- Joined
- Jul 14, 2017
- Messages
- 14,345
- Reaction score
- 20,005
I feel like the biggest hypocrite for disapproving of these covers (or this edition in general). They constantly try to think outside the box and push intriguing and interesting concepts months after months but they just desperately fail time after time and it's starting to become rather funny! I can't fully understand whose fault it is exactly that they're doing so bad.
The first cover theme is fantastic. Girl, Interrupted vibes for sure! Marry The Night as well. And of course, there's the legendary Super Mods Enter Rehab story from 2007. But neither one of those looked as desperate and literal. Hell, Marry The Night MV had more fashion sense than this nonsense of a cover. When Steven Meisel shot Denisa Dvorakova in a bath tub (following a story set in mental insitution, obviously the same theme VP used here) for the cover of Vogue Italia, it wasn't brilliant simply because it was touched by Meisel. It was brilliant because it was a strong and obvious theme done in a way so subtle that fashion still came first. Some would say that's ''glamorising'' mental illness or some other stupid excuse that clueless, regular people come up with for bashing artistic expression through the medium of fashion photography. But in my opinion, that's rubbish. As is this cover! I love fashion editorials that tell us a story or touch on dark and serious matters such as mental health. The theme is great. But the execution... is just not. It goes to show that decent outcomes clearly do require a decent team. This photograph belongs in an exhibition or an art publication, because nothing about this has the fashion quality. After all, Vogue is a fashion magazine. Clearly, noone in the team responsible for this cover got the memo. Didn't Alessandro show a dozen of white looks inspired by mental institution uniforms for Gucci recently? It might not be 'in-season' right now, but it would've been a nice touch that could've elevated this fashion cover. But even with that, cover image choice would still be a choice.
That being said, the second cover is just awful. At least she's dressed, but come on! This image? On a Vogue cover? A proper young person who posts on Instagram wouldn't even use this a post. It's not even worthy of being posted on the Stories! It's ugly. The concept of a fake beach and all that - it's interesting. Again, the execution is horrible. The girl with the mask in the corner is unnecessary, she should've been cropped out. The styling is horrible. It just makes no sense, none of it makes sense. It's another photograph that doesn't belong inside of a fashion magazine. Art publication? Sure, why not. But not here. I hate it even more than the first one.
With the third cover, we're finally getting somewhere but the fact that we needed to go through two hideous covers just to get to a decent one kills the impact. Can't even remember the last time a magazine published one single cover (that was good). Isn't that the whole point of editing something? I'd understand it if there were advertisers on each cover paying for their clothes to show, but who backed that first cover? Briarcliff Manor? Please! You'd think with the COVID situation, they'd finally understand and tone it down a little, save some material... but nope. Anyway, it's a very nice image. Finally, we have a nice designer dress. Marjan looks great (reminded me of Karen Elson at first)! It's intriguing, with all those people under her skirt. It has all the right elements and it's definitely the winner here, but I would still never use it as a cover image. It wouldn't feel out of place inside Vogue Italia's old Couture supplements. Inside being the key word.
As for the fourth and final image, I think it's brilliant. My favorite, for sure. Again, not really fashion or cover worthy, but it's a very bold, striking image that I wouldn't mind hanging in my home. I would even go further, having blood pour down the dress and over the hands to make the image even more 'gory' and unsettling. But.. what's the use when, again, this image doesn't really belong on the cover of Vogue! I would really like to know how these new Editors' minds work and why they think these are good ideas and even more, why do people on social media seem to support the most mediocre and borderline stupid ideas (@ Edward's landscapes). I don't get it... I simply don't.
