Fierce+Foreign: French Vogue takes over Paris

Fierce+Foreign draws on the fashion experiences of SU students studying abroad.

Greetings from Strasbourg, France to all the stylistas in Syracuse!

I'll be your foreign correspondent, Jenny, from across the pond this semester. Escape from the dreary North Faces and Uggs, and follow me as I traverse around this charming country to discover how the French exude style so effortlessly. 

Unfortunately, yours truly was not able to score a press pass to Paris Fashion Week.

But, French Vogue has taken over the Champs Elysée, and you don't need credentials to see this grand showcase. It's the 90th anniversary of French Vogue, and covers reaching as far back as 1920 have been dusted off and put on display.

Photo: Jenny Cheng

Despite having a very French-sounding title, Vogue, in fact, was not created in France but was brought over from across the Atlantic. Nonetheless, its reign in the French fashion world is unrivaled. 

The earliest covers were hand-drawn works of art, and some of the most famous artists in the world have worked on the covers, including David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. And in case you're wondering, the state of print publications in France and Europe is very healthy and not at all a sunset industry. 

The introduction to the exhibition proudly recounts that French Vogue never ceased publishing except during the German occupation, when it refused to publish under the Nazis. 

Later on, female models and celebrities began to grace the covers. It's a small slice of fashion history as you recount the most influential female stars, from Audrey Hepburn to Kate Moss, from Twiggy to Liz Hurley.

Photo: Jenny Cheng

For more photos of the covers on display, click here.
 

On this trip down fashion lane, I looked down in shame at the college hoodie I was sporting. In my defense, it was freezing! Oh la la, these glamorpusses of fashion past towering over me must be shaking their heads in disapproval. A hoodie, of all places, the Champs Elysée!

I have never seen a French girl wear a hoodie or a down jacket in cold weather in Paris or in Strasbourg. They’re always sporting a leather or tweed coat. If these glamorous covers could talk, they would most certainly cast a judgment on me: burn that hoodie! 

- by Jenny Cheng