Words: Sex, Lies and Advertising .Bloomsbury Publishing.