Fashion has evolved very much in SL over the past couple of years. Fashion shows and designers' showcases have become more realistic - apart from one or two Agencies that keep on providing low quality services.
I do believe that the closer it is to RL, the more quality both client and seller will have in SL.
Lately, many SL Models have created their own fashion blogs, fortunately for the rest of us, because in general SL Fashion Magazines are now in a limbo - nothing really new or stands out.
Print work is done by SL Models themselves. Some are very good at it, others are not but we do have a good range of fashion blogs to chose from, to read and to enjoy their aesthetics.
This situation - I believe - has been putting SL Fashion Magazines in a place where we almost don't need them. The importance of a magazine in RL fashion is huge. Magazines make trends, their staff is carefully selected in order to provide services that no other magazine has.
What I see happening now in almost all SL Magazines is that models are actually promoting themselves, instead of being just a model. Meaning what?
In every RL Magazine staff the role of Fashion Editor is pretty much what everybody wants and only a selected few get. That's the person who has that catchy eye and finds designers, models and photographers that make trends. One 'simple' editorial article changes a model's life, a photographers' life, the magazine's success. That's the person who isn't obviously a model, but has to know everything in the fashion industry and move extremely well in all social circles.
In SL this so important role in every fashion magazine doesn't exist, per se. It's portrayed by SL models.
As an example, Leah McCullough is working very actively in print, both with her own magazine - Haute - and being the Creative Director of Avenue Magazine.
On the other hand, Avenue Magazine has now Anna Saphire as fashion editor, as far as I could see in their latest issue.
There are several problems here, one of them being Anna Saphire isn't really a fashion editor. She is actually promoting herself as a model in the magazine. Try to go through the latest Avenue Magazines; it's becoming extremely boring to see the same print female models: wether we see Anna or Absinthe or Leah or Miaa. Avenue Magazine is becoming a nitch of a few, the same featured models over and over and lastly, there is a boring aesthetic to it: every photo, every editorial looks the same as the last one. We don't really know which month we are looking at. It all looks the same. And why? Because they are all the same, same models, taking their own photos. It's not even a matter of finding a design that is cohesive. There has to be variety!
And here is where the role of fashion editor takes over. To provide a secure and professional attitude, the fashion editor shouldn't be one of the models at all or remove herself from that position. The fashion editor moves always in the background, stays backstage and finds the best models, the best photographers for the magazine. That's the person with that eye that no one else has, the fashion editor has a vision that isn't obviously centered in herself.
Another example - this one being exactly how it's supposed to be - is Avenue's Lifestyle Editor, Umberto Giano. We go through the magazine and we read all the lifestyle articles, with a quite good variety of topics. Where is Umberto? In the background. That's his job, his place.
When it comes to fashion, things are different and many of us, readers, are now wondering why. One of the reasons for this boredom can be the fact that the models featured at Avenue Mag take their own photos, which saves time, true. But this is not good for the overall magazine.
Anna Saphire should excuse herself from being in the magazine as a model, month after month. As fashion editor, she should find new paths for Avenue Magazine that don't include photos of her, nor Absinthe's nor Leah's or Miaa's. Avenue has had a recent casting for new models, so what is going on that only three or four of them are actually in the magazine, featured month after month after month? How come? Where is that Avenue mag that used to have several models featured each month? All different? It almost makes us go back to the times of Modavia Fashion Directory in which one of the models featured was the owner herself, Poptart. That was never Dea Mills' idea for Modavia. Poptart used to give a very diplomatic excuse for this 'designers ask for me, so I model'. Now Avenue is doing the exact same thing. Promoting a few that are obviously part of their staff members. Does this look good for you? Not for me. Does this happen because designers - who pay for their articles - ask for Anna or Absinthe or Leah? I don't think they do; even so, there can be exceptions, of course. But to have the same models featured over and over and over again, this sounds more like a comfort zone than a 'designer's request'.
I know SL isn't exactly RL, but for sure, Avenue Magazine has had better days. There used to be a variety of imagery that would keep us interested in reading more, next month and the next. Somewhere, Avenue has lost it's track and right now, even before the Magazine is out, we all wonder, in which style are we going to see Anna Saphire in, or Absinthe or Leah, or Miaa in the next magazine?
It's very unfortunate that this is happening with a magazine that was the best fashion magazine inworld. Was, past tense.
Not to mention that , in my opinion, there is a clear conflict of interests in Leah McCullough's case; she has her own magazine, as she is now hiring staff, so I assume that Haute Mag is moving up. Where does that leave Leah as Avenue's magazine Creative Director?
What will happen to Avenue as soon as Leah has her own team formed and ready to print?
Maybe we're watching a new era arising in the fashion print panorama.
Is Avenue going down because of their own choice of staff members? Probably. Feeding egos has never been a good business choice.
Let's see which magazine is going to be the next big thing, That's fashion, indeed. One day we're up, next day, we're gone!
