Will Models ever be "IT" again?**Will Models ever be "IT" again? **
Anna over at her blog "Anna Bayle", (who by the way is a super model in her own right!), posted a very interesting post on her blog recently. Titled, "Where have all the models gone?", she ponders on the missing supermodel and if she's ever coming back.
She walks by newstands like I do and wonders,
"As I walk by the magazine stands and scan all the covers, I observe, every passing month, the mysterious and blatant disappearance of the model. All covers of the mainstream fashion magazines are actresses or singers; Cate Blanchett for Vogue, Natalie Portman for Harper’s Bazaar, Jessica Alba for Elle, Faith Hill for Glamour, Scarlette Johanssen for Allure, Ashlee Judd for MarieClaire.
What does it mean? Does it mean that this generation of magazine readers prefer to identify with movie actresses and singers? Of course, this is what sells. But why?"
Her excellent post got me to thinking as well, and yes, the famous face of the supermodel has seemed to vanish. And I, like her, can't wait for the day when they finally get their rightful place back on the covers and start advertising again fragrance, makeup, handbags, fashion and everything else in this 'beauty & fashion' industry that they should. I for one am tired of the actress/actor taking their job.
I know photographers are tired of demanding celebrities who insist on using 'their' makeup and hair people, (I can't tell you how many jobs I've lost because of this...) and demanding this outfit, or that designer, or this lighting or they only pose from the right .... I know many photographers who are now refusing to shoot celebrities now. I for one don't blame them. Why? Because creativity disappears. We are no longer doing what we do best, we are now catering to the celebrity and their publicist's demands.
But sadly, it's the bottom line that dictates what gets seen. Celebrities have more at stake and fight for that cover now. Why? Because it blends in perfectly with that movie premiere, or that charity or that book they're writing. PR is everything and one more cover might push that movie to the #1 position. And hype is king. Kate Moss is only getting a ton of campaigns and covers now because of her 'scandal'. Her face was all but gone before it happened.
But is all this really working? Magazines are at a high time low. Desperate for readers, I'm seeing publishers pushing '2 magazines for the price of one!" and "Get the first issue free!" Why? Because we're not buying them.
How about this for a change?
Change what you put IN the magazine. Give us something new and different to read. Information, how to's, direction. I'm tired of beauty magazines telling us what to buy and that J.Low wears this and you can buy it at sephora, but that's it.
What happened to the amazing how to do it stories? Allure was the beauty bible when they first came out for just this reason. Information. Pages of how to apply makeup, and top artist's tips and tricks. Now, it's just one big buy me catalog.
And every issue, every year, is the same editorial calendar....And every year is exactly like the last.
Keep celebrities in their entertainment issues and models in the fashion and beauty issues. You're losing readers because we just don't care anymore what celebrity is wearing what. But teach your readers how and what to do with your content and you may reach a whole new, and bigger audience.
Maybe that's why blogs are so popular right now, and beauty blogs are getting bigger and growing every day. Why? Readers are hungry for knowledge. What works and WHY? A fellow beauty enthusiast will be the first to tell you. And we read and follow......
So bring back the super model, and please bring back CONTENT. Content that WE want to read, not what will make your advertisers happy and your wallets full.
Because as you probably can tell, it's not working.......
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