This Month In Vogue- A Theme of Lukewarm & Lackluster

I pour over the latest monthly edition of Vogue habitually. Not because of the fashion, or because of the articles, but because I believe that this high-profile magazine is the perfect stage to debut artistry in advertising. It’s expensive to buy the ad space with a quarter of a page, printed once, costing nearly a quarter of a million dollars. So, naturally, I assume that this is a perfect opportunity to showcase a brand, to invite readers and clients alike into the world of whatever high fashion company you represent. But alas, if only.

Can I just say something really quickly? Out of the entirety of the January 2015 of Vogue (featuring Sienna Miller on the cover) I only found three ads that really spoke to me. Only three. And there is hundreds of pages. These faves include a new ad from Miu Miu, one of my personal favorites, Tom Ford, and Attilio Giusti Leombruni. The ads are showcased below. So why are these three the only ones I like? I’ll give you two reasons why:

1. Each ad represents something different. They stand out from the rest. In the Miu Miu ad, I see the clothes and I see the vibe that they were going for. The idea of “wild” and “nature” comes across the page without me having to second guess what they were trying to accomplish. The red river/nature shot juxtaposed against the Natalie Westling’s red hair is magnificent. I feel it and I can see the comparison- it’s intense. The violet background for Tom Ford is vibrant and screams “smell me! I’m glorious!” And Gigi Hadid is simply a goddess here.

2. The models are real. Gigi Hadid in Tom Ford’s Velvet Orchid ad is (quite obviously) going for the sex appeal approach, but she’s curvy; she looks healthy and downright sexy. And in the AGL ad, you can see Dakota Fanning as a grown woman. The best part though, is the fact that the shoes she’s wearing stand out amidst a background of beautifully tossed white sheets.

– Natalie Westling

– Gigi Hadid

– Dakota Fanning

So yes, that’s it! This month in Vogue, I’m only feeling three advertisements from the entire edition. I want to see artistry and personality. I want to see individuality. Here’s to hoping February is a little less lacking, a little more wowing.

Listen, Mike Kors. I’m onto you.

Okayyy I know, Michael Kors is the it American designer right now and everyone across the freaking globe (it seems) wants a handful of his leather goodies. Ever since his IPO in 2011, the guy has been everywhere and for that, admittedly, I have to give him credit. It’s not easy to become a bazillionaire in less than five years…

But I am already so sick and tired of the entire Michael Kors image, product line, and marketing campaign. 

This might make me the most hated girl in America, but let’s be real here. How many circled “MK” logo handbags do I have to gag over for my point to come across? Okay, I digress. Let me show you what I came across today that absolutely bored me to tears:

THIS INSTAGRAM POST. LOOK AT IT.

Can we please all agree that this is an absolutely silly pictorial to post on Instagram? Where’s the direction of this marketing campaign going, exactly? Look, I get it. Resort fashion is typically debuted post-holiday season and is produced with the idea that the customer wants to experience that relaxed/i-just-hopped-off-the-yacht type of feeling. But that’s not exactly what I’m getting from this. I feel like this is a bored couple who thinks they’re too cool to join the rest of the garden party and that they secretly hate each other. But I know why I’m so bitter right now, and it’s because I know that I’ve seen this same rehashed shit before. Here’s why:

1. You’ve been using the same model since 2011, Michael. Her name is Karmen Pedaru and she is absolutely stunning, yet I am so tired of looking at her face in every single one of his advertisements. Where’s the excitement, the mystery behind who represents your brand if you’ve been using the same person practically since you took your company public? I. Am. So. Bored. With. This. Please, can we make 2015 the year of “New Year, New Models”?

2. What are they looking at? Why are all of your models looking the other way? I’m serious. Here’s the evidence:

resort 2015, continued:

holiday 2014:

fall 2014: 

spring 2014: 

I JUST SAW THE SAME IMAGE 8 TIMES IN ONE POST. Sure, they’re all shot by Mario Testino and he’s got more credibility than practically anyone else in the industry, but this is just madness. I’ll step off my high horse for now, but I’m letting everyone know right off the bat that MK is going right into the “brands i’m bored of” category.

Sorry, Mike.

OH MY GOD CHANEL. This is true, subtle brilliance.

Chanel. Darling. This ad campaign is everything.

I love this advertising campaign so much, in fact, that I’ve decided to make this my very first post here on FAD. Can we talk about what makes this campaign so brilliant, please!? You guys just have to take a look.

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Sure, those are pictures I took in my most recent paper editions of Vanity Fair, (December ’14 and January ’15, respectively) but I feel like the beautiful simplicity coming from the pages is easily seen…

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The bleed pages make a statement. A strong one. I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to grasp the larger-than-life feeling that this watch gives if there was a border surrounding the product, and I most certainly feel the same way about the left page of the ad as well.

Black and white photography makes me feel. Especially in this campaign. The juxtaposition of action on the left page versus the solidarity of the watch on the right is masterfully done.

The beauty is in the details. So, have y’all noticed it yet? Have y’all seen the smallest little detail that separates this from a mere watch advertisement to a work of art? Look at the hands!  And when I say this, I mean both the human hands and the watch hands! Yes, everyone. They’re the same. On top, the model is doing a very simple, elegant pose; one that we do everyday. She’s touching the side of her face…. as is the watch to her right. On bottom, at first glance, it looks like a couple having fun in a car, right? Not this time! The woman’s hands (that she has raised in glee) mirror that of the watch’s hands as well. When I realized this, this simple little detail that made all the difference, I fell in love.

When I first opened this spread in both Vanity Fair editions, my eyes were immediately drawn to the watch. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and I know I will have to save some serious money to buy one in the very, very distant future. The product is what caught my eye- the story is what left an impression. My God, Chanel. Thank you.

 

FAD: what it is, what it isn’t, and what we’re doing here.

Fashion Advertising Daily is not a fashion site. (Let’s get this straight from the beginning.)

it is not dedicated to daily outfits, trends, or commentary.

it is not going to be featuring models on the runway.

it is not going to be focused on celebrities.

So if that’s the case, what the hell are we doing here?

We’re going to study. To analyze. To interpret. We’re going to divulge into different marketing campaigns, print ads, digital ads, and more. Let’s not talk about the fashion, the clothes, the model. Instead, let’s talk about the big picture… what was the goal of this ad? who is the target market? what was the company trying to communicate? This is an ignored and often times undiscussed aspect of the fashion industry, yet the brand -and the brand’s image- is arguably the most important feature of a prominent name in the fashion world.

 

so yes, that’s what we’re doing here. let’s go.