Fashion’s New Year Has a New Rulebook

Cover Design by Luci Kucab

Fashion’s New Year Has a New Rulebook

By: Hailey Young

September is the pinnacle month of fashion: new fall lines, new trends, and a new “September” Vogue cover. You know, the one that everyone keeps talking about. Fall lines reset the fashion scene, diving into new colors that will trend throughout the year, transition jackets that lead us into winter, and full runway collections that debuted in February and March.

The anticipation from February and March carries over into stores by the end of summer, but hits full-blown in mid-to-late September. Trends that designers predicted and placed become our current obsessions by the fall, and once we can buy our autumn clothes, designers continue to keep us excited for the Spring and Summer seasons ahead.

Now, onto the most important part of September: the Vogue September issue. Vogue’s September edition is the most highly anticipated cover of the year, previously showcasing the world’s biggest stars like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Kate Moss. However, this year's cover fell short. The campaign starred Kaia Gerber and Homer Gere, a cover made to help promote their new show, The Shards. The issue with the campaign wasn’t only the lack of the world's biggest superstar, but also the entire shoot. Instead of a cover beaming with colors or an exotic background, it was shot with a gray backsplash, one you could find to take your elementary school photo in front of.

Moreover, this cover was the first done after Anna Wintour announced her departure from her Editor-in-Chief position. The new “editor-in-chief” is Chloe Malle, but her position was renamed “Head of Editorial Content for American Vogue,” making Anna Wintour the last Editor-in-Chief at Vogue. This shift from Wintour to Malle now begs the question: are people going to listen to Vogue anymore? Or are we going to get our fashion intel from somewhere else?

Now more than ever, influencers are running the game, with some dominating the fashion field. Take Ashtin Earle, for example: she first came onto the scene as Alix Earle’s younger sister and has since been seen at numerous fashion shows. We have watched her style evolve and, in tandem, we have grown with her. She was no longer Alix’s little sister; she was Ashtin Earle, the cool fashion girl, and her comments show it. Without a doubt, her comment section will be full of girls asking, “Where did you get that?” and “YOU LOOK INSANE!!!”

Another successful influencer turned to fashion-forward videos is Victoria Paris. She’s known for $5 Depop deals, selling everything from dog collars to designer purses. I can even admit to trying to buy her Balenciaga City Bag, but unfortunately, it sold out within 1 second of her posting. Paris, along with many other influencers, also uses the ShopMy app. ShopMy lets you post your own outfit links or affiliate links to show people where you shop, and you get a cut of the money spent. It’s one of the easiest ways to influence people, and you don’t even have to own the item to promote it.

There is no longer one fashion bible, but instead numerous hubs of fashion and inspiration. Vogue may not be the only website out there, but one of many that tell people how to dress. So, is Vogue dead? I don’t think so, but I do think that other platforms may be catching up.