Kimye takes the spotlight

Not only did Kim become famous from a sex tape, having a televised relationship with Reggie Bush, the shortest and most expensive marriage to Kris Humphreys, having a reality show about her family, a baby out of wedlock with Kanye West, but now she can say she assumed the cover of Vogue magazine.

The March 2014 issue of Vogue magazine contains the most controversial cover in the magazine’s history. The cover featured Kimye, the infamous couple of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. The world's most influential fashion magazine turned heads by allowing such a controversial woman to be on the cover. The majority of Vogue covers are occupied by elite fashion models, with an occasional female political figure making an appearance. This is the first woman to assume the coveted cover who has a well-known sex tape and is arguably one of the most dramatic public figures in the 21st century. This stunt may have cost Vogue their iconic position within the fashion industry and have turned it into a trashy magazine comparable to less prestigious Cosmo.  

As an avid reader and collector of this iconic magazine, I am offended that Vogue would print this cover, knowing that their readers aren't into the trashy life of Kim Kardashian, but rather into a more polished idea of poise and etiquette. Reading this magazine gives me a life to aspire towards, and I would never aspire to be Kim Kardashian. Ever. 

The criticism that the magazine got in response for putting such a trashy woman on the cover may have affected the future of Vogue. The mere fact that Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of the magazine, had to publically defend the cover shows how much backlash the cover created. Historically, the magazine created an alternative world where people have diamonds and elegant gowns paired with unarguably perfect figures and flawless beauty. 

What once was aspirational and undeniably classy has now become a nesting ground for parvenus reality TV stars. Perhaps Vogue is trying to change the type of readers they attract by bringing in Kim Kardashian, but in the process, they are losing the readers that loved the magazine for the impossibly beautiful fashion it contained. 

The cover of Vogue has broader implications than simply a pretty face in a pretty dress. It creates societal expectations and trends. Part of the long tradition of Vogue magazine is the ability to feature those who define culture at any given moment.  The trend of a floozy being important enough to assume to cover presents a shift in society. The vociferous approach that Vogue took by placing such a cultural provocateur on the cover captured the modern media. Kim Kardashian is indisputably trending and with the help of her hubby, they are defining a new idea of society. Kanye, with his impeccable fashion, and Kim with her flawless beauty have become a visionary couple, despite Kim's terrible reputation. There is indisputably no doubt that Kimye are defining a new social norm, from outlandish clothes and ostentatious cars to reality TV shows. Today, it seems as though society has become more open and accepting, which may mean America is becoming more pompous in the process. 

As a magazine that has always set the trends, Vogue is setting the trend for a more acceptably distasteful society. Allowing a trashy figure to take the spotlight and be the trendsetter not only gives Kim an even bigger ego boost, but also negates everything Vogue had created over the past 100 years. Perhaps Vogue foresaw society evolving in this matter with or without their presence, and thus had to be proactive in redefining what society should aspire to become. Even though acknowledging that Kim is able to capture modern media much greater than any of the past featured cover models, Vogue changed their readers view of the magazine.

While the risk that Vogue took isn't necessarily being rewarded at the outset, it may be evidence of a shift in target audience and the evolution of society. Vogue did a bold thing by putting Kim on the cover, and in doing so they are fulfilling their unique role as a cultural barometer for a global audience. Though society enjoys the juicy details of Kim K’s life, Vogue is not the place for such drama. Vogue is no longer viewed as an exemplary classic, but rather a place for tasteless décolletage of past trash turned class.