over the years, harpers bazaar has gone through quite a few changes. i will always be a fan of the liz tilberis years, with the gorgeously simple covers featuring kate moss and linda evangelista and the typographic genius that is fabien baron. then kate betts took over, and while her tenure (and redesign) wasn't well received, i still have all of those issues. during the glenda bailey tenture, the magazine has seen various highs (the ronsons as the tenenbaums, the simpsons meet their favorite fashion designers) and lows (britney nude, paris and nicole being arrested), but their july issue has hit new lows. it's not so much who is on the cover but how she is portrayed on the cover. angelina jolie looks stunning as usual in a strapless black dress and gold earrings...shot by the paparazzi! no sitting with peter lindbergh or patrick demarchelier, or even alexi lubomirski, but a shot that was on gettyimages (it's even credited as getty images on the bazaar site!) then inside, instead of an interview with jolie, there's an article by naomi wolf about why women are so fascinated with jolie. um, i am not. sure she's beautiful and generous and i'm sure a wonderful mother, but i could read a profile on her in vanity fair to know that. or even us weekly. fashion magazines are meant to inspire, show us the runway trends and to be an overall escape. this isn't an escape, it's a cop-out. you can't tell me bazaar, which isn't some fly-by-night monthly, couldn't get an actress to pose for the cover. if they didn't want to get a big name, july is the perfect time to take a risk on a younger, more unexpected choice. i can name a few off the top of my head that have movies coming out next month: zooey deschanel, katherine heigl, olivia wilde...the list goes on. surely any one of those would be better than this.
so here's what glenda does...she uses angie for the newsstand (since she's a proven seller) and the gorgeous doutzen kroes for subscribers. why doutzen? according to bailey, she's "a model whose face is definitely one to watch." um, doutzen has been one of the highest paid models for a few years now, with major contracts with calvin klein and l'oreal. and if doutzen is good enough for them, why isn't she good enough for the newsstand? i don't expect much from summer mags—they are usually thin anyway—but i don't expect to be shortchanged.
angelina pic from harpersbazaar.com; doutzen cover scanned by luxx at thefashionspot
3 comments:
I totally hear, understand, and agree with your opinion but I also know these are very tough times that require some creative thinking - or should I say "acts of desperation" in this competitive market. HB is doing all it can to survive. The American market is tough. Glenda Jackson stated that Doutzen's face is one to watch and she wasn't that far off from the truth, especially where the American market is concerned. There aren't many in the U.S. who can recognize Doutzen Kroes, much less pronounce her name.
It's sad that HB has to resort to these kinds of sales tactics but it will also be a sadder day if the magazine folds.
i totally get that magazines are facing tough times, but i also think there is an opportunity to do something different. this is just a cop-out, plain and simple. give me an actress that is unexpected, that the american market loves (like katherine heigl) or do a guy on the cover (bazaar did in the past). if angie sells magazines then do a real interview and photoshoot with her...don't give us an image from december!
I completely agree with you Kim. For me the absolute worst part of this cover (and there are numerous things I dislike about it) is that it looks like a tabloid rag. It looks cheap, plain and simple. There is literally nothing about the cover that would make me want to pick up this magazine up and look at it, let alone buy it.
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