If visual culture is the decoding of iconographic associations and
characteristics, why would a black-eyed bald woman wearing a leather jacket
be holding a naked baby? What does a dead body on a bed wearing a tuxedo
have to do with perfume? And who in their right mind pays $125 for
personalized stationery? These are just some of the absurdist issues raised by the monthly high-end fashion advisory Harper's Bazaar.
So-called "special interest" magazines are usually pretty simple. Most
sell the idea that the reader can, by following the insider tips
discussed within, transform him or herself into a member of the elite
depicted — a demographic to which he or she would ordinarily never
belong. Just follow these 10 simple steps and you can have a beautiful body
like this, you can pick can't-miss stocks or you can live just like Oprah!
Bazaar extends the normal magazine methodology as far as it can go.
Nothing in the magazine is even close to being affordable, or even
wearable by anyone other than the five models that appear in nearly all
the photos. The aim is elusive: The $3 cover price, supermarket
check-out lane location and the outrageously priced goods pitched in
the pictures and features connect together like, well, a bald woman in
a leather jacket and a naked baby.
"Suit yourself with the new extremes in tailoring, Pantsuit, $2725, and
shirt $545," reads the caption of a pictorial in which a young,
pantsuited sprite struts along the waterfront. Because, of course,
that's what one does in a pantsuit that costs more than a semester of
college tuition. Another pictorial focuses on the new hip tweed trend, modeled on a petite beauty sitting in front of a cup
of coffee and plate of fries in a dive cafe. The text reads, "The
season's ultimate investments: A sumptuous fur shrug and a fitted
jacket. Jacket, $935, and fur shrug, $525." While the coffee, jacket,
fries and fur shrug are all beautifully arranged, the combination of
visual components is simply confusing.
Bazaar's two articles are as nonsensical as
the photos. In an interview in the August issue, for example, Debra
Messing says, "On my first TV show, they saw me losing weight, mostly
because I was homesick for New York, and I was getting all of this
positive reinforcement. I was being told, 'Wow, you look fantastic.'"
Huh? What? Homesickness is a great way to lose weight? Maybe there is
a way for the cash-poor to achieve Bazaar's beauty ideals, never mind
that "there is a prima donna-appropriate silk sleeping mask" on Debra's
night table.
To its credit, Bazaar is visually well done and features more artful
lighting, color and composition than most similar magazines. The photo
spreads luminously display models and makeup carefully arranged around such
themed sales pitches as "A Passion for Purple." The product collages
are laid out like a catalogue for obvious reasons — what better way to
market to an audience who spends so much time shoppingÑbut the color
combinations of sheer gloss, eye shadow, and lilac perfume are very
easy on the eye. A peek inside Alba Clemente's bohemian abode also
shows an eye for design excellence, mixing sophisticated patterns with
plush paint schemes and fancy furniture.
The spectacular visuals are necessary, since the magazine contains almost no actual
content. The majority of the publication is devoted to praising
the idols of fabulous fashion, mainstream beauty and really, really,
really good looking people. Bazaar's first actual section, after the
compulsory 20 pages of ads that read like a semiotic nightmare, is a
run down of celebrities and what expensive designer clothes they wear:
Nicole Kidman wore custom made Pucci at Cannes; Claire Danes was in
Narciso Rodriguez. Kylie Minogue, Jennifer Garner, Jade Jagger were all
"Mad for Moschino."
It's no surprise that "Sex and the City," which shares the same exclusive
objects of worship, is frequently cited. Sarah Jessica Parker sported Oscar de
la Renta at the Council of Fashion Designers of America's 2003 CFDA
Fashion awards. Sex in the City author Candace Bushnell claims "You can
never really be overdressed. The thing with being a writer is that you
can get away with a lot."
And the thing with being a fashion magazine is that nothing needs to make
sense, it just needs to look good.
— Taylor Carik (cari0021@tc.umn.edu)
— graphic by D.P. Barsam (barsam@hotpop.com)
Harper's Bazaar