This UvA PhD researcher examined how political fashion magazines are
Typically, fashion and lifestyle media for women were not considered political. UvA PhD researcher Ira Solomatina examined fashion magazines in India, Russia and the US, to look how politics was playing an ever greater role in these publications. “None of the US fashion media were supportive of the Republicans.”
Solomatina studied famous fashion magazines like Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire, which are published worldwide. One example of the publications’ changing engagement with politics is the partisanship of Vogue US. Kamala Harris and Jill Biden were on the cover of Vogue, but Melania Trump was not. Indian fashion magazines advocated for women’s rights and Russian fashion magazines openly criticised the State.
I’m curious: how did you notice fashion magazines were becoming more political in recent years?
“In the late 2010s and early 2020s, political events were becoming more prominent in popular culture. The growing influence of social media made political events more visible, often presenting them in spectacular ways. From Oscar speeches highlighting what was happening in politics to the overwhelming media visibility #MeToo and Black Lives Matter. To be more visible, fashion media started covering such political events that received a lot of attention on social media.”
You studied fashion magazines in India, Russia and the US. Are they more political than magazines in other countries?
“Not necessarily. I wanted to show the politicisation of fashion magazines as something that happens on a global scale, charting the perspectives of different countries. The growing interest in politics in fashion magazines was accompanied by a global trend of polarisation, nationalist populism and the breakdown of democracies – something that occurs in India, Russia and the US.”
“In the US, the polarising impact of Trumpism was huge during the Biden presidency. In India, the nationalist government promoted Hindu nationalism. People who did not belong to this religious identity were seen as outsiders. Russian media were increasingly censored, and freedoms increasingly restricted, since the beginning of Putin’s regime.”
What are the biggest differences in how politics is expressed in fashion magazines in the three countries?
“In Russia, and to a lesser extent in India, there was more censorship of what could be written and said in the media, compared to the US. Russian fashion magazines did not dare to discuss certain topics. They expressed their criticism of the state through safer topics. One example is the absence of a law regulating domestic violence, which agitated Russia’s public sphere. It was one of the topics that was in a grey area that the government did not strictly censor. This allowed fashion magazines to write about it. For instance, I remember a photo shoot in Vogue Russia, in which activists campaigned for criminalising domestic violence.”
“Indian fashion magazines also avoided certain topics. While references to equality, racial and gender justice were safe to discuss, caste justice and religious identity were avoided. In the US, on the other hand, Teen Vogue published a rather bold op-ed written by Laura Duca headlined ‘Donald Trump is gaslighting America’.”
Did the fashion magazines in your research have a clear political stance?
“In the US, for example, you could see that fashion magazines were supportive of the Democratic Party and opposed the policies of the Republicans. In the beginning of the 2020s, none of the US fashion media were supportive of the Republicans, apart from some marginal blogs and very small publications. Even as conservative thought surfaced on TikTok and Instagram, US fashion magazines continued to speak out for inclusivity, diversity and immigration.”
Why were they so progressive?
“Fashion magazines represent the political interests of a certain class. Women who buy and read fashion magazines also appear to be interested in more progressive politics, such as feminism. Besides, the Russian and Indian editions of Vogue broadly follow the editorial guidelines set by the US editorial office and Conde Nast’s chief content officer – Anna Wintour. Wintour is vocal in her support of the Democratic Party.”
“There are also more conservative fashion magazines, by the way. For example, the Russian edition of Marie Claire pays more attention to family values, religion and anti-Western themes. The magazine also promotes the idea that there are only two genders, as opposed Vogue and fashion platform The Blueprint. This is because Marie Claire in Russia is not so tied to international editions, and thus has more autonomy in choosing editorial policies.”
What political influence do fashion magazines have on their readers?
“I wonder to what extent fashion magazines can really influence their readers. People tend to opt for content that matches their own beliefs, rather than exposing themselves to opinions they disagree with. Fashion magazines are thus more likely to induce a sense of identification among readers because they provide access to a community of like-minded people.”
Is there a political message that stuck with you?
“That was an editorial in US Vogue in collaboration with Ukrainian Vogue, published in July 2022. It featured Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine. The feature discussed the war and war crimes. I found the article interesting because it did not quite fit within the conventions of a fashion magazine. The language was different, the mood was sombre and the subject matter more serious than usual. Moreover, it caused quite a stir. In the aftermath of the publication, some Republican politicians in the US accused the Zelensky family of ‘vanity’. It provoked a discussion about the need to help Ukraine. Personally, I thought it was a powerful statement by Vogue. It also raised interesting questions for me as a researcher about how a fashion magazine can deal with such serious topics.”
Ira Solomatina will receive her PhD on Thursday 27 March at 1 pm for her thesis Politics and the political in women´s fashion magazines: Perspectives from India, Russia and the USA. The promotion will take place in the Agnietenkapel.
