US Vogue September 2020 by Jordan Casteel & Kerry James Marshall

[Flamingjune]

320 pages

Are you counting the digital pages or the print? I realised the number of pages are not the same in print and digital.
Can someone tell me why some of the adverts in prints are not in the digital version? I went back to the last September issue noticed when I looked at the digital issue and the print itself, some brands were excluded from digital. For example Chanel, Dior, and Fendi were in print but not digital. Just curious. Thank you

I noticed it is the same with this issue. A lot of ads in the print are not appearing in the digital version that was just released today. Which means they have more ads than we are seeing in digital.

 

[justaguy]

Protective Measures
Photographer: Stefan Ruiz
Stylist: Alexandra Gurvitch
Cast: Paloma Elsesser, Jordan Daniels, Eniola Abioro, Indira Scott, Tess McMillan, Ugbad Abdi, Ariel Nicholson, Xiao Wen Ju

I've seen better and more creative mask ads via IG.

 

[velvetandsilk]

If this is 320 pages than Anna has pulled off a coup with skittish advertisers and should be commended.

I think they all four vogue have problem with advertising beacuse last Vogue Paris accessories photo was on the page where should be ad. In case Vogue US last editions was very bad four pages birth control pill, cigarettes, alcohols and a lot cheap cosmetics, only few pages high fashion brands. I bought June/July issue and paper quality was bad (all others vogue editions looks more luxurious even Vogue India) and editorial shot by cells phon was too much blurry beacuse a lot of people probably sent photos in inappropriate format for print. It's funny when Grace tried shooting true interesting photos but was not clear Anna very often didn't accept it.

US Vogue can afford Meisel if UK Vogue can. The issue might be deeper.

I don’t even think it’s a Anna thing. It will be the same and it might even go deeper with the next EIC...Even more if it’s Edward.

A few years ago in interview he ha complained that had too few work days for photo shooting for magazine. He mentioned about Vogue Italia April 2014 editorial he had only two days, but preferd three or four. Today for magazines it is been too long, they only have money for max two days shooting. His system of work is very specyfic. He needs a lof of people because he seats behind computer and analyses all photos which his crew doing and if you want work with him you must accept all his work conditions. His ad for Moschino and Loewe are interesting beacuse Jonathan and Jeremy dreamed about work with him and they let him get on with it.

 

[velvetandsilk]

Are you counting the digital pages or the print? I realised the number of pages are not the same in print and digital.
Can someone tell me why some of the adverts in prints are not in the digital version? I went back to the last September issue noticed when I looked at the digital issue and the print itself, some brands were excluded from digital. For example Chanel, Dior, and Fendi were in print but not digital. Just curious. Thank you

Maybe different audience choose print and digital. For example, more wealthy women prefer print and brand pay less for ads, print version is more prestige or PR strategy.

 

[testinofan]

sorry but i miss Testino, Demarchelier, Weber, Meisel in Vogue Us i miss fashion ,fantasy ,glamour.

 

[Fiercification]

Personally, this is not my idea of an ideal US Vogue September issue, however I can understand and appreciate that this is the direction they have been moving in for a long time; even before the pandemic.

For me the principal issue lies in the fact that there are all these stories where they stuff as many people into the cast as possible, or even worse, allow it to be divided between what appears to be their entire cast of contributors and at least five photographers. Nothing has an impact, there's no room for any of the photography, let alone the subject of the images to breathe and resonate.

If it were up to me, I would have selected a range of the magazine's top black/Asian/non-Caucasian models and had them shot in well-developed editorials by different photographers, if need be, just your Miciahs and Tylers of this world. Then you can have many of the activists and other subjects here featured in articles that don't pretend to have anything to do with the core fashion content. Of course I understand that the Covid restrictions would've prevented everything from functioning like clockwork, but hey, think on your feet!

It's not right to compare this issue to a magazine published twelve years ago, and I know it was basically shot by one (white) photographer, but VI's Black Issue resonated so much because it celebrated different key black models of the fashion industry and allowed them to work their own way into the magazine's typical context - something itself which was simply and cleverly inverted by the blackness of the women featured. The magazine didn't lose its core audience, but hopefully shook them up a little, whilst allowing new fans to come to the fore.

This issue has its audience and I can't say it's irrelevant, but for the celebrity and fashion obsessives who are most likely loyal purchasers of US Vogue out of everyone this is a disappointment. It doesn't make the most of a huge cultural moment and depict it from its own unique point of view like it should do.

 

[chanelh]

When Anna doesn't put black people on the cover, people say that she's a racist. When Anna put black people on the cover, people say that she's a phony. Poor Anna.

and somehow your sarcastic comment has washed all her sins, she is a brand-new, kind, sweet, genuine Anna now.
Why bother, it's just a matter of timing right?

 

[Lola701]

and somehow your sarcastic comment has washed all her sins, she is a brand-new, kind, sweet, genuine Anna now.
Why bother, it's just a matter of timing right?

There’s clearly too much passion around the simple mention of the name « Anna Wintour ».
Tbh, does it matter if she is kind, genuine or sweet? No. She wasn’t hired for that, her position does not ask for that and it won’t change any of our lives.

But Vogue as a powerhouse has a responsability and this is why people hold her accountable. Edward never worked with a black photographer. Is he an enemy of the black community? No
VP is not really the most diverse but does that make Emmanuelle a racist woman? No!
This September Issue won’t change the world a resolve all the problems of the black community but it might be the beginning of the emergence of new talents in the industry.

We need to be able to have a more appeased and even pragmatic debate when it comes to Anna...Because believe me, her approach to her magazine has been very, very pragmatic...For at least a decade.

 

[Mercredi]

Hello, I'm new here!
I understand this all diversity thing cleary fashion went too far at some point (all white cast, Alexandra Shulman final years at the helm of british vogue...) but it can be done tastefully!
We can have the september issue with for example Viola Davis by Tyler Mitchell an ed with just Anok Yai by Mikael Jansson, one with Grace Elizabeth by David Sims...and some nice articles by some interesting people.
For october Gigi (why not lol) by Inez and Vinoodh an ed of FeiFei by Mikael Jansson one with Anna Ewers, one with Adut...
Now every month there are those long horrible eds with 1000 models from every race, can we just go back to one model per editorial with one good photogapher?

 

[Benn98]

The issue indeed comes in at 320 pages. Dior, Prada, Max Mara, Vuitton, Chanel, Valentino, Versace, Kors, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs Perfumes and Ralph Lauren all took out 4 pages each, 2 for Gucci plus the back cover, and Ferragamo features on 4 pages including 2 more for a special message of Hope. You only start seeing the effect this pandemic is having on advertising when it comes to the seasonal department store advertorials that used to bulk up the magazine. This season, only Nordstrom, Holt Renfrew, and a store/chain called Hampden are shown, with a measly 2/3 pages for Neiman Marcus and Saks. Unlike the fashion brands who mostly advertise for awareness, these department stores do it for clear-cut ROI and they probably know that people won't be going on shopping sprees anytime soon.

There is a strong push from the beauty industry - 6-page ads from Lancome who took the prime spot in the issue (first 6 ads after the cover) and Estee Lauder respectively. Loreal, Neutrogena are scattered randomly to probably follow the marketing 'rule of 3', and a 12-page advertorial with Maybelline and Diane Kendal. Otherwise, the rest of the advertisers are indie brands who rarely feature in the magazine, the cringe-worthy Peter Roth Thomas as usual using himself to sell his usual anti-ageing products. And speaking of vain 'entrepreneurs', Jason Wu (who seems to excel at everything but fashion) follows suit with his new collection bathroom taps and showerheads.

For all the talk about the artists, there's no profile about them in the issue at all. Huge fail. Also no theatre edit, because obviously, but since Vogue cares so much about theatre/dance/opera it would have been nice to do a feature on how they're getting by because it's an industry that's being hit quite hard.

I will say that at least this issue is cohesive and thematic as a whole. Possibly their most thematic in years, decades, since the Age and Shape issues they used to do. Right from her editor's letter to Aurora's cover story to a profile on the mayor of Atlanta accompanied by a Leibovitz picture (via Zoom, very blurry!) to the everyday fashion professionals to the closing accessories edit shot by photography students in America, the UK, and France. Everything is on-theme but imo way too overworked and I'm surprised Anna with her years of experience didn't pick up on that. Cuomo, Billie Hellish, Melinda Gates, Serena etc on hope, Vogue 100 Voices (models, designers, founders) on hope, the global Vogue editors on hope. Voices, voices, voices, opinions, opinions, opinions. The concept gets old really fast because it's such a repetition. I'm sure they've only employed 2/3 journalists throughout this entire issue, everything else is just opinions.

As for the fashion content, I think it's generally underwhelming for a September issue but I do like the photography in Dreaming out Loud and Custom of the Country. Hard to believe it was done by the same guy styled VI's 100 covers, lol. I do hope (pun intended) that Vogue will continue to book the likes of Nadine, Stefan Ruiz whose shot of that foamy D&G Alta Moda look on a sea platform, Durimel, Luis Alberto Rodriguez, and John Edmonds who took what Tyler Mitchell is famous for to a whole different level.

These covers are however getting praise from a lot of respected outlets, some who were dragging Vogue as recent as a few weeks ago. Even Robin Givhan left a positive review. At yet, funnily enough, the comments on her review are as polarising as the ones in this thread. Some years from now I'm sure fashion scholars will laud this as one of Vogue's greatest moments but as with most things in history, nobody will make a mention on how it was received by end-users at the time - which to me is as important as the cover itself.

sorry but i miss Testino......

Of course you do. LOL.

 

[JPineapple]

I screamed when I saw that Dorian Ulises Macías photographed part of Dreaming Out Loud. So proud to see a mexican in the magazine!

 

[Kiyoko]

It’s all so dismal & dreary I’m tired of the imaginary tyranny of 2020
Another month & another forgettable issues. The covers aren’t my cup of tea but would have been a great article.
Sidebar … I worked with a “Gen Z” the other day & she told me there is no point in buying magazines because all the info is on the net - pointless. Out of the mouths of babes …

 

[WAVES]

both covers are OK. I prefer slightly the second one because it’s a stronger painting IMO.
still, I share the thoughts of some other ‘fashionspotistas’ here that the September Issue of Vogue should be stronger or with a stronger fashion impact as it is indeed a fashion magazine.
if the theme is Hope towards the Black Lives Matter Movement (at least in the US, where the urgency to change is undeniably fundamental) imagine a cover with powerful Black American Women such as celebrities/ actresses/ moguls/ entrepreneurs, you name it, all wearing the latest designers collections, photographed by Leibovitz? (I’m not even gonna say Meisel because it will never happen). imagine.

the editorials also feel a little flat to me... they all seem to have this crispiness and the editorial with the masks is... it’s just not a trend it’s a necessity that hopefully we will get rid of ‘soon’.

nevertheless, Fashion is Art and there is some art about this issue (the covers).

 

[vogue28]

What a dreadful offering of a September issue. Not even the presence of Ethan James Green is enough for me to appreciate the issue, and none of the other editorials do it for me, unfortunately. Guess we always have next month (and it cannot come soon enough, at this rate!).

 

[Thechief46]

What a dreadful offering of a September issue. Not even the presence of Ethan James Green is enough for me to appreciate the issue, and none of the other editorials do it for me, unfortunately. Guess we always have next month (and it cannot come soon enough, at this rate!).

I'd just be happy if my September issue came in the mail.

 

[axiomatic]

I got the Kerry James Marshall cover in the mail today. It's really striking in person.

The print magazine has 316 pages

 

[Thechief46]

Personally, this is not my idea of an ideal US Vogue September issue, however I can understand and appreciate that this is the direction they have been moving in for a long time; even before the pandemic.

For me the principal issue lies in the fact that there are all these stories where they stuff as many people into the cast as possible, or even worse, allow it to be divided between what appears to be their entire cast of contributors and at least five photographers. Nothing has an impact, there's no room for any of the photography, let alone the subject of the images to breathe and resonate.

If it were up to me, I would have selected a range of the magazine's top black/Asian/non-Caucasian models and had them shot in well-developed editorials by different photographers, if need be, just your Miciahs and Tylers of this world. Then you can have many of the activists and other subjects here featured in articles that don't pretend to have anything to do with the core fashion content. Of course I understand that the Covid restrictions would've prevented everything from functioning like clockwork, but hey, think on your feet!

It's not right to compare this issue to a magazine published twelve years ago, and I know it was basically shot by one (white) photographer, but VI's Black Issue resonated so much because it celebrated different key black models of the fashion industry and allowed them to work their own way into the magazine's typical context - something itself which was simply and cleverly inverted by the blackness of the women featured. The magazine didn't lose its core audience, but hopefully shook them up a little, whilst allowing new fans to come to the fore.

This issue has its audience and I can't say it's irrelevant, but for the celebrity and fashion obsessives who are most likely loyal purchasers of US Vogue out of everyone this is a disappointment. It doesn't make the most of a huge cultural moment and depict it from its own unique point of view like it should do.

Worst issue ever!

 

[FashionMuseDior]

The cover is so much better in high-res quality. I think sometimes we need to wait for better quality pictures because that first picture did nothing for the artwork, which I find quite beautiful actually, and I love the fact that they made her afrocentric features more prominently.

 

[KoV]

I received my copy in the mail a few days ago, with Kerry James Marshall as the primary cover. Jordan Casteel's cover is the on the first page inside, same quality paper as the cover, which is to say awful awful quality. I really wish, at least for the cover, they'd go for a better quality paper. Ever since they stopped sending issues wrapped in plastic, the cover is always scratched up and slightly torn, to the extent that if I really like an issue, I have to go and purchase an additional copy on a newstand, and then bin the subscription one. I'll probably pick up another copy with KJM's cover to keep long term, because I love his painting and because this issue feels very specific and of-the-moment and I think it will be interesting to look back on it in coming years.

Jordan Casteel's cover is growing on me. Though I never hated it, I wasn't a big fan and now I'm starting to think it's quite nice. Just looks better on paper. Even though neither artist is profiled in this issue, there is a "making of the covers" feature included in the magazine. I know Jordan has been profiled in Vogue at least twice before, in recent years. Further proof Anna isn't merely jumping on a bandwagon and tokenizing these artists, since she has been giving them space in her magazine. I recall reading a long piece on Amy Sherald in American Vogue, who everyone is praising Vanity Fair for commissioning, within the last year or so.

Overall I can't say I enjoyed the issue. I know the obstacles the team was up against, working from the city hit hardest by Covid, during the height of the pandemic. But the fact is, that really only excuses a lack of content. If you have a photographer and their team, stylists, and models all assembled together, Covid can't be blamed for the lackluster results. So many of the photos are drab and uninspiring. There's a horribly grainy shot by Annie Leibovitz that had absolutely no business being printed in a magazine. The mask editorial is just not visually appealing. The only editorial I really enjoyed was The Custom of the Country.

 

[Xone]

Overall very uninspired issue...you can be inclusive and political but the images so weak..

And also where is the fashion?