Although bans have been sprinkled around the fashion press for some time, they do seem to be coming down with increasing frequency - a sign, perhaps, of a growing anxiety in the luxury market that with the impending economic downturn not as many people are buying £900 dresses and trousers. It is also likely to be a reflection of the power of advertising. Fashion magazines and some newspapers are financially dependent on fashion advertisers, which muffles the writers who work for them. They are unable to say anything remotely negative about the clothes, out of fear of losing that precious £100,000-a-year advertising account, which is why so much fashion coverage often reads as little more than advertorial puff and fluff. Designers then get used to such obsequiousness so that any words of dissent are treated as a shocking display of heresy.
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5 comments:
Hadley seems to be in pretty good company in being banned.
I only ever look at the pictures, which don't lie, as the puff pieces are too obvious to be taken seriously. Considering the situation, however, there seems to be a market for real critical comment. Any fashion reporters with nerves of steel and flak jackets willing to give it a go? How about it, Hadley?
It's all for nothing, of course. Their work is going to be seen and criticized by the masses because of the internet. They're trying to control that too, unsurprisingly. Tania Sanchez mentions "a sleek luxury good company [who] unleashes its lawyers on a suburban mom for not liking their new fragrance" in "Perfumes, The Guide." It's hard to imagine them taking legal action against every blogger who criticizes or even insults their work. If you want people to buy your clothes, you need to move beyond the "it can't be me so it must be you" attitude towards anyone who doesn't love their designs.
Telling a fashion designer to "get over yerself" is probably a waste of time, no? How silly of them. I hope Hadley has a smashing day out anyway.
OOh that woman is good! And how daft the designers are to think she cares.
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