Emilia Ferrara is writing her first book, MAG WORLD, about the beauty fashion and magazine industries and their impact on young people. She also teaches children how have a healthy relationship with technology and media. Read other articles or learn more about her at emiliaferrara.com.
I initially published this article without a preface. That was a mistake. I have no doubt immense work went into these issues. God only knows how many jobs Vogue creates and sustains. As much as I would welcome it, I do not have a front row seat to this office every day -- not to control, but perhaps simply to witness how these decisions happen.
That being said, what I do see could be better. Many, many people see Vogue as a tight tower, brick by brick laid with absolute faith that this is right, the work is good, the day is valuable. But I'm not so sure. What is that tower standing on? What's beneath it 10 inches, 10 feet, 10,000 feet? Where is it going? What is it building up to? Is it straight, is it curved, is it leaning? The intentionality behind each issue and the system each issue perpetuates is not the focus of this article (such larger vision, however, is discussed here). For now, I am only shedding light on one of the variables I have determined to be unstable, and that is the language.
Overall, what I hear as I'm reading this issue is an welcome prodding. I feel a cool wind of disapproval. I even taste a rough respect. This is not how a magazine should be and despite the planning, the research and the sweat that went into picking just the right cover girl or shooting just the right picture, the written message and the tone behind them still echo in readers hearts and minds. I'm not particularly fond of towers, I prefer the street. And yet, my perspective matters only so much here; neither my background nor who I am is as important as each reader's autonomy to decide whether these words are being used well here or not. That's on you.
19. Shape
18. Secrets
17. Hanging Out
16. It Girl
15. Enlist
14. Winningest
13. Perfect
12. Miraculously
11. Effortless
10. Unstoppable
9. Unforgettable
8. Angelic
7. Prerequisites
6. Dream
5. Pretty
4. Transformative
3. A-List
2. Heir
1. Ruled
BONUS: Burn Hamish Bowels' thesauri (I know he has more than one)
A dandified darling. Forget-me-not-blue--eyed. Tea-stained. Whimsical. Storied. Faintly. Prized. Regal. Waif-like. Preternaturally. Patrician. Triumphantly. Aplomb. Elaborate. Exquisite. Distinguished. Divine... Hamish Bowles seems quite fun, but when you read his writing it is as if each night -- when he goes to sleep -- he lies down between the ghosts of Ilyich Tchicovsky and Marie Antoinette and just marinates in a world that I am certain does not exist. Wake up, Bowles. Your actual instincts are far more valuable than this stuff. (April, Vogue, p.186)