V*GUE A magazine reader
Critical writing
V*GUE is the result of a workshop in which a Vogue was dissected, analysed from the perspective of ‘luxury’ and ‘the fashion dream’, and subsequently put together again in an alternative format. Created by Hanka van der Voet, Femke de Vries and Gen #27 MA Fashion Strategy ArtEZ.
Throughout this issue of the British Vogue there are some intriguing texts to be found. Within my analysis I focused on these texts, these, for example, being "Products with no gender bias, treatments for all" and "Why have there been no great female artist?" Due to the tone of voice and strong reference to contemporary social discussions, both statements create curiosity. However, once the context from which these statements derive is revealed, the notion of criticality that these statements imply instantly disappears. Why? Because the first text is part of a Dior advertisement campaign and the second text is from a beauty shopping page of this edition of the Vogue.
Within the chapter that I wrote for V*gue I referred to the origin of the words used in this Vogue while combining them with the true a raw visuals of protests, of which these words originate from, a different story is revealed, one that isn't based on consumerism or brand image, but on real people, real stories and real protests.
However, when we take a closer look at these critical statements, it becomes clear that they are only creating the illusion of being critical.