The Adaptation of Species in the Fashion Media Ecosystem: The Case of Vogue

Abstract

Digitalization has reconfigured the landscape in the fashion media ecosystem. New species have emerged within the environment. Today, fashion magazines compete with numerous fashion and lifestyle content providers, questioning their role as the sole authority when it comes to deciding “what is fashionable” and challenging their monopoly when it comes to prescribing aesthetic tastes. The purpose of this study is to analyze the case of Vogue to illustrate how species can adapt to the ecosystem. Vogue’s original response, as reflected in the different initiatives we have studied, enables us to draw up a map of players within the fashion industry, one in which the magazine serves as an institution and not only as a member of the media. In this respect, our conclusions highlight the importance of the public, as opposed to the medium itself, based on an understanding of communication as a social rather than a technological phenomenon.