Blogger/Editor Charu Gaur Gives Her Take On American Vogue Editors’ Controversial Comments
You’re probably well aware of the recent furore over Vogue US editors’ calling fashion bloggers “pathetic” in the aftermath of Milan Fashion Week. The entire industry was up in arms — every journalist, every publication, every blogger had something to say. Closer home, Charu Gaur, an editor-turned-blogger herself, shared what she felt about the entire incident, having been on both sides of the fence. Here’s her take on the fiasco below:
Recently, senior editors from Vogue US lashed out at fashion bloggers, stating that they are a shame to the industry at large. One of them even went on to say, “Rather than a celebration of any actual style, it seems to be all about turning up, looking ridiculous, posing, twitching in your seat as you check your social media feeds, fleeing, changing, repeating… it’s all pretty embarrassing — eve more so when you consider what else is going on in the world.”
But this isn’t a Vogue-Vs-Bloggers war. You can’t single out one magazine. I guess they just said out loud what most people in the industry think. This is a traditional-industry-versus-a new-wave issue; a David-versus-Goliath issue. In 2011, when I started blogging, it was fun work but a nightmare to explain to people what exactly it meant. While those outside the industry sounded excited and amused, the fashion brigade was like “Dude, is this legit?” Then, of course, bloggers cropped up from every corner of the internet and took the scene by storm. Even though everyone seems to love them, they’re shunned for being too “out there” about their lifestyle. Many people use the term “blogger” like it’s a bad thing — even while everyone else is busy pretending to be one.
Anybody worth their salt in fashion (be it editors, designers, models) love to flash free goodies, strut for street style photos, and pose #ootd selfies on social media. If you hate bloggers, then first STOP doing all of that. Stop gushing when they talk about your collection. Stop inviting them to your events. I have been both a blogger and an editor, and to be 100% honest, this bias did get to me — it was easy for me to shrug off the blogger tag in order to be taken seriously. And in the spirit of honesty, sometimes I do crave good, solid content from fashion bloggers. But, that’s beside the point. You can’t take away the fact that they work hard to reach where they do.
Yes, there are fewer good bloggers than we’d like, but that’s the case with everything. I know editors who can’t tell Zara from Margiela. On the other hand, Susanna Lau aka Susie Bubble’s fashion week reporting is more on-point than many other editors, who shy away from stating the truth. Imran Amed’s Business Of Fashion is so pragmatically curated that it offers more in-depth knowledge than a lot of fashion MBAs. Back home, Rhea Gupte of Fuss does such beautiful, creative editorials that they belong in the glossiest of glossies. Despite all of this, the industry refuses to grow up and accept blogging as an integral part of it and stop the mockery. Magazines, PR agencies, and brands need to stop this convenience-based relationship with bloggers. Either be in it a 100% or get out of it.
A few months ago, a very senior and well-loved editor in India posted about a job opening in his magazine where it was clearly stated that the person applying must have attended fashion school, and anyone who simply loves fashion, loves dressing up, and/or has a blog is not welcome.
But guess what? Some of the best fashion writers and designers are self-taught. India’s most recognised fashion features writer, Vogue India’s Bandana Tewari, didn’t attend fashion school. Neither did Anna Wintour, Giorgio Armani, Alexander Wang, and Coco Chanel, to name just a few.
Lastly, I might be the editor of Runway Square (we are a webzine that will be going live soon, so this is the appropriate job profile), but I am very happy to use #FashionBlogger — because honey, that hashtag is where the numbers go to get high!
