Vogue World: Fashion Celebration or PR Controversy?

The biggest event last Sunday for every fashionista was undoubtedly the Vogue World live show,  this year held in Paris on the famed Place Vendôme.

From Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner in Hermès riding horses to Teyana Taylor wearing Rabanne during her performance, the event combined selected sports – which were clearly a tribute to this year's Olympics held in Paris–, and 100 years of French fashion, with looks dating back to the '20s and several ''...French designers, current and past, as well as houses that historically present their collections in Paris''.

This event is nothing new: it's the magazine's third. And although this edition seems more flamboyant and extravagant, the past ones also put on a great spectacle. It all started in New York. It was in celebration of its 130th anniversary that Vogue decided to present a live editorial fashion show, street fair, and performances during New York Fashion Week in 2022, named Vogue World. 

According to the magazine, it was "...a first-of-its-kind event - featuring a runway show presenting our favorite looks from the Fall 2022 collections.'' In addition to seeing designs from Coach to Gucci, Vogue's event featured performances by Lil Nas X and Ooh La La Dancers, celebrities including Serena Williams, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and iconic models such as Shalom Harlow, Amber Valetta, Maria Carla Boscono, and Helena Christensen walking the runway; a street market experience with Vogue-curated kiosks and limited-edition items created in partnership with brands; and a shoppable selection of runway looks through partners that included Moda Operandi, Mytheresa, Net-a-Porter, Nordstrom and Ssense. 

With various repercussions, the following year, the magazine organized Vogue World: London. In its second act, FKA Twigs took the stage with Rambert dancers to perform an original piece created by the company's artistic director, Benoit Swan Pouffer, and the four original Supers closed the show together. 

With its remarkable personalities, various art performances and lots of clothes, the occasion has led many to ask what Vogue World is. For The New York Times fashion critic Vanessa Friedman, the event is  ''a live expression of Vogue’s power and an effort to position the magazine as an arbiter of influence, culture, and people.'' Besides being a celebration of all forms of art and Vogue magazine, the event also served as a way to represent and honor the cities in which the show is held. 

But this year was different. Not only did the event take place in the fashion capital one day before the start of Couture Week, but also before the Olympic Games, which are being held in the French capital this year.  While to some it may seem like an event like that of the ancient Greeks, which united all peoples to celebrate the gods — in this case, uniting every fashion lover to celebrate the craft that it is — others argue that Vogue's celebrations are not of the most genuine origins. 

As @ideservecouture shared on X (previously Twitter), ''...Vogue World is not about designers as much as it is about celebrities.'' While the fashion creator comments that there are better ways to put designers on focus, journalist @diazva20 replied that the event is also ''...about what it sells in entertainment.''

With the advance of social media, the press is slowly losing its place as the number one venture to share news and pieces of information. And, to sustain their influence, magazines need to have stronger relationships with labels and potential contributors, and they can only close the deal by having an audience.  It's no secret that the current most effective mechanism for attracting views – therefore an audience – is to team up with celebrities.

As a result, many users in the fashion community feel that the focus has shifted from the clothes to the people wearing them. As for entertainment versus designers discourse, Louis Pisano, an American journalist living in Paris shares that “It's not about designers and it's not really about celebrities, celebrities are just there to draw in the wealthy to spend thousands on seats.'' He goes on explaining that the event had ''... to set the tone for French luxury conglomerates and the rolling activation that is going to be the ... Paris Olympics.”

The tone set by Vogue through dresses with the French flag or, according to the New York Times, "...donating .... €1 million from the proceeds of the event to Secours Populaire Français, a nonprofit organization dedicated in part to helping young French athletes access sports and the necessary equipment," might well represent certain national factors, directed mainly toward an exclusive group.

In a post on X, Pisano shared his disappointment about the non-representation of the current state of French political reality. "I think it's quite strange to have an event that is supposed to capture the essence of a city without even a nod to what is currently happening here politically, given that we are a week away from an election that could see us end up with a neo-fascist as prime minister.''

While many people don't see fashion and politics as being connected, as @vanityvault_ once told me, silence "…for the sake of not upsetting your audience is more like politics than it is fashion." Like any other business, fashion is regulated by politics. And the decision not to represent the realities of the cities where Vogue is holding its shows proves that they're not doing it to honor the city or the local designers. But, then, what is this event really for? 

For Joshua Graham, fashion features editor of Show Studio, “Vogue World is the kind of nauseating display of hubris only possible by a media company that's monopolised an industry by blanding it for the masses.’’ If the event is a stunt to reassert the magazine's power, attract sponsors, and turn the industry into a brand for the masses, the fashion scenario would fully change.

Upon closer analysis, it becomes apparent that changes are already ongoing. The fashion landscape is evolving, marked by the more common chair game of designers, multinational brand groups, and celebrities increasingly venturing into the industry without understanding its essence.

The impactful factor is that Vogue is smartly leveraging these changes for its benefit. We can judge as much as we want – but we still tune in. That's because the clothes draw us in. And even though the homage to crafts and passion for fashion is not the publication's main objective, for fashionistas the clothes are all that matter. 

P.S: Look at this corset!