Wonderful piece. I grew up on the glossies of the 90s - British Vogue, Elle, The Face... the photography (and the articles) in them was so exciting and original. I just don’t see the same quality in magazines today. Maybe I’m just jaded...!
Thank you! Re the change: I think much of it is product-pushing...there was a shift at some point in the early '00s where shoots became too product-pushing.... and it's hard to create a mood around, like, a bag? No matter how good the bag is! Always trying to figure this one out for myself but this is a theory I have.
Noooo you’re not alone. I miss this. Lianas theory makes sense but weirdly it’s not just editorials. I feel ads had more VIBES in that era - specifically thinking of DKNY print ads actually that had a similar vibe to this book - city life just occurring, man. At least, that’s how I remember ads. Not like, here -is-model-posing-with-bag snoooooze.
Lots of thoughts on this: I'm with you in the advertisement sense, too. I think a lot of this has to do with the celebrity-dom of the early 00s. Brands began to depend more and more on celebrities to sell their products. But it's rarely believable and feels...detached. Jennifer Aniston can't sell me...SmartWater? But if I see a gorgeous girl walk by me on the street, drinking SmartWater on the street...maybe I'll think about buying it. Truly, I just want to watch Jennifer on Friends, not drink her water. Speaking of, maybe Rachel Green could get me to buy Ralph Lauren pieces in Friends but I'd never buy a Ralph Lauren bag because Jennifer Aniston has posed next to it. I align more with Rachel than with Jennifer. I think that is the same for most people, which leads me to...this point also trickles into influencer territory and selling...maybe it worked at first but it rarely works now. Regardless, a celebrity couldn't sell me money; and the same with an influencer at this point. Then there is the whole...micro-influencer. Perhaps I can't be sold anything because I shop very specifically. Who knows! I DO think it works when the brand and celeb and influencer have a genuine link but like I said rare. Since then, we've ventured into brands using user generated advertising and now, brands are actively including these consumer-fans to market their products. It's a form of world building. BUT, I think genuine, meaningful world-building with beautiful images is still where it is at. That could be like...Highsport, Telfar, or, like, that new e-commerce website Sensoria. We see life--and we want in on it.
An incredible job of marketing imo...weaving the customer VERY naturally into their world because, well, it's good product and the customers wear it organically...it works!
Yes! I remember being blown away by Marie Claire back then. I was in my early 20s and recall reading an issue that featured a photographic double spread of vulvas. I’d never seen anything like this before - I don’t think I’d ever seen a photo (or an actual) other woman’s vulva before this. Marie Claire was groundbreaking in the way it changed the agenda for women’s magazines, broadening the content to so much more than diets and how to please your man.
Brilliant article. The way the DKNY products are worn in the dynamics of everyday life looks so relatable. And all those creative stunts (the condom!) to communicate what the people behind the brand advocate for... Amazing!
Wonderful piece. I grew up on the glossies of the 90s - British Vogue, Elle, The Face... the photography (and the articles) in them was so exciting and original. I just don’t see the same quality in magazines today. Maybe I’m just jaded...!
Thank you! Re the change: I think much of it is product-pushing...there was a shift at some point in the early '00s where shoots became too product-pushing.... and it's hard to create a mood around, like, a bag? No matter how good the bag is! Always trying to figure this one out for myself but this is a theory I have.
Noooo you’re not alone. I miss this. Lianas theory makes sense but weirdly it’s not just editorials. I feel ads had more VIBES in that era - specifically thinking of DKNY print ads actually that had a similar vibe to this book - city life just occurring, man. At least, that’s how I remember ads. Not like, here -is-model-posing-with-bag snoooooze.
Lots of thoughts on this: I'm with you in the advertisement sense, too. I think a lot of this has to do with the celebrity-dom of the early 00s. Brands began to depend more and more on celebrities to sell their products. But it's rarely believable and feels...detached. Jennifer Aniston can't sell me...SmartWater? But if I see a gorgeous girl walk by me on the street, drinking SmartWater on the street...maybe I'll think about buying it. Truly, I just want to watch Jennifer on Friends, not drink her water. Speaking of, maybe Rachel Green could get me to buy Ralph Lauren pieces in Friends but I'd never buy a Ralph Lauren bag because Jennifer Aniston has posed next to it. I align more with Rachel than with Jennifer. I think that is the same for most people, which leads me to...this point also trickles into influencer territory and selling...maybe it worked at first but it rarely works now. Regardless, a celebrity couldn't sell me money; and the same with an influencer at this point. Then there is the whole...micro-influencer. Perhaps I can't be sold anything because I shop very specifically. Who knows! I DO think it works when the brand and celeb and influencer have a genuine link but like I said rare. Since then, we've ventured into brands using user generated advertising and now, brands are actively including these consumer-fans to market their products. It's a form of world building. BUT, I think genuine, meaningful world-building with beautiful images is still where it is at. That could be like...Highsport, Telfar, or, like, that new e-commerce website Sensoria. We see life--and we want in on it.
Came here to say High Sport ❤️
An incredible job of marketing imo...weaving the customer VERY naturally into their world because, well, it's good product and the customers wear it organically...it works!
It's marketing and yet, it's not at all...that's the key!
Agreed. I buy 1990s US Vogue issues on eBay because they are thrilling to me in a way that current magazines are not.
Marie Claire is a great one to add, too!
Yes! I remember being blown away by Marie Claire back then. I was in my early 20s and recall reading an issue that featured a photographic double spread of vulvas. I’d never seen anything like this before - I don’t think I’d ever seen a photo (or an actual) other woman’s vulva before this. Marie Claire was groundbreaking in the way it changed the agenda for women’s magazines, broadening the content to so much more than diets and how to please your man.
I fw this
Brilliant article. The way the DKNY products are worn in the dynamics of everyday life looks so relatable. And all those creative stunts (the condom!) to communicate what the people behind the brand advocate for... Amazing!
You hit it on the head!
So good!!
Gem!
Loved this, I had a similar idea recently and to see it executed so well makes my design heart pound. It's so cool.
Obsessed !