What Do Vanity Fair and Marilyn Monroe Have In Common?
APR
7
2009
It's savvy without being too hipster, classic while remaining unpretentious. Glamorous Hollywood starlets are featured on its cover regularly as are important political figures, and both receive the same amount of respect in the magazine's treatment of its subjects.
Cultivated into a source of all things high culture under the direction of Jazz Age editor Frank Crowninshield during 1913 to 1936, Vanity Fair flourished as a showcase for modern art and culture. Crowninshield's personality was evident from the get go when he originally assumed his position.
He explained that his "interest in society--at times so pronounced that the word 'snob' comes a little to mind--derives from the fact that I like an immense number of things which society, money, and position bring in their train: paintings, tapestries, rare books, smart dresses, dances, gardens, country houses, correct cuisine, and pretty women."
This is akin to current hotshot editor, Graydon Carter who transformed Vanity Fair into the award-winning publication it is today. His enthusiasm must be contagious and what makes the magazine so great. He describes the contents of his magazine as "things that interested me as a kid."
Under Crowninshield's direction in the early to mid 20th century, Vanity Fair introduced artists such as Picasso and Gauguin to the American public alongside writers like Dorothy Parker. Crowninshield's hated the concept of magazines that revolved solely around fashion, and his influence is still evident in today's issues. The cover stories' subjects are photographed in a manner where their essence is captured instead of them sitting pretty in unaffordable clothing.
In cases like that of Miley Cyrus, they may not wear any clothes - sparking debate over whether a photograph of the 15 year-old Disney star wrapped only in a bed sheet with her back exposed is artistic or the stuff of a pedophile's dreams.
Vanity Fair folded while Crowninshield was editor and relaunched again in 1983. Carter has managed to bring back the flair Crowninshield created in his tenure as editor half a century later.
Crowninshield was a product of the Jazz Age, and highlighted aspects of that period. The back issues of the magazine from the 20s and 30s are filled with true tales from the Jazz Age - making them as relevant and educational as any Fitzgerald novel.
When Vanity Fair takes a trip down memory lane in its pieces covering bits of important historical moments, it goes all the way. It combines American fashion icons with classical works of art, such as in a recent article "The Two First Ladies" which illustrates the tale of how Jackie Kennedy obtained the loan of the Mona Lisa all while her husband was embroiled in the Cuban missile crisis.
Vanity Fair is gloss combined with real, gritty journalism. It's the New York Times with fashion photography, Entertainment Weekly with gravity, the National Enquirer with class. It offers access to the rarefied air shared by socialites and politicans alike, but in a way that's more down to earth instead of simply as a ploy to remind the reader of how mundane his or her life is.
Let's get real - it's fun to hate on famous people while living vicariously through them. Vanity Fair is the Girl Scout leader that reconciles the queen bees with the drones. Yes, the people and places they show in its pages may be more glamorous and edgy than you could ever hope to be.
And yet, the magazine strays from its title's original meaning of "a place or scene of ostentation or empty, idle amusement and frivolity." It's smart without being a know-it-all. It's a place where the empty amusements and frivolities are taken seriously while being taken down a notch at the same time. Vanity Fair is the Marilyn Monroe of magazines.
It is Hollywood mixed up with prominent figures from the worlds of politics, sports, and the arts (JFK, Joe DiMaggio, Arthur Miller anyone) and downplaying a quick wit while capitalizing on its sex appeal.
Vanity Fair Magazine is recommended by twon
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