Research and Archiving

This archiving session was a very useful exercise in identifying a certain demographic. The magazine of choice was Italian Vogue for 1990.

Silk trimmed dress: Adrienne Landau

Makeup: Clinique

Pages: 158 - 165

The editorial on Editha Dussler also promotes a sense of aspiration to the target audience. She is a star model, who made it from the 60’s and is still regarded as a “Beautiful aristocrat” 30 years on. Women reading this would want to be Editha, who can still be regarded as attractive in her mature life. This magazine focuses heavily on beauty and material things by including a lot of adverts for beauty creams and make up.

Throughout the editorial, Editha poses in very strong, yet elegant ways. For instance, the picture of her looking directly into the camera with a stern face and a blazer creates the idea that she is a strong and independent woman, who has worked for her fame. Despite some images of her being sexualised, the poses and expressions she uses enforces individualism and self-awareness. This could be linked to the third-wave feminists, which was marked at the beginning of the 1990’s. Noticeably there are hardly any men in this issue of Vogue, creating a strong sense of female importance. It could be thought that the magazine emphasizes the fact that this is aimed at an independent woman who does not rely of the income of a spouse.

Photographer: Alfa castaldi

Pearl production started in Australia in 1956. In 1990, the value of Australian cultured pearls rose tenfold from the mid 80’s, therefore this could be an indication as to why the word “Rich” is in bold capitalized letters. The amount of pearls in the jewellery would indicate that this advert was aimed at the affluent female. This is emphasised by the amount of gold used to make the jewellery. The previous images associated with the advertorial further depict a fashion conscious, wealthy woman, displayed by leather bag and diamond encrusted watches and the word “gold”. The advert includes a Louis Vuitton suitcase, advertising luxury goods to its audience. The UPS is soft sell, which is implied by the selected words such as  “Charme” and “Luxe”, to entice the target market.

This magazine could also apply to an aspirational female who wishes to have these materialist objects. This particular person may come from a different demographic from a slightly lower class, therefore she strives to become a woman who can afford all of these things. This may also imply she is could be working at a lower level, belonging to a C2 or C1 demographic group.

Photographer: Niel Kirk

Coat: Gianfranco Ferré

Fashion editor: Anna Dello Russo

Page: 230 -237

The editorials and advertorials in the December 1990 Vogue Italia targets the affluent woman. This editorial may mirror the demographic that read this magazine. It depicts a woman wearing fur, which is regarded as an expensive material for clothing. In addition, she is seen wearing what seems to be expensive jewellery on her neck, ears and hand. The highly embroidered and tailored jacket could indicate she is fashion conscious and can afford such things. The age and dress of the model indicates this magazine could be aimed at mid 25- 40 as the style is very sophisticated. She seems to be a lady of leisure, shown in the image of her at the restaurant, maybe conveying the idea she may not need to work since she is able to dress expensively. She is seen by herself thought the advertorial, which could depict she is an independent woman.

The actions against fur peaked in the 80s to 90s, therefore it is questionable why this model is wearing fur. It has been concluded that Italy had, strict welfare conditions for fur farming which were adopted in March 2001. This meant that the fur was acceptable in Italy past the 90’s, whilst other countries had banned fur farms at this time.