what to make of you steven meisel

fashion gone rouge just posted this editorial from the august issue of vogue italia. the topic of the images is very current obviously and so as always, with these damned current events, caused quite the stir on the internet (also look http://jezebel.com/5606514/vogue-italias-awful-oil-spill-fashion-shoot/gallery/?skyline=true&s=i). where i see that people are getting quite upset about this whole thing (“this is disgusting”, “this is so wrong”, “there are people who are losing their jobs and fashion is using this as a marketing tool” etc etc.) in my personal, and humble opinion, anybody who thinks that it is wrong for a fashion magazine to take notice of what is happening and use their medium to comment on it, is the tool. i just don’t see the issue here. we watch these events unfold on national/international television 24/7 to the point of depression. i think that we all agree that what is happening is wrong, we see the damage it brings. so why is a fashion magazine exempt from also reporting (in their own way) on the problem? because the purpose of a fashion magazine is to sell clothes you say, you people of the world? but editorials are not catalogs, editorials are not advertisements, i think that fashion magazines evolved into this form of art, where photographers, models and stylists get to play and use their imaginations to create something fantastic. i look to editorials for inspiration, there are photographers and artists out there that do something really special. the last thing that meisel had on his mind, i am sure, was to sell the garments when he shot these images. they are disturbing and there is little beauty in them, per say. but that does not make them any less true and sad, the fact that there is no voice of business or profit here and that it appeals to humanity itself is what makes this beautiful. the last thing i look at is the clothes, or the models. it’s not often that fashion comments on world events, fashion doesn’t get involved in politics, it doesn’t participate in protests. until very recently, fashion was a neutral ground in fear of somebody dropping out. it’s most often nudity and sex (terry richardson), which i am 100% behind but so just makes the point of involvement that much stronger when it does happen. so stop it people, commenting about how people lose their jobs, these two things have nothing to do with each other. what is meisel to do about that? you say it is not a marketing tool? look around you for a second here lady! everything we do in some way affects marketing, the whole mess itself is one big opportunity for corporations and people to make money from the tragedy (except of course for those that lost it). companies buying out bp shares for pennies so they can take control of their remaining wells so that they themselves can have control of more oil. more more more. it shouldn’t angry you that people talk about this, the more outlets this message reaches the more powerful the effect. so… shut up already!