Go Vogue World, Give Us Nothing

Since 2022, the fashion world has been coming together once a year to search for answers to one of humanity’s most enduring questions: What the hell is Vogue World?

Vogue hosts two major events each year: the Met Gala and Vogue World. The Met Gala is a spectacle heard around the world. On the first Tuesday of May, all anyone can talk about is which celebrity wore what. Even those who disapprove of the event cannot help but talk about it. All press is good press, and the Met Gala gets plenty. 

Vogue World, on the other hand, is barely a blip on the pop cultural radar. If you don’t consider yourself a fashion lover, chances are you have only heard of it in passing, if at all.

Each year, Vogue World is held in a different city around the world to explore themes related to fashion and the arts. Conveniently scheduled in the fall, it seems like the event is a valiant effort by Vogue to replicate the success of the Met Gala and maintain relevance year-round as the fashion media landscape changes.

This year, Vogue World’s voyage brought us to Milan, a celebration of Italian fashion’s commitment to human craftsmanship just in time for Milan Fashion Week. In the age of artificial intelligence, one would think an event dedicated to celebrating humanity in fashion would make waves in the art world. 

So why is no one talking about it?

For one thing, it does not really give us anything we have not seen before. The clothes are interesting, but they are all pulled from old collections that have already been shown on the runway. 

Not only does the event give us nothing new to look at, but it also ruins half of the fun by spoiling itself ahead of time. An editorial photoshoot featuring many of the looks set to appear in the show is published ahead of the event. There is no suspense because Vogue tells us what we are going to see before the models ever hit the runway. 

Vogue World also forgets that the Met Gala is not a standalone event. It is a benefit held to celebrate the opening of a new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. While the red carpet itself is very exclusive, the exhibition is on display and open to the public for several months, requiring only a general admission ticket for entry. The Met Gala pairs its luxurious spectacle with a unique opportunity for guests from around the world to get up close and personal with fashion history.

Vogue World lacks that element of accessibility, making it feel even more so like a show put on for the wealthy elite. Sure, there is a charitable element to the event — the funding it generates does go to worthwhile causes in the host city. But the event itself is for the wealthy first. Us commoners are an afterthought.

Does this mean Vogue World is destined to fail forever? No. I actually think it is a cool idea. The accompanying editorial is an interesting look at archival fashion, and the benefits to the host city are nothing to sneeze at. But if Vogue wants to turn the event into something people actually care about, some big changes are desperately needed.

As it stands, Vogue World is little more than an opportunity to look at celebrities in fancy clothes. It is fun, but forgettable. Vogue needs to get serious and give us regular people something to get excited about. Give us some kind of accompanying installation that is open to the public. Give us a red carpet. Give us the editorial photo shoot after the event so we get to be surprised by what we see. Give us something. Give us anything.