Mag Mad - V

Second on the list is V!

V Magazine
Issue - Fall, Issue 85
Price ( I paid) - £10
Editor - Stephen Gan

The first thing you notice about V is the paper size. It’s A3, which isn’t typical of high -end fashion magazines, but I like it, as I feel you can see more of the images. I have found magazines that are this size generally have more editorial than features in them, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing and have found this is definitely the case with V.

The cover has minimal content, using san serif font instantly giving it a modern feel. Moving onto the contents page, they introduce serif fonts in the main body text but generally use san serif fonts throughout which I like. Also I feel the font is quite small but compared to the page size, it makes it feel like when the page is full of text that you’re getting a lot of information. The text width grows from close together to quite wide in their title fonts, which again emphasizes its graphic nature, yet is still easy to read. The stand out title of the magazine covers the whole front image, and takes on a different matter texture compared to the majority which is gloss and is something I really like. This is also they’re signature attribute that they use on every issue, again emphasizing there identity in the magazine industry.

Graphically, I feel it’s strong and the imagery used throughout runs consistently. They vary from a one, two and three grid and column system; with the majority of one column pages being on less important ones such as the contents page, where the images behind take president. Although they are a lot of ads alike Paris Vogue, you get straight into content it seems a lot sooner and you get a lot of it with a tiny dose of an advert here and there but it’s not as noticeable to some magazines. Stories range from interviews with Oprah Winfrey and Lee Daniels and their cover star Lady gaga. The ‘Icons’ feature was lovely to read as they feature content from Cher to Liza Minnelli. The set up on a page makes it easy to read and has fluidity into the next without seeming too dramatic of a change.

The balance between fashion and lifestyle is good; it particularly focuses on editorial, which are really striking and thought made the magazine quite unique. One article featured photography by Bruce Weber, which I’ve previously looked at as part of my degree, so it was nice to see some more of his work in a current publication.

With it only being their 85^th issue, I really enjoyed reading V, its nice to have a change from Vogue and ELLE, which sometimes I feel you get the same from, even with the revamp that ELLE had last year. However, it’s not an easy one to carry around with you if you have little space and arm strength due to its size.

Mag Mad - Paris Vogue

Over the summer, I was set the task of reviewing some fashion magazines. From the list I was given, some looked more familiar than others. I thought I'd post them on here to get your views as well on any of the magazines I mention over the next three posts to see if you're a dedicated reader and agree or disagree with me, hope you enjoy!

Paris Vogue
Issue - September 13
Price (I paid) - £7.85
Editor - Emmanuelle Alt

Vogue’s iconic masthead is recognisable on newsstands around the world. The Vogue brand is so global; it’s available in over 27 countries, so you’d expect to see some similarities within each countries edition. Of course the first thing you notice that is similar is the masthead. The Vogue font is always consistent, however can change colour depending on who’s fronting the cover that month and what the colour scheme is. I’m glad the paper type and size is the same for the continuity again also.

British vogue varies between the use of serif and sans serif fonts on their cover and throughout, however on Paris Vogue, the cover is only serif fonts. This may be because they wanted to keep the consistency with the masthead font, which is of course serif also, which I quite like however it is nice to see a variety. This difference may be due to giving it a slightly different identity to other Vogues, to make it easy to establish as Paris Vogue.

Stylistically, it seems that they use a two/three grid system, which again is similar of British Vogue that I’m used to but I feel they’re quite afraid to fill the page still. When generally skimming the magazine, I did not come across one full page of a news feature, even the one stated on the cover that the issue was based around. Also, before reaching any sort of contents, there are about 100-150 pages of adverts; about double compared to British Vogue, which I find hard work. I don’t mind adverts but at least give some sort of content to break it up such as the contents nearer the beginning. This particular issue is based around ‘Grunge’ and seeing as September is the January of fashion I was expecting a lot of clothes, and a lot of editorial showcasing this. However I did not get this. The editorials start 380 pages in which I personally think is ridiculous. When you get to the editorials, they seem disjointed, like a couple of images have accidentally been printed in the wrong place. They have a black and white theme running throughout with the use of two models and then you turn the page and suddenly have a colourful beauty shot which looks totally unrelated to the editorial. There is a Miss Vogue editorial they have slightly earlier on from page 264, with the themes’ The Breakaway Beautiful’ and ‘Attitude’ which looks a lot more put together, but still quite ‘samey’ also.

They dedicate a huge chunk of the magazine to beauty, which I like as you get a lot in other Vogues, but the layout of it is confusing and may seem like a lot but when you strip it back, there really isn’t all that much

The overall feel of the magazine seems quite amateur-ish, with a lot of ads throughout, which may not just be to fund it but to fill space where content is lacking. Some editorial is nice but you have to fish your way through the whole magazine to get to it.