i just finished watching the september issue, a documentary about anna wintour, editor-in-chief of american vogue, and the magazine’s september 2007 issue. two things stood out:
1. the september issue with naomi campbell on the cover was very controversial because it featured a black model. at vogue, the european standard of beauty reigns supreme, evidenced by their annual black issue that’s akin to jim crow segregation.
2. color blocking was featured. the same color blocking that’s currently all the rage was predicted as a hot trend by vogue 4 years ago. the current resurgence i’m sure is partly due to gucci’s spring 2011 collection, but still 4 years ago!
on point #2 i’m reminded of the part in the devil wears prada (loosely based on wintour) when the lowly assistant was schooled on fashion’s trajectory. it went something like this: runway (wintour meets with top designers and influences this first step), vogue, high-end retailers, sweatshops (i added this), department/specialty stores, payless (i added this too).
even those of us who refuse to buy clothes and only “thrift”–i just learned this was a verb–are not exempt as we rely upon old trends that, despite being thrifted, are influenced by new trends.
the politics of fashion.
via vogue
