It’s rare pearls of wisdom like these that make us weep a little (OK, a lot) that there is, gratifyingly, someone who inspires a HELL YES moment in this absurd industry called fashion. Vogue Italia editrix, Franca Sozzani has fearlessly spoken out against the tastemakers over the torrid increase in gratuity forsaking creativity within fashion editorial. Like, way to piss of your peers, Sozzani!

Call it morality, call it common sense, call it what you will - whatever she’s talking, it sure ain’t smack. Publishing this statement on her blog, these words are as long-overdue as they are welcome, so drink in their wisdom and bask in their sanity…*

“For the sake of appearances, we have seen going around pictures that had very bad taste and went against all aesthetical grounds.

Why is it that the fashion magazines, the ones doing the most research, fall into out of line, worrisome, and at times vulgar traps? We have seen nudes of men and women for a while without purpose if not shocking the audience.

How about little girls? Wearing heavy make up, sexy clothes, posing in poses that are outrageous for their age. The movie Pretty Baby with Brooke Shields talks about a baby prostitute, but without being vulgar, the images were actually romantic for the harsh reality portrayed in them.

Lets not even talk about the decadence of seeing older women posing naked. This is the question.

How far can we go trying to find new ways to create images? To disturb, make people look vulgar, pretend that what's ugly is avant-garde, negate the widely accepted aesthetics to find new things that usually lead to stupefying results, without a purpose if not pleasing few people in the business that find this cool.

The research that goes behind photography is an open road and trying to put goofy and vulgar limits is really a shame. An image doesn't have limits, it shows the creativity of a photographer and a team that works with the idea.

To find a concept and follow it with strong images is great. To make people react can help the evolution of taste, at times too standardized. Without a strong idea exasperating an image is just self-satisfaction.

If what's beautiful depends on your opinion, what's ugly just repulses you.”

*(Ed: Not that we like to brag, but we totes pipped Sozzani to the post on this issue with this little feature I wrote for Don’t Panic last year)

Posted on January 21, 2011 at 6:13:11 by The Real Runway