Chloe Malle Refreshes Vogue September Issue
The September edition of Vogue has long been viewed as the most significant of the year. This year’s release is the first one published under the new direction of Chloe Malle, head of editorial content, who took over from the legendary Anna Wintour last September.
A changing role for print
The Glossy Fashion Podcast recently examined Malle’s first September issue, with hosts Danny Parisi and Jill Manoff discussing how both Vogue and the broader fashion media sector have changed. Chief among those changes is the reality that print magazines are no longer the primary source of style information for the vast majority of fashion enthusiasts.
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Where the September edition once functioned as a bellwether for trends, informing the public about what was in style now and coming down the pipeline, print can no longer compete with the speed of online publishing. Much of that timely trend analysis has moved, meaning that print has to be more timeless. The result is a sometimes contradictory product, full of ads for brands that are hot right now, but with editorial content that feels detached from the fashion business.
“It is interesting that Chloe Malle is coming from a digital background,” Manoff said. “I was a Vogue subscriber for years, and I used to read things that were buzzy and new. This issue had stories about improving your mood with Botox or one about the dangers of clenching your jaw. I was just like, ‘What am I reading here?'”
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Print as collector’s item
Parisi noted that much of the content does not feel very timely. People are more likely to buy print magazines today as a collector’s item, as a coffee table book. That’s why you see so many of those commemorative issues of random magazines in the grocery store aisle. They’re not meant to give you timely information, which has all moved online.
The issue continues a trend in fashion editorial of single-brand looks. “We’ve definitely moved away from the stylist-driven looks, which haven’t been the norm for a while,” Manoff said. “I like when you see ‘stylist-owned ball cap’ or ‘vintage jeans’ in the credits. It’s unfortunate that that’s gone, because that is very inspiring to me. When you see a head-to-toe look that’s all one brand, you’re not getting ideas on how to style it. Nobody dresses that way.”
