When Anna Wintour slammed Margaret Court and Scott Morrison over LGBTQI rights, was she just trying to stay relevant?
Struggling fashion publications should commit to journalism over commercialism to keep serious readers on side
So Anna Wintour skipped the couture shows to play hard ball at the Australian Open on January 24, eclipsing lifestyle coverage of her attendance at the event with front-page news.
The Vogue US editor-in-chief and Condé Nast creative director’s strident criticism of Australian tennis champion-turned-pastor Margaret Court and Prime Minister Scott Morrison over “backward” track records on LGBTQI rights issues unleashed a flurry of global news coverage. This included opinion pieces by incensed commentators who denounced Wintour for daring to stray from the fluffy sidelines of fashion into the big boys’ world of politics.
Wintour, of course, had form on the LGBTQI rights trail and was presented with the perfect platform: a keynote speech at a global sporting event, one with a venue named after Court. There has been a campaign to have the former player’s name stripped from the Margaret Court Arena over her comments on same-sex marriage and transgender children.
That said, it was unusual for Wintour to veer into political commentary.
Following two surprising announcements from Condé Nast that book ended the event – the January 23 news that the company’s digital media portfolio will be placed behind a paywall by the year end and then the January 27 announcement of the launch of Vogue Business – the timing of Wintour’s comments seems more than coincidental.
In stirring controversy, Wintour made herself and, by association, the Vogue and Condé Nast brands momentarily relevant. Relevance is an issue the magazine sector continues to struggle with in the face of print advertising decline and dramatic restructuring.
Facing American losses of a reported US$120 million in 2017, with its British division posting its first loss in 20 years for the same period, Condé Nast is selling three titles and is looking for a new global chief executive.
Wintour’s future at the company has been the subject of speculation.
In August, questions were raised by The New York Times and other outlets over a trio of Louis Vuitton ambassadors wearing the brand head-to-toe on the covers of the September issues of Condé Nast’s Vanity Fair, as well as ELLE US and Marie Claire UK, with reporters speculating the covers had been sponsored by the label.
Were they kidding themselves that this was news?
There’s no [separation of] church and state any more – there hasn’t been since the 1990s, frankly. But now I think it’s [become] obvious to readers. They get really p***ed off
Cover credits have been for sale since at least 2010, according to the former editor-in-chief of one major international fashion title.
“There’s no [separation of] church and state any more – there hasn’t been since the 1990s, frankly,” they added. “But now I think it’s [become] obvious to readers. They get really p***ed off.”
In 2014 and 2015, Condé Nast jettisoned two authoritative fashion brands in its stable: the century-old business title WWD and Style.com, which pioneered digital fashion coverage from 2000.
In launching Vogue Business, Condé Nast will attempt to snare market share from WWD and rival The Business of Fashion.
Does it have the journalistic culture to compete?
Suzy Menkes was a respected fashion critic during her quarter of a century at The International Herald Tribune newspaper. Some fashion insiders stopped reading Menkes after she joined Vogue in 2014, as its international editor.
Concerns that Menkes’ bite has been blunted by the Condé Nast advertising machine seemed confirmed in December, when she was accused of being a cheerleader for embattled Italian brand Dolce & Gabbanafollowing its China racism controversy.
The New York Times, Condé Nast’s Wired and The New Yorker, among other titles, have managed to build thriving subscription revenue streams through their commitment to journalism.
Perhaps it’s time for fashion publishers to think about theirs. Because as Wintour might have asked herself as she stepped onto the podium in Melbourne, knowing she was about to cause a fuss, what have they got to lose?
