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22 reviews for:
The Vogue Factor: The Inside Story of Fashion's Most Illustrious Magazine
Kirstie Clements
3.16 AVERAGE
22 reviews for:
The Vogue Factor: The Inside Story of Fashion's Most Illustrious Magazine
Kirstie Clements
3.16 AVERAGE
I was so keen to read this. I enjoyed it but wanted more...what an editor does day-to-day and how vogue is pulled together, how she balanced work and motherhood. I'm sure its not all glamorous RTW, celebrities and couture. I liked her belief in integrity. I thinks its the most important element of leadership.
I liked parts and other parts not so much. In a nutshell I would love to be in Kirstie's shoes and been Vogue editor.
Kirstie Clements, editor of Vogue Australia for thirteen years, details her time working her way up to Editor-in-Chief from celebrity encounters to the grunt work of putting together a magazine.
I don't regret reading this book but neither was I particularly moved. Clements's experiences are definitely interesting to read about, but that's about it. The parties are glamorous, the celebrity meetings are incredible (high tea at The Plaza with Estee Lauder, anyone?), and the style impeccable, but I found the personal narrative tiresome.
Clements constantly reworks the idea of the fashion industry away from the stereotypes of either hard, emotionless women with no sympathy or the bumbling airhead who only knows how to talk about clothes and shoes. AND YET when faced with readers holding Vogue as a standard for moral direction, Clements is surprised and says, "I mean, it's a fashion magazine full of shoes and bags." It seemed disingenuous, especially coming in the next to last chapter of the book after she's struggled to lead conceptions away from such bland opinions.
And of course, one of the first few chapters addressed the perception of sickly thin models and the extreme pressure of modern beauty standards. And even though she admits that she felt complicit in the matter, she does everything but shoulder some of the blame. I understand that not everything is up to her, and that she's just one cog in the system, but she spent more time talking about her success putting the first Australia "plus size" model (who was really just a little larger than deathly skinny) on the cover of Vogue Australia. And in the end, she did nothing but say "we all know that clothes just look better on a thin frame." Nice try, but she could've at least made the effort to sound like she cared more.
All around, I could've done with more plot and less inner reflection.
I don't regret reading this book but neither was I particularly moved. Clements's experiences are definitely interesting to read about, but that's about it. The parties are glamorous, the celebrity meetings are incredible (high tea at The Plaza with Estee Lauder, anyone?), and the style impeccable, but I found the personal narrative tiresome.
Clements constantly reworks the idea of the fashion industry away from the stereotypes of either hard, emotionless women with no sympathy or the bumbling airhead who only knows how to talk about clothes and shoes. AND YET when faced with readers holding Vogue as a standard for moral direction, Clements is surprised and says, "I mean, it's a fashion magazine full of shoes and bags." It seemed disingenuous, especially coming in the next to last chapter of the book after she's struggled to lead conceptions away from such bland opinions.
And of course, one of the first few chapters addressed the perception of sickly thin models and the extreme pressure of modern beauty standards. And even though she admits that she felt complicit in the matter, she does everything but shoulder some of the blame. I understand that not everything is up to her, and that she's just one cog in the system, but she spent more time talking about her success putting the first Australia "plus size" model (who was really just a little larger than deathly skinny) on the cover of Vogue Australia. And in the end, she did nothing but say "we all know that clothes just look better on a thin frame." Nice try, but she could've at least made the effort to sound like she cared more.
All around, I could've done with more plot and less inner reflection.
This is not a likeable lady. Well, I did like her at first and I admit I enjoyed reading the life of luxury. But in these pages she brushed off one of her designer friends antisemitic comments, justified the eating disorder that plagues models (regardless of how she tried to seem concerned she proves contradictory with her constant glorification of impossibly skinny models bodies), condemns other people for not being as "smart" as her (sounds like she's just better at networking than most) etc. etc. this lady is plainly not nice and I disliked her more and more with every page.
I did learn from industry principles from this book but on the whole the tone is one of a republican boomer looking down on the media influencer generation who are always "instagramming their breakfast plates" and that's sad because as a media bigwig I would expect her to appreciate the different forms of networking and putting yourself out there instead of buying into the inherent elitism idk.
I thought this book would be a juicy tell-all, kind of like "The Devil Wears Prada" but without pseudonyms. Instead, it's a mostly boring recollection of Kirstie Clements' time at Vogue Australia that I found interestingly only because I work in print media. Clements is ridiculously tone-deaf and frequently unaware of the contributions she makes to the problematic world of fashion that takes itself painfully seriously. Some of my favorite quotes:
"There was some negative coverage regarding Alice being underweight, but I knew that - rightly or wrongly - even if she was, her protruding clavicles were just the ticket for the world of high fashion."
"Do it all in fact, so [the magazine] could cover every area: luxury AND mid-market and mass. Think how lucrative that would be! It's a theory I would hear over and over again from various newcomers (and, my special favorite, their wives who don't in fact read the magazine or own a nice handbag)."
"It's all very well dressing tiny babies up in beige Bonpoint cashmere for the first six months..."
"Many high-fashion labels are aghast at the idea of producing a size 10, and they certainly wouldn't want to see it displayed in the pages of the glossies. As a Vogue editor I was of the opinion that we didn't necessarily need to feature size 10-plus models in every issue. It is a fashion magazine; we are showcasing the clothes ... I see no problem with presenting a healthy, toned size 6."
And of course, my favorite:
"I worked with a model once who cried for an entire day because her cat had died. We had to keep redoing her makeup. I must admit I'm not a cat person, but by all accounts it had expired two days before. How long is one expected to put up with cat grief?"
I mean.
Clements also goes to great lengths to describe her favorite photo shoots from her time with the magazine and includes exactly zero photos of any of them. Given her departure from Vogue I understand logistically it probably would have been difficult to procure the rights to images, but describing a fashion spread in detail and not including an illustration is ineffective and distracting.
In sum, if you're not a journalism/media person, skip it.
"There was some negative coverage regarding Alice being underweight, but I knew that - rightly or wrongly - even if she was, her protruding clavicles were just the ticket for the world of high fashion."
"Do it all in fact, so [the magazine] could cover every area: luxury AND mid-market and mass. Think how lucrative that would be! It's a theory I would hear over and over again from various newcomers (and, my special favorite, their wives who don't in fact read the magazine or own a nice handbag)."
"It's all very well dressing tiny babies up in beige Bonpoint cashmere for the first six months..."
"Many high-fashion labels are aghast at the idea of producing a size 10, and they certainly wouldn't want to see it displayed in the pages of the glossies. As a Vogue editor I was of the opinion that we didn't necessarily need to feature size 10-plus models in every issue. It is a fashion magazine; we are showcasing the clothes ... I see no problem with presenting a healthy, toned size 6."
And of course, my favorite:
"I worked with a model once who cried for an entire day because her cat had died. We had to keep redoing her makeup. I must admit I'm not a cat person, but by all accounts it had expired two days before. How long is one expected to put up with cat grief?"
I mean.
Clements also goes to great lengths to describe her favorite photo shoots from her time with the magazine and includes exactly zero photos of any of them. Given her departure from Vogue I understand logistically it probably would have been difficult to procure the rights to images, but describing a fashion spread in detail and not including an illustration is ineffective and distracting.
In sum, if you're not a journalism/media person, skip it.
If you love fashion & you're a Vogue devotee you'll love this. I enjoyed every moment of the inside look at Kirstie's life behind the editors chair at Vogue & I'm glad she wrote a book to tell us about it all. Fantastic.
Anna Wintour once remarked in one of those Vogue documentaries that people tend to mock the fashion industry because they are insecure outsiders- well, I don't think I'm insecure, but I definitely do not understand it and maybe that is where the incredulous and slightly derisive attitude I have towards 'The Vogue Factor' is coming from. Part of it also stems from Clement's writing which is rich with names (I think I reached peak exhaustion where she's attending a dinner in New York and it's a basically a roll call) , brands and not much else. It's telling rather than showing - I don't know what Grecian hair braids or Dior coats look like and I can't imagine too many international hotel ballrooms either.
Clements acknowledges, "you can't make this up" - the fashion world is really this bizarre bubble and I feel like if its employees had a second filter they would be surprised to hear what was exiting their mouths. She acknowledges the problematic nature of the industry without properly discussing it, though several pages are devoted the first size 10 ever to grace Vogue's pages, banning underage (16) and those with eating disorders from being shot etc - major victories with an absurd lack of 'real world' follow up and it's very hard to understand. Especially as an outsider. Do I sound bitter and critical yet???
Her successor at Vogue is Edwina Mccann, poached from Harpers Bazaar and to Clements' credit, the attack on Vogue's rival and parent company News Corp. is subtle and classily woven throughout. It is clear that, despite her dismissal, Vogue was a place of creative passion for Clements and she views it very fondly. You gotta admire the boldness of a woman who rose through the never ending junior ranks to become editor - and 'The Vogue Factor' serves as a very fitting journal chronicling and celebrating her favourite Vogue moments - being 'Laudered', meeting Princess Mary, becoming a Barbie doll- which were fascinating to read.
I might have enjoyed this a bit more had it concentrated on those industry recollections, as I was not entertained by the personal aspects and had already been harbouring a minor prejudice against the fashion industry -sorry Anna! But Clements was contacted on the day of her firing by a publishing house and she had a lot to say - which is probably the reason this reads like a very very long thank you letter. I would say this is for die hard Vogue fans who are very keen for the insider's perspective and don't need a spreadsheet to keep track of every Ralph, Kim, Lee and Robyn that pops up.
Clements acknowledges, "you can't make this up" - the fashion world is really this bizarre bubble and I feel like if its employees had a second filter they would be surprised to hear what was exiting their mouths. She acknowledges the problematic nature of the industry without properly discussing it, though several pages are devoted the first size 10 ever to grace Vogue's pages, banning underage (16) and those with eating disorders from being shot etc - major victories with an absurd lack of 'real world' follow up and it's very hard to understand. Especially as an outsider. Do I sound bitter and critical yet???
Her successor at Vogue is Edwina Mccann, poached from Harpers Bazaar and to Clements' credit, the attack on Vogue's rival and parent company News Corp. is subtle and classily woven throughout. It is clear that, despite her dismissal, Vogue was a place of creative passion for Clements and she views it very fondly. You gotta admire the boldness of a woman who rose through the never ending junior ranks to become editor - and 'The Vogue Factor' serves as a very fitting journal chronicling and celebrating her favourite Vogue moments - being 'Laudered', meeting Princess Mary, becoming a Barbie doll- which were fascinating to read.
I might have enjoyed this a bit more had it concentrated on those industry recollections, as I was not entertained by the personal aspects and had already been harbouring a minor prejudice against the fashion industry -sorry Anna! But Clements was contacted on the day of her firing by a publishing house and she had a lot to say - which is probably the reason this reads like a very very long thank you letter. I would say this is for die hard Vogue fans who are very keen for the insider's perspective and don't need a spreadsheet to keep track of every Ralph, Kim, Lee and Robyn that pops up.
This book is amazing for a deeper insight into the fashion industry. It's pretty factual but could be seen as having a biased viewpoint, but I loved it either way!