Auntie Fashion is many things, one of which is an anonymous fashion blogger. This makes telling you about her a little bit tricky, but I know this much for sure: she is intelligent, articulate, and funny. Her bio goes something like this:
“Auntie Fashion is the fashion world’s most-enduring muse. The ageless beauty attributes her influence on style to the glory of Zob: A supreme spiritual being worshipped by Zobists worldwide. As the mortal representation of Zob, Auntie Fashion is also responsible for defending the faith against her evil doppelganger, Marc Jacobs. When she’s not inspiring the collections of almost every major fashion designer in the world, Auntie Fashion spends her time working on pet projects, including writing her memoir Gorgeous Like Me and planning Moose Jaw Fashion Week 2012.”
Auntie Fashion kindly agreed to an interview here on Belle IQ. I’m thrilled to share her insightful and entertaining answers with you.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE BEAUTY?
I believe that our definition of physical beauty is programmed into our genetic code. It’s in our nature to value health and vigour, so we covet those characteristics in others. Wow — what a nerdy answer!
WHAT ROLE DOES BEAUTY PLAY IN SOCIETY? HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?
Most of us imagine that beauty will open doors for us. Of course it does, but hard work and tenacity also can open a lot of doors. That elusive quality we call “inner beauty” is probably more important in society. I believe that people with the manners that accompany “inner beauty” are generally happier in life. All the same, I would never call myself an “inner beauty” because that term seems to imply that I’m ugly on the outside, and nothing could be further from the truth. I mean look at me — I’m gorgeous!
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON TODAY’S BEAUTY IDEALS?
In her book, Sexual Personae, Camille Paglia wrote that today’s beauty ideals aren’t that different from the beauty ideals that the Egyptians valued five-thousand years ago. In many ways that assessment is accurate, yet the contemporary ideal of beauty is always subject to short-lived trends, just as the historical ideal was subject to trends. At the moment a lot of people apparently believe that tinting their skin an orange colour and wearing Marc Jacobs is attractive.
DOES THE FASHION AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY INFLUENCE WHAT SOCIETY CONSIDERS TO BE BEAUTIFUL?
Of course it does. The fashion and beauty industries capitalize on our innate need to be recognized as desirable. By constantly changing the short-term definition of what “desirable” means to us, they keep us buying whatever they’re selling.
Scrawny models get under my skin. I try to avoid the subject, but I just can’t do it. I’ve been a fitness trainer for more than two decades. I believe that a more-robust figure is attractive, and I also believe that a more-robust figure can present clothing attractively on a runway. I’d like to see the return of the healthy-looking girls I used to see in the late 80s/early 90s. I also believe that the best fashion magazines don’t need to resort to gimmicks to perpetuate the idea that women of different ethnic backgrounds can be beautiful (cough, cough, Italian Vogue).
IN WHAT WAYS DO FASHION MAGAZINES BENEFIT WOMEN? DO YOU THINK THEY CAN HAVE ANY NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON WOMEN? HAVE THESE THINGS CHANGED OVER TIME?
First and foremost, fashion magazines benefit women and men alike by exposing them to some of the most relevant art that our generation has produced. Fashion photography is as important to our era as poetry was to the 18th century. As for the negative effects on women, fashion magazines aren’t the publishing industry’s biggest culprits. Magazines that claim that you’re only as terrific as your last orgasm are worse for women. And those magazines don’t seem to change over time. They’ve been running the same headlines since the printing press was invented.
HAS WORKING IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY AFFECTED YOUR PERCEPTIONS OF BEAUTY?
Since I began writing my blog, I’ve actually been dressing with far more sophistication than when I was working for Hearst or Condé Nast. The office environment of those publishers was sort of poisonous. There are people who are working there only because they have a better wardrobe than you, yet you’re constantly providing them with creative input because they aren’t the sort of people who should be contributing to a fashion magazine whatsoever. I’ve rebelled against the “stylish intern” look, and embraced my inner freak over the past year or so. Every day my wardrobe gets better and more distinctive.
ON YOUR BLOG, YOU’VE BEEN OFFERING UP YOUR TAKE (AND TYRA’S) ON RETRO FASHION MAGAZINE COVERS. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY THINGS THAT HAVE CHANGED ABOUT MAGAZINE COVERS IN THE PAST 30 YEARS?
Celebrities dominate most fashion magazine covers nowadays (with the exception of FASHION itself), but I believe that’s going to change soon. The economic outlook for the magazine industry is horrible at the moment, but the business is also in desperate need of a cull. I’d like to see the fashion magazines that are still around focusing on the fashion business without pandering to the celebrity gossip market. The fashion business itself can be exciting enough without the cast of Gossip Girl tagging along for free clothes and a free ride.
As for the rest of the content, the formula hasn’t changed. There’s a headline about saving money, one about fitness, one about insider information, etc. It’s the same-old, same-old.
IN 30 YEARS FROM NOW, HOW DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WILL LOOK BACK ON AND EVALUATE THE CURRENT COVERS AND CONTENTS OF MAGAZINES?
I hope they have as much fun as I’ve been having with the FASHION Magazine cover archive. I love being able to put the covers into a context that younger readers might not understand nor appreciate at first glance. I sort of resent people who talk about fashion without bringing a historical perspective to fashion, like when some twenty-something says “Oh, it’s so 80s!” when referring to a Halston disco dress from 1978. Perhaps those people are getting a little education from their dear, old Auntie Fashion.
IF YOU WERE GOING TO BE ON THE COVER OF THE NEXT ISSUE OF FASHION MAGAZINE (AND CONSIDERING YOU ARE THE FASHION WORLD’S MOST ENDURING MUSE, THAT ONLY SEEMS FITTING), WHAT WOULD THE CAPTION READ THAT WOULD ACCOMPANY YOUR PHOTO?
I’d be wearing Gaultier Couture and the caption would read “Auntie Fashion: She’s Noe Rachel Zoe.”
Thank you, Auntie Fashion!
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