On September 25, Vogue.com editors published a recap of Milan fashion week. The editors discussed their favorite collections and reflected on the week, but interspersed throughout were multiple digs at fashion bloggers.
Vogue Creative Digital Director Sally Singer wrote: “Note to bloggers who change head-to-toe, paid-to-wear outfits every hour: Please stop. Find another business. You are heralding the death of style.”
Alessandra Codinha, Vogue.com’s fashion news editor, added: “Rather than a celebration of any actual style, it seems to be all about turning up, looking ridiculous, posing, twitching in your seat as you check your social media feeds, fleeing, changing, repeating … It’s all pretty embarrassing—even more so when you consider what else is going on in the world. (Have you registered to vote yet? Don’t forget the debate on Monday!)”
And these are just a couple of examples. Needless to say, the fashion bloggers were not having it.
Danielle Bernstein, founder of the blog “We Wore What,” responded to the article in typical blogger fashion: on Instagram. She wrote: “I am an entrepreneur, an influencer, a business woman … and yes, I have a blog too. It saddens me that a respected institution such as Vogue would insult bloggers and attempt to discourage young woman [sic] from forging their own career paths, by expressing themselves through what Vogue represents; personal style fashion.”
Bryanboy, another respected blogger, called out Vogue’s hypocrisy in a Tweet. “I’d have a bounty for my head if I namechecked all the editors who told me they only go to certain shows because they’re advertisers,” he wrote.
It’s hard to believe that in 2016, employees of such an influential fashion superpower like “Vogue” can have such open disdain for bloggers. Even more ironically, these are digital editors. Quite frankly, any fashion magazine whose editors refuse to recognize the importance of bloggers is stubborn and painfully out of touch. It’s old-school thinking and just plain hypocritical. The editors criticize bloggers for wearing borrowed clothing, while their magazine borrows hundreds of pieces for its spreads every issue. And Codinha’s parenthetical quip about bloggers not participating in public policy is downright insulting. She insinuates that having a large social following and being an active, informed citizen are mutually exclusive.
And fashion bloggers, who arguably set more trends and influence more people’s purchase behavior than “Vogue,” aren’t “heralding the death of style.” Rather, they’re leading the way. In the digital age, more consumers are turning to Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest for outfit inspiration than print magazines. And it’s high time the Vogue.com editors realize it.