Tell Anna Wintour How To Improve / Revamp US Vogue

[tigerrouge]

Tonight I was going through some 'old' US Vogues from around 2004 ... you saw Liya, Isabeli, Karen Elson, Lily Cole, Hana, Raquel, Daria - a good mix of different sorts of faces and energies, instead of the same diet of 'white bread' that we get today with Trentini ad infinitum.

And then last night, I went through the March 2008 issue, and saw that lots of those names were in that issue, and my complaint then evolved into "should be still be seeing the same ranges of faces in US Vogue four years after they were already dominating it". And then I laughed.

You know, I don't think there's any way to be truly happy with US Vogue. It has some secret factor that forever provokes discontent in its readers.

 

[SHSH]

To revamp Vogue America or "Vague" as i call it i would say

1) Bring more edgy fashion editorials more couture!!!! look at Paris its just so amazing over there we are all globalized now, let the rest of the world want to buy Vogue America in the same way americans want all the international versions. Make it seem more exclusive!

2) Vogue = Fashion magazine not hello! or the national enquirer and not celebrities leave them well alone they make the US look cheesy imo they dont belong on vogue maybe once in a while but not all the time. Add as the french say "je ne sais quoi" some mystery you know, i love Sienna but why was she on the cover in september?....

3) More Asian & Black models they make up a good percentage of the country. Im bored of trentini and every other hollywood blonde..

4) I dont think there is anything wrong with american "fashion" now, I used to be very eurocentric but look at how everyone is flocking to New York in the past year or two like Lagerfeld. Represent some of that New York Chic for america!

5) write it in french and then change your name to Carine!

on a serious note, Anna my dear take some risks! i flicked through the other day and it looked really... prudish.

 

[taben]

5) write it in french and then change your name to Carine!

 

[Dkammern]

I jsut cant understand why everyone's complaint is that Vogue USA should look like Vogue Paris... why would you want something TWICE! unless what is being asked is a translated-to-english version of Vogue Paris... which is a totally different matter.

vogue us and vogue paris are not the same magazine. they dont address to the same target group. they are not supposed to look the same...

that tFSers in general (me too) don't like Anna's Vogue, doesnt mean she should retire and the american book should change at all...
if you asked a Red Sox fan, he'd probably tell you he doesnt give a sh*t about economics... and that doesnt mean that the Financial Times should therefor turn into a Sports Magazine.
Fashion is an even bigger territory... and there's not just ONE fashion that is controversial, sexy, modern, etc. like Carine's publications. There's also the more conservative side, restrained, always beautiful, consistent side like Anna's, and even more, and more!

(in spite of all the criticism... it's still the most profitable magazine in the world... not only fashion-wise...)

 

[vogue28]

Less text on the cover?

 

[chanels]

Fashion is an even bigger territory... and there's not just ONE fashion that is controversial, sexy, modern, etc. like Carine's publications. There's also the more conservative side, restrained, always beautiful, consistent side like Anna's, and even more, and more!

IMO, fashion should ALWAYS be about being modern yet controversial. Fashion forward yet still recall great trends of the past. In Anna's case, she's been too consistent (Trentini, Trentini, and what? Oh, Trentini!) and it's lead to a boring magazine.

 

[SHSH]

IMO, fashion should ALWAYS be about being modern yet controversial. Fashion forward yet still recall great trends of the past. In Anna's case, she's been too consistent (Trentini, Trentini, and what? Oh, Trentini!) and it's lead to a boring magazine.

I agree with chanels, fashion has a very short shelf life its always about the next big thing, pushing boundaries you know. I dont think she should really be another version of paris vogue, just think outside of the box a bit more...

 

[KhaoticKharma]

Why change it? Wintour is a genius.

Americans with high fashion knowledge and interests in coture that isn't Juciy is pretty much limited to those of us that are on these very forums. Anna Wintour makes a magazine for the masses; US Vogue is safe, US Vogue presents pretty, fun high fashion to everyday Americans, and, most importantly, US Vogue sells- and it sells well.

Vogue Italia and even Vogue Paris could not, and would not, reach the target audience for US Vogue, period. They would frighten off and even offend the average American mom, who buys Vogue magazine. When it comes down to it, American Vogue is a lifestyle, and not art.

 

[Dkammern]

I agree on the trentini,trentini,trentini,trentini stuff...(i've complained about that many times) and i also know my classics and the wilde quote on fashion being such an intolerable form of ugliness that it must be changed every six months, etc....

yet i can totally understand that for some people, fashion is also their straight way to the highest quality cashmere producer, the classic couture, the shirt makers, the artisans, the good-old-days... whatever they may wanna call it...
the key is understanding other people's point of view, and i can understand that some people will like to see a beautifully tailored Charvet shirt presented nice and simple... being great by itself without needing the next top model to wear it, and terry richardson taking the picture of the girl half naked on the floor giving him a b**w job...

if you ask me, i'd buy the richardson picture... but i can't expect my grandmother to like a mad tattooed guy with his c*ck out, no matter how good his shirt may be cut... and grandma deserves to see good quality magazines just as much as i do, no?

 

[taben]

Why change it? Wintour is a genius.

Americans with high fashion knowledge and interests in coture that isn't Juciy is pretty much limited to those of us that are on these very forums. Anna Wintour makes a magazine for the masses; US Vogue is safe, US Vogue presents pretty, fun high fashion to everyday Americans, and, most importantly, US Vogue sells- and it sells well.

Vogue Italia and even Vogue Paris could not, and would not, reach the target audience for US Vogue, period. They would frighten off and even offend the average American mom, who buys Vogue magazine. When it comes down to it, American Vogue is a lifestyle, and not art.

I don't mind Vogue US being what it is. I do mind that it's referred to as "the fashion Bible" though, since, as you said yourself, it's a magazine for the masses and it's so safe.

 

[SnejanaIsMyMuse]

I don't mind Vogue US being what it is. I do mind that it's referred to as "the fashion Bible" though, since, as you said yourself, it's a magazine for the masses and it's so safe.

True.I only wish US Vogue wasn't so dull.

However, to argue Khaotics point ,isn't W an american fashion magazine? I would consider them way above anything that Vogue could offer(despite them always seeming to have celebrities on the covers).

Oh well, if I want a good ,intriguing fashion magazine to look at I will buy most anything other than american vogue.If I want to buy a magazine simply to cut it apart and make collages I will buy US Vogue(unless it is the march of september issues ,then I will likely buy it for the content).

It annoys me that many countries have a Vogue or some type of fashion magazine that pushes the boundaries and they are willing to go outside of the box.It only furthers the stereotype that americans are boring and drab.

 

[tigerrouge]

Yes, W is like the alter ego of US Vogue, where all the fantasies and fetishes that get suppressed... come out to play.

 

[SnejanaIsMyMuse]

Exactly.If people can handle W I'm sure they could handle a more rough around the edges Vogue.If people want a goody two shoes magazine they can read glamour or in style.

I wonder what Liz Tilberis is doing ,she could make a killer new Vogue editor in chief.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

If you think that Vogue and W have the same circulation, you couldn't be further off; W makes money, sure, but there is a certain W niche. For example; I could literally get in trouble at school for bringing a copy of W, which is full of 'artsy' bare bottoms and seven inch fetish shoes, but no one is going to say anything about a copy of Vogue. Vogue is Ford or Elite; W is DNA or Major. Even if the new boutiques are burning up, the old institutions will always make mad money and be around forever.

I wouldn't quite put US Vogue on the same level as In Style and Glamour... it's smack dab in the center, it doesn't alienate people. I personally subscribe to both because I like their differences.



I may be playing devil's advocate here, but the thinly veiled Anna, AKA Miranda Priestley, said in the The Devil Wears Prada, "There is no one who can do what I do," and she was right. Vogue has never been this successful and popular (except for perhaps during the Vreeland years), and there is no way in the world that Conde Nast is going to get rid of her or change things.

 

[SnejanaIsMyMuse]

You do make valid points, and as much as I hate seeing boring celebrities on covers ,they sell the magazine.The average person when asked to name a model ,they would probably name one from the 90's, or Gisele.People aren't as concious about fashion as they used to be.And when the times changed ,the magazines had to change with them(hence why Bazaar went from Liz Tilberis's wonder to Glenda's ,well, not wonder).Look at the May 2007 vogue cover, one of the least selling issues of that year.

I myself look at as many magazines as I can and take it all in, both high end ones and ones you can find in your local hair salon.But ,I think I will always much rather look at something that breaks new ground and challenges ideas than something that simply goes along with things.

 

[MissMagAddict]

I wonder what Liz Tilberis is doing ,she could make a killer new Vogue editor in chief.

Liz Tilberis passed away in 1999 from ovarian cancer.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

Oh I wholeheartedly agree with you... I get much more excited for the new issue of W than Vogue . But I am also one of probably four people in my are who knows who Coco Rocha and Olivier Theyskens are, or even knows there is a fashion world outside of Lacoste and Polo Ralph Lauren .

Interestingly enough, I think that Wintourean Vogue is to modern magazines what Greco-Roman is to architecture; one that set the standard and will be emulated for years to come, despite how boring and, when it comes down to it, impractical it is.

 

[chanels]

Look at the May 2007 vogue cover, one of the least selling issues of that year.

It's quite sad that it is I thought the article was pretty informative and well written. But someone a few posts back also noted that it was a thin issue... Maybe that had to do with it also.

Anna's latest editor letter called for a return of models who (I'm paraphrasing) weren't super pale or super skinny with great personalities. It almost seemed like she was calling for a return of models to covers and blaming designers for the lack of focus on good, healthy, fun models.

Like it's been said before, no one does the job like Anna can. She'll shell out celebs wearing couture to expose the brand to further audiences. And it's a formula that's worked. But it's quite ironic that she'll call for the return of models when she's contributing to the model-less cover drought. Granted, not every cover in the US will be a model cover but I'd certainly love to see more than the once every blue moon cover with Natalia.

 

[tigerrouge]

That said, remember that Wintour has worked for many other magazines where she did not set their world alight with soaring circulation figures and international respect, so there have to be more factors at work, in the current 'success' of US Vogue, than her steely hand alone. Yes, she's undoubtably found a home for her talents, but a magazine is more than the sum of a one-woman show.

So it could well mean, that many things that we deem 'wrong' with the magazine don't come under her direct rule either, and even if you extracted her from the equation, that you'd still end up with a Vogue that looked pretty much as it does now (ie safe and unexperimental and nothing like Vogue Paris). For all her fearsome reputation, not everything in the world is under her control, and so, to some extent, also not her fault. Cultural climate has a great deal to do with it, I think.

 

[Dkammern]

I may be playing devil's advocate here, but the thinly veiled Anna, AKA Miranda Priestley, said in the The Devil Wears Prada, "There is no one who can do what I do," and she was right. Vogue has never been this successful and popular (except for perhaps during the Vreeland years), and there is no way in the world that Conde Nast is going to get rid of her or change things.

about the first statement... maybe we should analyse if that is due to her real talent to sell copies of the magazine, or is it because globalization is making every successful company even more successful...
about the second... that's exactly what they said about Vreeland and her predecessor (whose name i cant recall right now)... and all of a sudden, BOTH GONE!

there might still be some hope for you detractors of nuclear wintour!