Vogue Italia’s Photoless Issue: How Sustainable is Sustainability?
When I open a magazine, or see one displayed in a store, the first thing that comes to mind is usually something like, “Wow, she’s pretty!” or “I think I need those shoes,” and then not much else (sorry). Before recently, I have to admit, I had never considered anything beyond what was shown to me in the photos. I had never thought about the environmental cost of operating the photoshoots: I had never focused on how many hundreds of clothing articles, accessories, and equipment for the shoot are shipped overseas or for that matter how many people are transported to run the whole thing. I had never thought about the lighting which is needed for the entire day of shooting and how it is powered by gasoline generators. None of this had ever crossed my mind until Vogue Italia announced their January 2020 issue– an entirely photoshoot-less edition.
It’s the first of its kind for all sectors of Vogue.The issue features only images which have been hand-illustrated by artists. It has eight unique covers, all displaying vibrant drawings of figures in exclusively Gucci ensembles. The goal, according to editor-in-chief Emanuele Farneti, was to “prove it is possible to show clothes without photographing them” and “without travelling, shipping entire wardrobes of clothes or polluting in any way.”
While Farneti certainly achieved his goal of cutting down on resources, the photo-less showcasing of the clothes appeared in a less literal way than I had imagined when I first heard about the issue. In terms of the actual presentation of the clothes for potential buyers, or even people who just want to browse new collections, I’m not sure some of the highly stylized and abstracted illustrations in the issue make sense. Don’t get me wrong, from an artistic perspective the images are great, and I fully support the intention behind the concept. But many of the drawings aren’t detailed enough or realistic enough to serve as a practical means of representing the clothes as they are in person, which, at the end of the day, is a large part of why people buy magazines like Vogue. People like to see the clothes! So, ironically, on the business side, I don’t know if this is really a sustainable option at all. There is also the livelihood of fashion photographers and editorial models to consider. But seeing as there seem not to be any plans by the magazine to continue this no-photo print style, perhaps the January issue is less of a declaration to commit to this particular way of being environmentally aware, and more about making a statement– a nod to the massive expenditure of the industry and an acknowledgement of the rapidly growing sustainability movement in fashion.
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