Fashion: Oh Glenda! What Have You Wrought?

Everyone from media professionals to fashion bloggers are up-in-arms over U.S. Harper's Bazaar July issue featuring Angelina Jolie. Rather than commissioning a cover shot especially for the purpose as is customary for most high-end fashion glossies, the publication resorted to using a paparazzi photograph from one of Jolie's many red carpet appearances instead, a tactic more closely associated with tabloids like the National Inquirer than a blue-chip fashion magazine of Harper's Bazaar's stature.

Perhaps I'm simply more cynical than most but this move does not shock me in the least. In fact, I see this as a logical progression in Editor-in-Chief Glenda Bailey's stewardship of the magazine. Indeed, if you recall, Ms. Bailey has in the recent past put tabloid queen Paris Hilton and "frenemy" Nicole Ritchie on the magazine's cover, asked dubious fashion "designer" Victoria Beckham to "style" her celebrity best friend Katie Holmes for an editorial spread and sold the entire editorial section of the July 2008 issue of the  magazine to cosmetics conglomerate Estee Lauder. Regular readers of the once venerable fashion publication would be forgiven for momentarily mistaking it for Hello magazine. Then again, Hello magazine at least goes through the trouble of interviewing their cover subjects. Jolie never even submitted to an interview - the cover story is merely an essay about Jolie.

Moreover, these tactics are spreading within the industry. Stiletto, a French fashion publication routinely publishes sponsored versions of the magazine - issues bought and paid for by brands filled with fawning stories about the brand in question. Its most recent offering of this sort involved an entire issue sponsored by fine jeweler Chopard using the thinly veiled excuse of Chopard's official sponsorship of the Cannes Film Festival to lend the publication a faux "news-worthy" feel. French l'Officiel's February 2008 cover/fold-out advertisement for Chanel Fine Jewelry also comes to mind as an example of the blurring of lines between editorial content and crass commercialism. Viewed in this light, is Ms. Bailey's cheap paparazzi cover any more offensive? Is it any wonder the fashion magazine industry is in dire straights?

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Comments

[John Agee Paris]

Helene, I do see your point. Perhaps if Harper's Bazaar handled the papparazzi angle in an ironic manner, it would have come off better. Are you familiar with Avedon's groundbreaking editorial he did in the early 60's with Suzy Parker and Mike Nichols? It was one of the first fashion editorial spreads that poked fun of the celebrity culture that has now engulfed the world.

It would be easy to bash Glenda Bailey, but the problem now is much greater than any one fashion editor, artistic director, or magazine. Unfortunately, alot of women don't want to or can't invest the time that is necessary to lead a gracious, sophistocated life. There's a certain amount of leisure time (and money) that is implicit in leading the kind of life that has traditionally been advocated by magazines like Vogue and HB. I live in Paris, and life progresses a bit more slowly here, hence the ability to still tap into some of what we're talking about. But America can sometimes be such a grind, and I think women are just tired at the end of the day.

Women also don't aspire anymore to be Babe Paley or the Duchees of Windsor or Nan Kempner (a tremendous pity in this designer's view). I'm not sure what the solution is. In my own boutique here in Paris, I try to just pursue my own view of luxury and hope for the best. I think it's the only way for all of us in this business, no matter which position we occupy.

[Helene]

Thanks for your comment John. I see your point about the unoriginal, overly done (not to mention overly photoshopped) covers that have become the norm in the industry. This said, if HB resorts to using a paparazzi shot for its cover and its cover story is not in fact a story but rather an essay dressed up to look like a cover story, what exactly is the difference between HB and Grazia or any other low-budget celebrity rag masquerading as a fashion magazine? Why would advertisers pay top dollar to advertise in a major fashion magazine that borrows a page from the playbook of trashy supermarket tabloids?

I suppose what I find most appalling is that HB was once run by respected fashion editors like Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland and later Liz Tilberis. Under their stewardship, the pages of HB were filled with groundbreaking fashion, photography and graphic layouts by talented contributors like Alexey Brodovitch and Richard Avedon. What do we get under Glenda Bailey? Cheap, tabloid tactics and "B" List celebrities like Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton.

As a dedicated follower of fashion and consumer of fashion magazines, I deserve better than that. We all do.

Helene

[John Agee Paris]

I really don't understand why everyone's so aghast. For full disclosure, I'm one of the few people who works in this business who actually doesn't think AJ is fabulous, but the premise of a papparazzi "ambience" photo could be quite novel. (I'm not sure HB has quite pulled it off here, however). I've seen my fair share of unoriginal, overly done, overly blown-out girls on a white seamless. It's time to move on.

[Dahlia]

This is truly atrocious.

With such a history for this magazine's former glory, I can safely say I will never buy another issue again.

Actually the only magazine I would remotely willing pay for is Clear Magazine, but sadly not exactly poignant pieces to read. Is there no room for reasonable content anymore?

[Make Do Style]

It's not a good move...

[Helene]

It is a long way from Visionaire, isn't it?

Helene

[(angry) deacon]

my question is: why is stephen kan still stickin with this sticky situation? who much cash is enough to lose your reputation?