German Vogue has become politicized. Also because the world of advertising wants to benefit from diversity. Margot Friedländer on the cover agrees with this.
Kerstin Weng, editor-in-chief of Vogue Germany Photo: Abaca Press/imago
You can tell the joke: The Fashion now he is awake. For the relaunch of the German edition of Condé Nast's fashion magazine in April 2022, new editor-in-chief Kerstin Weng included Badmomzjay, the first female rapper, on the cover along with the phrase “Stand Up Speak Out.” Weng wrote on social media: “I see some people's raised eyebrows right in front of me. I would like to tell these people: this is our re-release edition. With a new font, a new design, new categories and also with a new attitude.” Fashion He does not want to define what is and is not about “social circles”, but rather relevance. And he added the hashtag #zeitgeist.
This zeitgeist is interesting. The raised eyebrows may have been limited, as a certain political stance strikes a chord. For example, Alexandra Bondi de Antoni, who took over as online manager in 2017. Vogue Germany Weng started with a campaign for representation of people of color and has continued to do so steadily for a few years.
The traditionally important September issue appears with so-called plus-size model Ashley Graham on the cover. Kim Petras, a trans person and successful pop star with German roots in the United States, graces another cover. Green Party politician Aminata Touré (large, black, and somewhat left-wing) also appears on the cover.
Activism always sells better
And otherwise? Ukrainian designers have a say. Special Olympics participants have style. It's about “change.” It is no longer necessary to explain the abbreviation FLINTA* and, of course, a contribution to the European Football Championship is about patriotism. Of course, journalist Düzen Tekkal will be interviewed, the new book by Jewish Girlboss author Mirna Funk will be presented, and climate activist Luisa Neubauer will appear in the new book. Fashion also its place.
Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer on the cover of the July/August issue of “Vogue” Photo: Mark Peckmezian/Vogue Germany/dpa
If before it was enough to put a very, very thin model on the cover to attract attention, today it has to be Margot Friedländer, a 102-year-old Holocaust survivor. From a journalistic point of view, this is quite ingenious and is reminiscent of the old magazine production, which almost no longer exists in Germany. Because what could be more beautiful than age, survival and, above all, Friedländer's message that we are all human beings? It's not in bad taste either, as some have discovered. After all, a beauty pageant for survivors, “Miss Holocaust Survivor,” has been held in Israel for years. The title is a celebration of life.
Kerstin Weng, who followed Christiane Arp, of strictly Hanseatic appearance and who was from Fashion Vino, he does an extraordinary job. The circulation is continually falling and, according to IVW figures, since 2015 it has been reduced by more than half, to around 88,000 printed copies. But that's probably the case for most fashion magazines.
It is online
Weng and his team managed to gather one million followers on Tiktok. They even have fashion queen Anna Wintour as one of them. FashionBring event to Germany. Swarowski has just sponsored a full Austrian edition. The cover features actress Verena Altenberger, who according to the editorial expresses herself politically, is progressive and loud. In the magazine: texts about femicides, traditional costumes, Viennese couturiers and, of course, Conchita Wurst. It worked, it works Fashion.
So everything is great and fantastic and correct, but it also makes your stomach hurt a little. The fact that Friedländer wears fashion from Prada's second line, “Miu Miu”, and that he has also intertwined this fashion house with the Italian mafia and has had female workers sew clothes at dumped wages without a collective agreement, yes, These are probably the contradictions that need to be taken into account. endure under capitalism. Like Greta Thunberg on the cover of the Scandinavian edition.
But how well does it fit when author Moshtari Hilal is interviewed about her book about bodies marked as ugly and a few pages before there is an advertisement for wellness patches and expensive lipsticks? The commitment will be in Fashion about the advertising environment of fashion brands, whose prices have increased so much in recent years that they can no longer be purchased by the rich, but only by the super-rich (this is also briefly discussed in issue 6/24).
If you want to be successful as an influencer/businesswoman/content creator today, then this attitude is part of it. The fact that a well-known German actress declares herself queer in the June issue, and that this is justified in the big interview with a turn to the right, does not lose credibility among the target audience when a podcast of her and her partner is published . It is published the following week. Followers just want to know if they feel comfortable with the role model. And in times when defending (West German) democracy is enough to be on the right side, it doesn't take much. But at what point does the political stance become an empty shell?
Diversity of the lifestyle segment
None of this belongs to the team. Fashion A more general development is to blame. The protests of the Black Lives Matter movement perhaps made it so clearly visible for the first time: those attending the demonstrations can also capture it in aesthetically pleasing photographs, staged as if they were fashion photographs. At that time, not only Instagram was full of images, in June 2020 the German website also published them Fashion Street style photographs of demonstration participants holding protest signs in their hands.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, influencers cried on camera before sharing their next brand collaboration, and when women get together for business networking (presenters with immigration backgrounds alongside CSU politicians), then hiring engaged speakers is part of the process. The potential victim of sexual assault is sometimes invited as a female empowerment mascot to create a progressive environment for business deals and advertising clients.
In “Vogue,” engagement becomes an advertising environment for fashion brands that only the super-rich can afford.
Of course, fashion has been political in this sense for a long time. Heidi Klum screams “Diversityyyy” and the keffiyeh has become the loudest fashion statement in recent history. And that's why everything is so easy, beautiful and simple, because it doesn't need consequences or progressive ideas. The Germans are doing this because of this #zeitgeist Fashion the perfect magazine.