Fashion & social issues. Is this new?

Last fall's breakaway hit among my set was Teen Vogue. They are doing opinion /analytical pieces that are spot on. There were a lot of raised eyebrows, and then people got used to it. Now someone posted an article about the neo-Nazis marching over the weekend from another fashion publication. https://m.facebook.com/story.p.....7962048097 Checking it out, I saw that next to an article about summer blazers (great for my son!), it also has straight-ahead political pieces. I've never looked at fashion publications before, but I bet a lot of you have, so I thought I'd ask here: how long has this been going on? Do most fashion publications comment on pressing concerns of the day?

I realize that my assumptions are embedded in this question, and hope it doesn't offend anyone. Over the weekend I heard a symphony conductor explain (incorrectly, imo) that the arts are a separate realm where the concerns of the rest of life don't and should not matter. I had assumed the fashion world would be similar. Entirely wrong on my part?

8 years ago

anne

Veteran

Marie Claire certainly does, for as long as I can remember.

rachylou

I used to read Marie Claire esp for their substantive pieces. But yes, they all do tackle socio-political subjects to one degree or another. I find Cosmo a little weird tho and Vogue a little irrelevant...

cindysmith

Was going to say Marie Claire, but somebodoes beat me to the punch

Stagiaire Fash

Thanks!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

These days - and especially in the light of what has gone down in US politics over the last year - I don't think we can expect to separate politics and social issues from ANYTHING. Not from fashion publications, retailers, blogs, social media, schools - you name it. Everything has become somewhat political.

texstyle

Actually I've been seeing this for a long time - Marie Claire is a good example but others have been doing it as well. More (when it was around) always seemed to have something related to politics, Glamour, Vogue (if you read into some of the articles), and more. I think it kind of turned me off wanting to read a lot of the pubs - well, that and the huge array of pharmaceutical ads which drive me crazy.

Janet

What Angie said. Teen Vogue has been hitting it out of the park, IMHO.

Jenn

Don't forget Sassy, back in the day.

Anonymous

I agree with what Angie wrote. We cannot separate politics and social issues from ANYTHING right now.

UmmLila (Lisa)

Teen Vogue has some of the better sociopolitical analysis available in fashion publications. While it's nice to have fashion as a respite from the trying issues of the day, in dispiriting times like these, I appreciate their coverage.

I agree with Angie and Sterling.

Aziraphale

Hmm. I'm not a big follower of runway fashion, but art in general has looooong been tied to current events, whether or not it's explicitly political. Artists' work tends to be about issues that are important to them, after all. And since high fashion is a form of art, it seems reasonable to expect political articles in fashion magazines.

I also agree with those above who feel that politics is impossible to separate from anything else right now. EVERYTHING seems highly charged. Populations are deeply divided ideologically, and we (i.e. the whole world) are facing a confluence of crises that need to be addressed now. There's no more putting it off. If nothing else, climate change will press the issue, because it's going to affect everything else. (Look at Syria for a taste of what could happen worldwide; the war there is intimately tied to a years-long drought that crippled the country). I think we're close to some kind of tipping point and I'm not sure what's going to happen next, but I think many around the globe sense an impending systemic crisis and that's why there are so many political articles popping up everywhere.

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