Researching Magazines for my Editorials

I wanted to do some research into different magazines to decide which magazine I will target my editorial photo spread towards. I know I want my editorial to be quite avant-garde and dramatic, with strong lighting and loud makeup, so I wanted to find a magazine that would accommodate that.

i-D

CLAIRE, 2012. Snapshot: Twigs by Matthew Stone for i-D Magazine #320 [viewed 27th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://fashionbombdaily.com/snapshot-twigs-by-matthew-stone-for-i-d-magazine-320/

i-D started out as a basic magazine that would showcase punk-era London street style produced by people not in the fashion or magazine industry in 1980, but soon developed into a very popular and more professional, promoting the slogan of originate - don't imitate. i-D is passionate about constantly reinventing itself and producing material that will excite and inspire their readers. This magazine doesn't feel very high quality as it isn't a glossy magazine inside and the pages feel thin, making it feel slightly cheaper than Dazed and Love Club. There is a lot more writing inside the magazine than in Dazed or Love Club, taking away from the images and making some of the pages look too cluttered. i-D includes stories, quotes and interviews constantly throughout which makes it less of a purely fashion and culture magazine. There are some adverts for non fashion related things, such as IKEA, in the magazine which I think lowers the value of the magazine. If you compare this magazine with Dazed it feels a lot less luxurious as Dazed focuses only on editorials, whereas i-D has obvious adverts; I therefore don't want to design my Mac editorial for the magazine i-D.

Vogue

VOGUE. Adele in Spring's Fabulous Frocks [viewed 27th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/13398057/adele-spring-fashion-march-2016-cover/#7

Vogue was originally published in 1892 in America and in 1909 the magazine was bought by Conde Naste Publisher which developed the magazine to focus more on women. In 1916 English Vogue was brought out, closely followed by French Vogue in 1920. When Vogue first started only illustrations and art were put on the cover; however in 1932 the first coloured photograph was used on the cover for American Vogue and since then the most famous photographers, including Rankin, Irwin Penn and Guy Burden have create image for the covers. Anna Wintour became Editor in Chief in 1988. She improved and developed the magazine to become the number one fashion magazine in the world, focusing on reflecting fashion trends and also inspiring new ones. It is now published in 17 countries, including Spain, Russia, Japan and Germany.

Vogue is a monthly glossy fashion magazine including high end fashion editorials such as Chanel, Giorgio Armani and Dolce&Gabbana and high end beauty editorials with brands such as Lancome, Clinique and Chanel. In about the first half of the magazine it focuses on only high end, luxurious fashion and beauty brands with very sophisticated and conservative editorial images. However as you get further into the magazine there are more adverts and written articles on fashion trends and top pics etc. The editorials seem to get slightly more risque and edgy as you get past the middle of the magazine with my experimental and abstract images. There are also celebrity and author interviews nearer the end of the magazine and stories about Vogue. As you get to the end there are many pages all about and advertising travel, with no beauty or fashion pages. Vogue focuses over all on fashion brands instead of beauty or makeup brands and most of the editorials are more sophisticated and less abstract; however I want my editorial images to incorporate bright colours and fun designs and I don't think that would be suitable for Vogue's possibly more classy audience.

Love Club

SHAHID, S., 2016. Lily-Rose Depp, 16, shows off her quirky side with colourful makeover as she lands her first major fashion magazine cover [viewed 27th March 2016]. Available from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3384014/Lily-Rose-Depp-16-shows-quirky-colourful-makeover-lands-major-fashion-magazine-cover.html

Love Club is a glossy fashion and beauty magazine, full of editorial images from upper class brands, to more edgy and experimental brands. The cartoon text on the covers is very bright and playful and also slightly childish as it looks like it has been coloured in by a child because it has lots of clashing colours a random patterns. This instantly gave me the impression the magazine was going to be fun and expressive, rather than the more sophisticated Vogue, for example. I couldn't find much information about the magazine which suggests it is fairly new; however it has the most brands in the magazine than any of the others I looked at so it is clearly highly regarded. Celebrities such as Kendal Jenner, Selena Gomez and Lily Rose Depp have starred on the covers, possibly targeting a younger target audience. There are very few adverts in this magazine, making it feel very expensive and there is hardly any writing, making it feel very fresh and luxurious. There are a big range of images throughout the magazine, from very sophisticated images from brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Emporio Armani and Chanel to very abstract and unique images by photographer Tim Walker. Some of the more avant-garde images are shown below.

WALKER, T., 2016. Tim Walker for LOVE Magazine Spring 2016 [viewed 27th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://www.thegorgeousdaily.com/tim-walker-for-love-magazine-spring-2016/

WALKER, T., 2016. Tim Walker for LOVE Magazine Spring 2016 [viewed 27th March 2016]. 

Available from: http://www.thegorgeousdaily.com/tim-walker-for-love-magazine-spring-2016/

WALKER, T., 2016. Tim Walker for LOVE Magazine Spring 2016 [viewed 27th March 2016]. 

Available from: http://www.thegorgeousdaily.com/tim-walker-for-love-magazine-spring-2016/

The images above show me that there would be no limitations to what images I could use for my editorial if I did choose this magazines because these are some of the strangest, but striking images I have ever seen in a magazine. This magazine would be a possible magazine I could choose; however I want to choose a magazine that is more focused on makeup as well as fashion, as I have found that the magazines I have looked into have mostly focused on fashion and only had a couple of beauty pages.


Dazed and Confused (Chosen Magazine)

I was drawn to Dazed and Confused because Rankin was one of the co-creators of the magazine, along with Jefferson Hack, which immediately caught my attention as he is such a highly regarded fashion photographer and constantly inspires me with his work. Dazed is a monthly British style magazine, launched in 1991, which is marketed as an alternative style and culture magazine. The magazine is very up to date with trends and includes lots of new talent with new and fresh ideas, making it very fashion forward. I like that the magazine is all about self expression and individuality as all the images display something completely different and new. Dazed includes a range of designers from Dior and Calvin Klein, to high street stores like River Island and TopShop. I love that there are no obvious adverts, with the product showing or lots of writing over the images because it gives a very raw and art feel, as it is all about the beautiful images. I like that the magazine feels heavy and thick because all the pages are shiny and of high quality. Dazed is the most influential independent fashion and cultural title in the world so I simply had to design my editorial for it!

Another thing that drew me to the magazine was the story of sheer hard work and determination that went behind building and creating such a diverse and original magazine. Rankin and Hack started designing their ideas whilst they were unemployed and had no experience in the industry. Dazed was the only magazine of its kind when it was first published and it still is; it contemporised the fashion and magazine industry. I like the excitement behind the magazine and the eagerness to see what's new and being developed.

DAZED DIGITAL, 2014. A year in fashion editorials [viewed 27th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/18270/1/a-year-in-fashion-editorials

All the clothing and accessories in this editorial are Alexander McQueen AE13, styled by Robbie Spencer. The photography is by Richard Burbridge. This is a great example of how abstract the makeup and styling can be, as this this makeup look would not be seen in any main stream advertisements or editorials. I like how the very bold, black makeup contrast with the regal, feminine styling because it shocks the viewer. I don't think I will include clothing in my editorial because I want it to be all about the makeup. I like that you can be very imaginative when designing for this magazine because there are no boundaries with makeup or fashion. There are a variety of studio and location images and a variety

DAZED DIGITAL, 2013. Top Fashion Editorials 19/27 [viewed 27th March 2016]. 
Available from: http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/gallery/17101/18/top-fashion-editorials

I think this is the perfect example of an editorial from Dazed to show that nothing is too far outside the box. All the clothing in this editorial are by different designers including All Saints and Dior Haute Couture, and their is a big variety of clothing in the image. I like that there is so much going on in the photo because it really draws you in to have a look at all the aspects of the image. I like that there are a variety of model genders, ages and body types because it shows that Dazed is not just interested in the 'typical model' look with perfect looking, tall and skinny girls, as it makes it more relatable to the audience. The photography is by Jeff Bark and the styling is by Robbie Spencer. This editorial definitely inspired me to not restrict myself with anything and to have fun with the look!

Own Photo.

The focus in the majority of the editorials is the brand of clothing rather than makeup brands; however there are interesting and bold makeup looks incorporated into some of the fashion shoots so I think it would be a great place for Mac to promote itself to this younger, alternative audience. I bought the Spring 2016 edition and Mac have an editorial shoot included! It is promoting their AW16 trends, where they use cartoons places over each facial feature and all round the face to create a very bright, colour and graphic image. I like how much the bright colours used made the advert stand out as there was a lot of black and white imagery and faded colours in the other editorials. I also like that it is a closeup of the face because there are so many long body shots and busy backgrounds used in other images. I therefore want my image to be a close-up of the face because I want it to showcase the makeup and stand out; but also because I don't want the editorial to be a collaboration with another clothing brand as that would take the focus away from it.

I am so excited to start designing my editorial images that I think will suit the magazine Dazed and Confused, will reflect Mac and will include some 2016 Spring/Summer trends!

Resources:
DAZED DIGITAL, 1999. Dazed & Confused [viewed 27th March 2016]. Available from: http://www.dazeddigital.com/info/article/824/1/dazed-confused

WISEMAN, E., 2011. Still Dazed at 20: the gang who changed pop culture [viewed 27th March 2016]. Available from: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/nov/05/dazed-confused-gang-still-cool

I-D, 2016. about us [viewed 27th March 2016]. Available from: http://i-d.vice.com/en_gb/about

CONDE NAST. History [viewed 27th March 2016]. Available from: https://www.condenast.ru/en/portfolio/magazines/vogue/history/

CHAN, E. Vogue Cover Design History [viewed 27th March 2016]. Available from:  http://voguehistory.blogspot.co.uk/

SHULMAN, A., 2016. VOGUE, February 2016

NOAKES, T., 2016. DAZED, Vol IV Spring 2016

GRAND, K., 2016. LOVE CLUB, Spring/Summer 2016

JONES, T., 2016. i-D, Winter 2014