If I was solely responsible for the decline of print magazines, it would be because I no longer find inspiration within the pages of a standard fashion issue. I am unfulfilled by the endless full-page advertisements and the glorification of trends and mindless shopping. So, how do I feel when a well-known, mainstream publication, focuses its infamous September Issue on sustainability?
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By now, you’ve probably seen the beautiful blue and polka-dot cover – featuring Slick Woods – of ELLE UK’s September 2018 issue splattered all over Instagram. It seems to be a major first not only for ELLE specifically but for a good chunk of everyday fashion magazines you’ll find on your local newsstand.
From afar, it looks like any other issue of the magazine with its glossy plastic covering and it’s headline about ‘power boots’ being the latest trend, but inside, the paper has been produced from 100% recycled waste and 49 pages in, you will find an editor’s letter from Annie-Marie Curtis with the phrase “It’s better to buy less and buy well” – a phrase which I find excitingly refreshing when the majority of sustainable fashion content often revolves around the latter half of her statement (I’ve been guilty of this in the past, too).
Overall, excluding the advertisements which almost feel ill-placed (see: the spotlight interview with Stella McCartney sandwiched between two River Island promotions), the whole issue feels refreshing and with that, you might skip to thinking they couldn’t have done a better job.
There’s an editorial which highlights the team behind Fashion Revolution; Wilson Oryema is part of the guest editors list and a couple of the photoshoots feature vintage pieces, meaning they act more as style inspiration than a call-out for people to get shopping.
Quite honestly, I don’t have much to complain about or pick holes in. It’s what I would expect from a fashion magazine focusing on a topic which is much broader and larger than a single issue will ever be able to cover.
Perhaps that is the only problem, here? Perhaps the limitations of how mainstream media works, is what will always stop it from truly making an impact.
Once you look a little closer, it’s still a magazine playing it relatively safe. There are still phrases and attitudes being used which many ethically-focused brands and ‘greenfluencers’ – a term I recently shuddered at after being given the label – will try stead-fast to avoid.
Take the piece about animal prints, which suggest “You need one, don’t you?” when talking about a £2,495 coat from Victoria Beckham. Sustainability isn’t about needing or necessity, especially not listening to somebody else telling you what that is.
The prices and brands mentioned are another cause for concern; this September Issue further indulges the idea that sustainable fashion can only be done when you have hundreds of pounds to spare when in actual fact, sustainable fashion can be done with almost no money in the bank – you just have to stop shopping and start embracing what you already own. That’s still fashion.
I wish Stella McCartney’s quote – “I wasn’t given money by my mum and dad, so I always shopped vintage at charity shops. And damn it, I felt cooler for doing that.” – had been emblazoned across her feature in a big bold typeface. That’s my experience of having a sustainable wardrobe, too.
Speaking once again of Stella McCartney’s piece within the issue, one of the images from her Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign that depicts a model laying across a heap of waste in a Scottish landfill, is squashed into the corner of the page.
Most people who are well into their sustainable journey will tell you that seeing the harsh truths and gritty imagery is what made their mindset towards their clothes shift, so, why does it take up so little space?
Similarly, although there is a mention of the Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in 2013, there are no images. After all, a picture speaks a thousand words but most of the pictures used in the magazine could be found in any other issue.
The reality of fashion and the impact it has on the world isn’t pretty, so, surely a sustainability issue should depict that in some way or another? We need balance and I believe that’s what ELLE may have missed out on, this time around.
It begs the question – will this always be the case for mainstream media, for as long as over-consumption and the mindset of disposable purchases, exists? Can we really rely on major publications to discuss these topics when luxury handbag spreads and discount offers still take up more space than the important issues the magazine is supposed to be highlighting?
I know the answer may seem simple; of course, this is how magazines work. The only way to get a magazine on a newsstand is to sell enough advertising spaces to afford the print run and all of the work which gets put into.
You could argue that it will create a demand for more sustainable practices if brands know that the publication has these sorts of expectations of them and that readers will now be more aware of what’s going on behind closed doors, but I’m unsure whether one issue out of a whole years’ worth has the power to do that.
Most likely, advertisers would start to turn their backs on a publication house if its magazines started suggesting that its readers stop shopping and when they do, start visiting their local Oxfam instead. But, how long are we going to feel comfortable with this reasoning for not going the extra mile?
In my dream edition of ELLE’s Sustainability Issue, there would have been images from the Rana Plaza disaster or dye-polluted rivers running from denim factories in China. There would have been more of an emphasis on re-wearing and being comfortable in what you already own (Pandora Sykes briefly touched on this, although it was from a specific and very unique perspective that the everyday reader may not be able to relate to).
And there would have been features for brands which won’t always break the bank, such as People Tree and Know The Origin who are two of the UK’s sustainability stars.
I am happy that the issue was published, and I believe it is an inspiring start. I can only hope that recycled paper is used in all the upcoming issues (the feel of it reminded me of the old Hearst print, COMPANY magazine) and that ELLE and other magazines follow in VOGUE Australia’s footsteps by putting some great minds and experts, like Clare Press, in the driver’s seat of their sustainable efforts.
As I recently said in an interview for i-D – nobody is perfect, but we really do need to embrace the small steps, and fortunately, this issue of ELLE is 306 small steps (or pages), in the right direction.
Did you read the issue? What did you make of it? Let me know in the comments!
(Picture from Elle Magazine)
