Vogue

• Product context?


  -Published in July 1965

  -Covers many topics: fashion, beauty, culture

  -Began as a weekly newspaper in 1892 in the US before becoming a monthly publication years later (Quality of cost, more time to edit/create, reduced publishing cost, makes it unique (USP) - excites

  -British vogue was the first international edition launched (now 23 international editions)

  -Distribution: newsagents, supermarkets, subscriptions
• Publisher - Conde Naste?


  -Mainstream publisher

  -Are a subsidiary of the Advance publication conglomerate

  -Most successful magazine publisher

  -Aims to reflect the zeitgeist of popular fashion
• Codes + Conventions?


  -Vogue has evolved significantly throughout its long history

  -Has remained fairly conventional for a monthly 'glassy' fashion magazine -> distancing it from more 'common' weekly women magazines

  -Includes conventional features: advertising, culture based articles, aspirational lifestyle articles, travel, beauty tips, celeb interviews etc
• Challenging conventions?


  -Prides itself as being the magazine of choice for those obsessed with fashion trendsetters + individuals working in the industry (good taste)

  -Attempts to be more unique by: expensive + glossy paper, heritage/history - includes flashbacks etc.

  -Features more female orientated editorial/production team (1965 - pronominally men) -> gender equality in the workplace

  -Worked with iconic photographers (David Bailey, Brian Duggy) during the 1960s + beyond
• Equality for women?


  -Increased jobs -> more than a mother and/or wife

  -Developments in education -> attending university

  -Intellectual + financial freedom -> greater expectations

  -Women realising they were being badly treated (gender pay gap)

  -Woman's rights were 'hot news' by the end of the 1960's
• Changes in magazine industries?

  -The market place was less crowded + the industry was dominated by a small number of major publishers

  -Today the industry is still dominated by major publishers (Hearst, IPC, Bauer) but there is a much wider range of titles available + greater competitions
• Historical context?

  -The 1960's was a decade of great change in British society

  -Post-war, the economy was growing + employment rates were high

  -Led to a growth in the consumer goods market + increase in traveling

  -Feminist + civil rights movements had significant impact on British society
• Roland Barthes - Semiotics?


  -Front page: Sophia Loren + elegant/exotic dress encodes reinforcing connotations of differenced combined to create beauty standards (Gauntlets -identify theory)

  -Make-up adverts: emphasising the use of make-up to connote that a women must be sexually attractive/appealing to men as the norms of the 1960 society

  -Exotic photoshoots (picnic): connotations of travel + freedom, encouraging women to break away from traditional roles (contrasted with soap advert (binary opposites))