American Vogue - Passé?

[SabrinaNicole]

I'm still on the fence about resubscribing........ as much as I enjoy flipping through it and reading the articles, there are other glossies I enjoy more. Otoh, I can do the AW attitude, sure.

 

[Srdjan]

American Vogue is one very overrated magazine. There are much better editions of Vogue, so I don't understand why is Vogue US a Queen Vogue (as often reffered as a leading, main Vogue). And the editor is a hag.

 

[listic]

I was reading Vogue US since the 90s and it's was GREAT! What was featured in there then was like the best in fashion. Inspiring editorials and advertisments/campaigns, interesting articles. It shaped the fashion world and even beyond that. I only venture to Vogue UK and Italia, Australia, as well as Instyle and Elle for a rare moment. But these magazines were well done too! However, not as wonderful as Vogue US.

But lately these years, i find myself saddened by the much decreasing thickness in Vogue US. The editorials left me hoping for more inspiration and more models on the pages. This is why i am now reading more Vogue China. It still may not be up to what Vogue US have but i see great potential in it. So to Miss Anna Wintour, please revive Vogue US!!!!!!!! Please, please please.

 

[Aqua Tofana]

Threads like these is why I love TFS so much, where else could you get such deep, opinionated and layered knowledge of fashion world?

On the other note, I usually get my hands on Vogue UK and the articles rarely impress me. However, US version seems terrible only by its covers. It might as well be called 'Pop Star Magazine', judging by the cover.

 

[matryoshkadoll]

I have always said that US Vogue is so passé, what with its constant celebrity features. The only thing which differentiates it from other gossip rags is that it is 'Vogue'. How many more issues of Sarah Jessica Parker and Michelle Obama on the cover can we take? The only exception was the November issue which featured Kate Moss on the cover. However, the latest row of issues have set it back yet again. There are some slight improvements content wise, but I am not that impressed by it and have not been convinced to purchase any of the magazines.

 

[navono]

More articles pertaining to issues in fashion. Thought provoking. I would like to see something worth reading and buying the magazine for. Take out all of the ads and put some great text. As far as editorials go, they should experiment more.

 

[Melancholybaby]

Take out all of the ads and put some great text

I'm afraid to say that if this ever happened, tha magazine would cease to exist.

 

[wild roses]

Take out all of the ads and put some great text. As far as editorials go, they should experiment more.

Vogue would never remove the ads. The ads help pay for the fashion that appear in the magazine. To my knowledge, Ms. is the only magazine that has ever gone ad-free, and when they did, Gloria Steinem wrote an expose on how ads are tied not only what articles appear the magazine but also sorts of content appears in the magazine in general. ("Sex, Lies, and Advertising" in Moving Beyond Words.) As influential as Wintour is, she's no radical. In fact, she kotows more often than to what advertisers like (rich young white women) than to what they don't (Vogue isn't multicultural, that's for sure.)

I do agree that the editorials should be more experimental. Much as I love Grace, she's as one-note as Anna is, just in a different way.

 

[navono]

Ah, *take out some of the ads. We need more "radical" creatives these days.

 

[Kite]

The cover stars need to be rotated on a wider scale, But if you want attractive images, actual FASHION and not un-nessesary boob or provocative imagery that inst styled too pretentiously "High Fashion", and a beautiful shoot from M&M or Annie Leibovitz once in a while...then I have NO ISSUE with US Vogue at all.

 

[iRyan]

My main problem with American Vogue is it's repetitive image. It's been recycling the same things for years and years and years now. The same celebrities on the cover. The same color schemes. The same styling. Nothing about it is fresh. I will say, the Jennifer Lopez cover from last month was actually impressive as was the Rooney Mara cover in 2011, but that's about it. They keep recycling this 50s Hollywood glamour look and it's so bland. They've just done it again with this months issue. 2010 was a horrible year of covers for US Vogue, and while I do admit they definitely did better in 2011, there is still alot of lackluster results being produced.

They need to kick things up a notch - and be more fresh, edgy, and inspiring. Put a damn model on the cover! I'm sure a cover with someone like Candice Swanepoel, Lara Stone, or Miranda Kerr would sell more than one with someone like Michelle Williams or Sienna Miller.

Seriously though, if Anna really wants a girl with "celebrity" status, why can't she put a Candice/Miranda/Adriana on the cover who most people do infact know, recognize, and would be interested to learn more about?

 

[RomanXII]

Can anyone compare the sales between the Kate Moss's Sept 2011 issue with any celebrity issue from that year? It'd be interesting to see if having a celeb vs a model on the cover has a difference in sales.

 

[loladonna]

Can anyone compare the sales between the Kate Moss's Sept 2011 issue with any celebrity issue from that year? It'd be interesting to see if having a celeb vs a model on the cover has a difference in sales.

The September issue is always Vogue's best-selling issue regardless of who's on the cover so that wouldn't really give a good indication of whether Kate moves sales.

 

[t-rex]

Is March usually their second best-selling?

 

[Modelo]

Well March and September are their best selling issues regardless of who's on the cover.

I think their content has improved slightly however April was an epic fail. I accidentally bought that issue, thinking it was May and I wanted to cry as I flipped through it because it was so uninspiring and not interesting. Of course I'm only buying the May issue because of Joan's OG editorial but Anna really really should pay attention and give us a model cover. Btw, I read that Joan's cover for VI was one of their best sellers so take notes Anna :-D

 

[RomanXII]

I know the Sept issue is always the best-selling issue, but I was surprised Anna choose Kate for that particular issue. I know Kate is a well-known supermodel (or tabloid fodder, take your pick) and everything, but again I was surprised to see her on the Sept. cover and not some actress who had a movie to promote.

 

[loladonna]

al

They need to kick things up a notch - and be more fresh, edgy, and inspiring. Put a damn model on the cover! I'm sure a cover with someone like Candice Swanepoel, Lara Stone, or Miranda Kerr would sell more than one with someone like Michelle Williams or Sienna Miller.

Seriously though, if Anna really wants a girl with "celebrity" status, why can't she put a Candice/Miranda/Adriana on the cover who most people do infact know, recognize, and would be interested to learn more about?

If there was any evidence that models could outsell celebrities I think Vogue would have them on the covers more. As it stands Americans prefer celebrities on their covers. In the U.S. models are not as popular as actors, singers or even reality stars. Would the public really be more interested to know more about Candice/Miranda/Adriana--women who model lingerie-- as opposed to Gaga, Rooney Mara or Adele (all recent cover stars) who are producing the music the public is buying or starring in TV shows or films they are watching?

 

[Not Plain Jane]

I get what you're saying loladonna.

But I do think that the supermodels in the 1990s, for example, were popular due to their exposure. Now, given that models aren't getting that, they are not popular. So it kind of works both ways in my opinion.

Personally, I'd like the see a model on the cover at least half the time.

But I generally think Vogue is a still a good publication.

 

[tortoisie]

I just cannot believe that Vogue US readership (11,398,000) is like almost 9 times more than British Vogue (1,307,000). That overwhelms me.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I was surprised to find a discussion here, given the thread title ... I thought it was going to go Yes ... Yes ... Yes ... Definitely

I let my subscription run out a year ago, and since then I looked at one issue when I was at the salon.

I find the eds unbelievably repetitive. My subscription ended just in time, because if I saw one more model leaping about in the air, I was going to let out a piercing scream for about 10 minutes straight.

The magazine has good content looking at the individual pieces ... I think it's spread too thin. The focus is all over the place, on food, on politics ... some variety is nice, but Anna seems to have lost sight of the fact that it's a fashion magazine.

It also takes itself way too seriously, with tons of photos from Vogues of the past, seemingly taking credit for every trend (I don't think so).