The Demise of the Fashion Magazine EditorOctober 3, 2025
A new article in the NY Times is an ode to the lost times of a more refined and useful style of clothing. That sounds rather dramatic, but I do remember a time when clothes were flattering and most of all dreamed of and sought-after.
A recent
article in the New York Times (here's the link, but I can't get past the paywall, so I downloaded the whole article and you can read it here.) Basically it's an
homage to an era that's long gone.
With the advent of Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok, the influencers have taken over editing the looks from the runway. The unfortunate thing is that most of these influencers have little or no training in fashion. Some may say that the freedom to express what you want is long overdue having been held away by the powerful fashion magazine editors. At the same time, those editors did weed out a lot of the rif-raf and keep fashion
sane and beautiful. However, don't ask Pauline Trigere who was banned by the powerful John Fairchild (editor of WWD, a trade publication, and the famous W Magazine).
I'm sure there were many more than we never heard of. But the real problem
today is that we are inundated by so much trash that it's hard even to think what might be appropriate, much less flattering or heaven forbid, pretty!!!!! I'm a little like Cindy Adams (and yes, she's still alive and kicking), who laments not looking pretty and well-kept. (It's a big graphic, so click it to see it closer.)
Fashion is, in her words, "Meh!" Not even comme ci comme ça, just nothing. And read the article above, and you'll see. There was more than just editing that magazine editors brought to fashion publishing; there was always, at the forefront, the desire to look pretty and be flattering. I recall reading in Seventeen about how to look neat and well-groomed (a phrase I don't
hear much anymore).
Carmel Snow at Maison Dior, looking at some of the styles.
The truth is that fashion editors have brought us many fashion looks that would have otherwise died. Had Carmel Snow not appropriately labeled Christian Dior's "New Look," we might still be
wearing those boring, straight outfits of the 30s and 40s.
OK - maybe not that bad, but for sure, there would have been a huge fight to keep the fashion capital of the world in New York. In one fell swoop, Paris returned as the world's fashion capital after years of devastation, and literally no resources, except
the training and experience of the people.
Carmel Snow with Dior, who not only gave him the name of his "look" but also the press and legitimacy to start a whole new decade of couture garments, celebrating the feminine style and the beauty in finer clothes. With Dior came Chanel, who would never have happened without Dior, and again, it was the American fashion editors and press that propelled Chanel's return to success with her tweed
jacket.
That's a huge photo above, so click it to ready it, but just in case, here's a pdf download of the article. Obviously the word was out that the great Chanel was not only designing again, but was going to have an opening, and what an historical event.
The French, who had had it with Chanel (she had an affair with a German low-level spy during World War II and was branded a traitor). After the war, she was persona non grata, but Churchill and the Duchess of Windsor intervened to save her. (Begging the question...why?
Probably because Churchill didn't want the public to know just how close the Windsors came to siding with Hitler. At one point the Duke and Duchess were to be emissaries to the Royal house of Windsor, for the surrender of England to Hitler.) After the war, she moved to Switzerland where she lived with her lover, till Dior came on the scene, and as she explains in this lovely video - it was time to design clothes that had ease of movement.
This takes you through the early days of Chanel, and the revitalization of Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel who transformed the iconic suit into a whole other gorgeous, flattering, piece of clothing. Thus creating
(unbeknownst to him) the penultimate garment a sewist can take on! Actually he probably knew it, because that's why he made the trim so intricately difficult to make.
In the process of creating the quilted jacket, the artistry, skill, and experience required to develop this design are evident. I still marvel at and admire the whole concept of taking the loosely woven tweed, attaching it by stitching to a much firmer piece of tightly woven, yet very limber silk, to make a
durable, shapeable garment that feels like you've worn it for years. Talk about feeling comfortable (which was Chanel's whole point). This is the transcendence of fine couture - comfortable, flattering, elegant, and it makes the wearer feel so special. Karl continued that tradition, which brought the House of Chanel back into prominence. Dior's Maison didn't fare so well, as some of the most prominent designers in history were at Dior - Yves Saint Laurent
(1957–1960), Marc Bohan (1960–1989), Gianfranco Ferré (1989–1997), John Galliano (1997–2011), Raf Simons (2012–2015). However, to prove that a group of well-meaning business types cannot run a house, all of these designers left to start their own major companies.
Today, the designers who have some semblance of common sense about their fashion are few and far between. While the old guard is dying off, the young designers either can't make it (Zac Posen had to file for
bankruptcy) or exclusively sell from their own platform (Jason Wu sells out of his website). It's no wonder that modern fashion designers who create beautiful clothes are hard to find. The best examples are probably Melania Trump and Katherine Wales, who seem to navigate the fashion gauntlet fairly well. They all look respectable yet very modern. However, they tend to gravitate towards traditional styles and roles, which makes it easier for them to wear the styles they
do.
Another devotee of traditional styles is Anna Wintour. And this is the doyenne of fashion, and even she doesn't wear that junk that's on the runway.
In the "olden days" we used to have a name for people like this - who wore just the most latest thing, just cause it was the "latest thing!" We called them fashion victims, and I'm a little like Cindy Adams, only I think the world is filled with fashion
victims, and when someone (PLEASE) wakes up and starts making regular clothes, they will be hailed as some sort of savior.
Right now that person is Anna Wintour.
This just reeks of professionalism, class, beauty and flattering. She's like the last bastion of sanity in fashion and when she leaves (actually she's already submitted her resignation, but she has executive positions at Conde Nast, so she's really not gone), but
when she is gone, she will be sorely missed.
Wintour seems to be holding down the fort, waiting for someone to return us to reality and beauty. I was so hopeful for Zac Posen and Jason Wu, but they seem to be doing the same - place-holding till the trend switches from crazy to sane.
In the meantime, I'm reminded again of the wealthy doyenne in my city who had all her clothes made. She never wore ripped jeans, ill-fitting tees, tearing tops, raveling edges or
goofy big-footed boots. She wore beautiful clothes that made her look like she was a competent, responsible person wearing flattering clothes, that were made of fine fabrics, but with a modern adult look. She probably would have patronized the several fine women's shops, but most of them were carrying the crazy stuff, so it was easier to have the garments made than go shopping.
For me, it's sure easier and the more I look at the crazy fashion ruled by wannabe
influencers, the more I like the fact that I can sew, design and fit myself. Most of the time the people I'm around know that I sew, but don't think I do, cause my outfits are so normal. But they can't find normal things, so every once in a while they will ask where I got this or that, and I will just pause and look at them like, "You know I sew....right?" And then I can see the shock on their face, followed by a shrug of defeat knowing that they can't buy whatever it is I'm
wearing.
The plethora of junk fashion out there is due to the absence of the Diana Vreelands, Carmel Snows, Carrie Donovans, and Grace Mirabellas. They may have been dictatorial, but we at least knew where we were going with fashion at the helm of some of these women. Without them, junk, crazy, and the far out creeps in, and I really don't see it changing until we get another Diana Vreeland or Carmel Snow - strong enough to weed out the "Emperor's New Clothes" and get
us back to beautiful garments to wear.
I miss Wintour already, and she's still at Conde Nast, still attending the fashion shows. It will be bizarre and sad when she's gone for good.
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Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the support@sewingartistry.com email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
To view in browser along with past emails, click here. We respect your email privacy. |
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