Vogue’s new era is very Vogue.

Vogue’s appointment of Chloe Malle as its new head of editorial content marks a shift in priorities for the iconic magazine, refocusing on depth and substance over purely visual allure. In an age of endless choices of fashion influencers, Vogue tries to return itself to the reference. Malle herself recently noted her desire to curate a "more direct, smaller, healthier audience"1, emphasising meaningful engagement over mass appeal. This adjustment signals a move away from commercialisation and towards high-value, lower output content - favouring mindful curation over endless consumption. With Malle at the helm, the print magazine will abandon its monthly cycle in favour of issues that spotlight significant cultural moments or themes, enabling deeper investigation into fashion, society, and culture. This helps foster a healthier relationship with content by shifting away from the relentless, all-consuming digital strategy. In fact, this is actually very Vogue. Today, producing AI-written content becomes easy, predictable and cheap – very un-Vogue. This approach mirrors predictions by industry observers that mindful consumption and personal curation are set to be the next phase in our increasingly technology-driven society. In today’s world of abundance, considered curation has become a new status symbol. By moving away from glorified overconsumption championed by online influencers, Vogue is embracing thoughtful engagement—a small yet symbolic revolution for contemporary social norms. Amid anxieties about the cultural effects of the rampant technification of society, Vogue is encouraging the idea that responsible regulation and selective engagement can make technology an enriching extension of our culture. The image I have of Vogue in its new era is that of a trailblazer – that of a revolutionary contribution to art and fashion – just as it was when it began. A lot of people view Vogue now as a brand that must reinvent itself by not reinventing itself – merely carrying out the same format of content production that it’s had for decades, except adding more. But this negates the impact of Vogue. It commercialises it to the point of becoming insignificant. Malle’s vision parallels the shockwaves delivered by Diana Vreeland’s youth revolution, which transformed Vogue into a dynamic blend of written and visual culture. Yet as Vogue becomes more curated, it also risks returning to its original 19th-century roots as a high-society expression, emblematic of an elite lifestyle. Initially involving investors such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Vogue chronicled the etiquette and traditions of the upper class—a motif briefly revisited in 2015 when the social editor, Chloe Malle, starred in a YouTube video captioned “Vogue’s Book of Etiquette for the smartphone era”. Her tenure may bring a sophisticated reinterpretation of Vogue’s heritage, reminiscent of Wintour’s era-defining celebrity cover strategy. Perhaps this is a return to a similar strategy of Vogue’s early 20th-century Conde Nast years—focusing on an exclusive, discerning audience, a cultural reference for the wealthy during periods of heightened economic inequality, rather than the mass-market culture of the 1980s. The recent Bezos wedding cover story reflects this risk of curated romanticisation of the upper class in polarising (both economically and politically) times. Ultimately, where Chloe Malle will lead Vogue remains uncertain. Still, one thing is clear: Vogue is publicly and consciously positioning itself as a considered, curated, and special magazine. And I can’t wait to see what that looks like. 1 Testa, J. (2025, September 2). Vogue Names Chloe Malle as Its New Editor. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/business/media/vogue-chloe-malle-new-editor.html