Fashion Magazines: Officially Irrelevant?

Fashion magazines.  Vogue, Elle, Vanity Fair…all the big names.  In a digital world with trends moving faster than ever, its hard for anyone to keep up with it all - the most iconic fashion magazines included.  As I look at my thick stack of Vogues displayed proudly in my bedroom its hard for me to admit that fashion magazines are losing their relevance and influence over the general fashion world.  Maybe my love of Vogue leaves me in a the past.  I love the glossy pages, the effortless models and, of course, the free perfume samples; it’s a shameless love.  Carrie Bradshaw once said “sometimes I would buy Vogue instead of dinner…I felt it fed me more”, and I can honestly say I live by this quote.  (Not literally, don’t worry.)  Regardless of that quote being slightly problematic, fashion girlies really lived and breathed these magazines, hanging on to their every word and worshipping the pages like style is their religion.  So what’s changed?

Firstly, our consumption of media has shifted from paper to screen.  We don’t need Vanity Fair to tell us in print what Jennifer Anniston or Florence Pugh wore to an event because we can see it on our Instagram feed at the exact time of them showcasing it.  Without having to pay a penny or even leave the house.  By the time the magazines have covered runway shows or the weekly celebrity style the moment is over and the world has moved on.  Media and trend speed is at an all time high and it’s an epidemic that is both constantly leaving a bittersweet taste in my mouth, and drastically affecting the influence of fashion magazines.

I’m sure Vogue used to be double its current size too.  And it definitely didn’t have an advert every 3 pages.  Maybe the rumours are false and I’m completely wrong, and it was exactly the same in the 90s as it is in the 2020s, but my god was it consumed differently and that’s what mattered.  These magazines fed the fashion world like nothing else ever could, so people savoured every picture and paragraph they had to offer.

Where do most people get their style influence from nowadays?  TikTok?  People on the street?  Or people on TikTok being filmed on the street?  It’s arguably dystopian and worlds away from fashion’s ‘humble’ beginnings of printed ink.  The iconic magazines have evolved into having a digital presence and overtaken their tactile roots, becoming significantly more relevant and influencing thousands more people with their online pages.  And even then, I’d argue that our generation looks more towards social media and our peers (both online and off) than at the big magazine corporations in their many forms.

Despite all of this, people still buy fashion magazines and look to them for style inspiration.  Myself included.  Even though I almost exclusively buy Vogue, the point of why remains the same: it’s all part of the fashion experience.  It’s luxurious, inspirational, and connects you to all the fashionistas who have gone before you.  Even if Pinterest is more relevant.