The Changing Face of Fashion Journalism: Analytical Essay

Fashion Journalism History

Virginia Pope is the pioneer of fashion journalism. She began working for the New York Times in 1925, with her work made fashion a serious contender for newspaper coverage, destroying the idea that “fashion journalism” was an oxymoron. She began reporting on the “Paris haute couture collection” (Luther, 2019) in 1934 and created “live theatrical fashion presentations” (Luther, 2019) that she produced for the public every year. Fashion writing in the 1940’s/50’s was full of documenting “skirt lengths, jacket cuts, colour choices and fabric descriptions” (Luther, 2019).

Fashion journalism transformed into entertainment by Eugenia Sheppard of the New York Post and Women’s Wear Daily. She made a name for herself by once sneaking into a Balenciaga show as a buyer in order to get immediate coverage – Balenciaga had embargos on news coverage for a month after their shows. She was later banned from the next season’s show but still managed to cover that on through interviewing buyers who were in attendance.

During the 80’s and 90’s, newspaper fashion editors had changed their approach to covering fashion, writing about trends rather than critiquing individual collections. The role of fashion journalism has changed since Virginia Pope’s creation. The way in which fashion is covered has moved from descriptive pieces to reporting trends and today’s fashion criticism. Furthermore, the medium where fashion is published has altered the reporting process.

Fashion Feature Writing

Features are the “beating heart of a publication” (Bradford, 2015) as the stories have personality, imagination and a distinctive voice. Unlike hard news which needs a ‘hook’, features offer readers the opportunity to go behind the headlines; to be amused, infuriated, stimulated and informed. Their tone and length differ to news coverage; instead allowing the audience a space to reflect on issues, engage in opinion whilst hearing a wide range of voices. There is more stylistic freedom and a variety of formats in comparison to “hard news” despite the typical intro/outro construction.

Newspapers’ fashion features often focus “on the point where fashion meets real life” (Bradford, 2015). My feature offers a variety of voices that have been affected by ageism in the fashion industry. This feature brings together societies ageism issues and the fashion industry – which is often exclusive – together, to offer the audience a different perspective. In fashion journalism, features that explore an issue are in short supply as the fashion desk for magazines are often busy with “shoots, trends and shopping pages” (Bradford, 2015). Whereas, the fashion desk for newspapers are able to “add a welcome does of human interest, insight, analysis and humour to the fashion world” (Bradford, 2015).

Fashion Desks – Newspapers vs Magazines

Despite newspapers experiencing a decline in advertising revenue and plummeting sales, they remain a respected medium in the fashion industry. The Associate Fashion Editor of the Guardian, Jess Cartner-Morley said “The newsdesk don’t want men in suits on every page: they need something more vibrant” (Bradford, 2015).

A crucial difference between newspapers and magazines is that papers do not rely on fashion or beauty advertising and lack the close relationship brands have with magazines. Another difference is that newspapers write for a general audience for those who may or may not be interested in fashion. For fashion journalists working for national newspapers, this means “explaining fashion and setting it in its economic, political and social context” (Bradford, 2015).

Newspaper fashion pages are “text-dominated while magazines have more scope to feature page after page of sumptuous images and comparatively little text” (Niblock, 1996). Magazines produce content in this manner as they aim to sell products to their readers whereas newspapers aim to inform their audience. There are similarities between the two publications fashion desks. These include preparing fashion shoot, editing copy and attending fashion shows to keep updated with latest trends. Fashion is a specialist interest subject such which is often “incorporated into a newspaper’s lifestyle pages or supplements” (Pape and Featherstone, 2006).

Newspaper Supplements

A majority of national newspapers have extended their brands to carry weekend magazines “to attract a broader readership” (Bradford, 2015) and different advertising. Supplements are similar to fashion magazines as they have their “own editors and a dedicated team, separate to the newspaper staff” (Abnett,2019). Despite covering a range of topics such as art, food and wine, fashion remains an essential aspect of their content.

“Supplements are hugely profitable” according to Tiffanie Darke, the ex-editor of Style, The Sunday Times newspaper’s weekly fashion supplement from 2002 to 2014. They have the advantage of being able to reach the newspaper’s large readership. Monthly glossies fail to attract luxury fashion brands advertisements because of their smaller readerships. Adding on, fashion is crucial for supplements’ advertising revenue as they can charge advertisers higher rates.

My feature on Ageism in the fashion industry would appear in the Guardian Weekend. The supplement was first published in 1988 in response to Saturday newspapers being the worst selling issue of the week. Prior to the launch of Guardian Weekend, the newspaper was struggling to understand what activities their readers did on a Saturday and whether the proper function of newspaper could help them decide. At the time, editors did not want to write stories about eating out, taking holidays or buying wine as it wasn’t part of their mission statement.

Today, Guardian Weekend is “full of thought-provoking features, star-studded interviews, untold stories, life and style inspiration and much more” (Abnett, 2019). My fashion feature would be considered “thought-provoking” as it tackles the diversity issue within the industry. The Guardian is known for reporting on similar issues within other industries; so it would fit with their narrative.

The Internet and Social Media

The internet has changed the accessibility of fashion journalism. The 21st Century has allowed the audience access to visuals of collections from all over the world and “read capsule reviews within hours after the runway show” (Luther, 2019). This provides a multitude of benefits for newspapers and magazines as they are able to produce instant coverage, plan “future stories or avoiding seasonal clichés” (Luther, 2019). Fashion media was “relatively slow to embrace new digital technologies (Nelson Best, 2017) with American Vogue only launching its own website in 2010. Furthermore, Women’s Wear Daily declared 2009 as “the year of social media” (Nelson Best, 2017) for fashion.

Social media has “shut down the barrier between designers, celebrities and the outside world” (The Finery Report, 2018). Today, fashion shows are streamed live via Instagram, designers frequently update their social media feed and Twitter has been deemed a “source of journalism” (The Finery Report, 2018). Fashion bloggers have unexpectedly taken centre stage in fashion media as they cannot “be threatened by the withdrawal of advertising or access” unlike newspapers and magazines. Dolce & Gabbana’s 2010 Spring-Summer show lined its front row with bloggers – which was considered a “watershed moment in fashion and the Internet” (Bradford, 2015).

However, bloggers have increasingly damaged fashion journalist’s credibility of fashion discourse. If everyone is writing about fashion, there’s no need to read a feature from a journalist when there is other content available. To tackle this, fashion journalists will have to contextualise “history and culture and advise how, why and when to wear different trends, looks or individual garments” (Collins, 2014).

Fashion Criticism

Angela McRobbie, a Professor of Communications at Goldsmiths University, said “fashion writing is informative or celebratory, it is never critical” (De Witt-Paul and Crouch, 2011). The theme of my fashion feature is a critical evaluation of age discrimination in the fashion industry. This includes a variety of voices, ranging from models to PR and even bloggers. Fashion criticism is often linked to reviews during show seasons. I drew my inspiration for this feature from The Fashion Spots Annual Diversity Report, which covers the representation of age, race, gender and disability representation.

Fashion media’s close ties with the fashion industry does not allow room for journalists to write “crucial reviews about fashion” (De Witt-Paul and Crouch, 2011). As previously discussed, the fashion industry is a huge market for advertising revenue for publications which could be affected by critical discourse. This has led “to fashion news being presented in a favourable light by magazines and newspapers” (De Witt-Paul and Crouch, 2011). However, the Guardian brand is unafraid of losing revenue in favour of reporting systemic issues in society. Adding on, one of my interviewees has even guest written an article about their fight against ageism in fashion.

Future of Fashion Journalism

The future of fashion media is uncertain in the global age. For print journalism, the supplement will continue to thrive because of the loyalty of readerships to national newspapers. Fashion journalism is “likely to fragment further into smaller, more defined communities” (Nelson Best, 2017) with the unprecedented rise of bloggers. Fashion must reassert its “expertise, point of view, and capacity” (Nelson Best, 2017) to survive the everchanging face of journalism. Ultimately, if fashion journalism was to fade in the future, there would arguably be no fashion industry at all.