042: vogue pls.
my very own lawatchparty view
in real time, this all happened. i decided to unfollow vogue two days ago. i just had a feeling. number one, vogue never says anything interesting anymore. i’m not very educated on the new girl in the office, but i figured if she could turn this sinking ship around, then im sure vogue and i will realign later. i don’t know when vogue first pissed me off, but if i was already pissed, then the timothy chalamet galaxy cover was the icing on the cake.
a few months ago, i was in paris for fashion week and realized just how out of touch many of these platforms are that alot of us get our fashion news from, especially in america. i am all for physical media, touching things, getting as close as you can to what you are inspired by. and the closest i’ve ever been to a dior show was elias medini’s (LYAS) lawatchparty in paris. it was free. it was filled with hungry, eager, passionate fashion enthusiasts who, otherwise, would not have been able to experience dior in real time, surrounded by like minds who they dont have to plead with to “get it”… let alone a jonathan anderson debut.
after the october 2025 shows, i watched la watch parties just get crazier and crazier every time. imagine watching anok win model of the year, walk down the matthieu blazy chanel runway the very next day, and then appear right in front of your face at lawatchparty. this is what lyas has given people, and there’s so much more where this came from.
i say all this to say, chile, vogue has stolen his entire concept. and not for the first time, if you;ve been paying attention.
yesterday, vogue announced that basically they would be doing a lawatchparty of sorts and the only people invited are those who are already industry insiders.
what made lyas’ watch party different was that you got all the good of attending a dior show, just somewhere else — the scale, the collective gasp, the real-time reaction — without the performative snobbery. immersion without humiliation.
fashion week, when you are not inside the industry, is pilgrimage. it is the one moment you get to feel close to a world you obsess over but don’t have access to. for insiders, it’s calendar, work, networking. so when vogue announces a “watch party” for people who already live inside the system (models, directors, etc)… what exactly is that?
this is dumb.
first of all, why would anyone already in the industry need to attend this? they dont. it’s just a silly little party, really. what would they seriously be doing? you know the reason people show up to lawatchparty? there’s no other way to experience these shows on such a scale… oh, except for when he actually took hundreds of people to a willy chavaria show. but if you’re not only on the scene, but behind the scenes, why would you need this?
vogue is backed by amazon, yes, the amazon. how do you get this huge machine to give you your stuff back? because it’s not just a person you would have to direct your grievances to. vogue is a struggling powerhouse, but a powerhouse nonetheless, with a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse behind it. vogue, please. this is not for you.
there is so much that vogue should be getting together right now. the app is like the last thing holding the boat afloat. the annual vogue world show sucks. it’s out of touch, it’s boring, they feature 80% of what you despise, 5% of what you probably want to see, and the rest, i dont even remember.
they’ve got me talking about current news, so you know im bothered. vogue is literally a thief, and the reviews suck ass these days. vogue has fallen out of fashion. not only am i not sorry to say it, i really dont care what vogue is doing anymore. unfortunately, there’s a world of collections i’ve been building there, a working archive. if i could take these thousands, and i do mean thousands, of archive photos elsewhere, i would. im all for NEVER buying the dupe, and that’s how it feels to buy into vogue right now, unfortunately.
i wish all the best to lyas and his team of eight mighty people working tirelessly to provide spaces for fashionistas. there’s a drought on integrity, and its spreading like the plague. the students of the game must keep going.
30 minutes later…
girl, i was done writing this. i get on evil instagram and the first thing i see is a post by someone (philippe.pourhashemi) finding it funny how lyas is upset that vogue stole his idea. apparently, if you generate a bunch of buzz for a brand, and then speak on them not inviting you to their next menswear show, but they invite you to the re-see and you accept a gift, then you cant be mad if vogue steals your idea.
there’s a bunch of critique suggesting that lyas is fake and playing both sides of the fence. an insider pretending to be on the peripheral. ummm, HONEY. who tf else was gonna let people in? critiquing the fact that he brought hundreds of people to a willy chavaria show and they were not sitting with the VIP’s, suggesting that his audience is extremely gullible. nobody’s stupid. everyone is just thankful. if you were in the building at that w.c. show, you are a vip, hello? do you know how many people across the world were so excited for them with envy? how many people would have been so happy and grateful to be there. audacity was on sale last year. this year there’s a BOGO on entitlement.
this post is not about lyas. it’s about allowing people the grace to find their way. i find it so hard to believe that the person who wrote this post would not take a bag if it had the right name on the tag, or less. all this shit is just so tired. i don’t care what you’ve accepted that was gifted to you in this case. dont be dumb and see through the flames of your self-inflicted rage: vogue is wrong af, and you are allowed to be upset if VOGUE steals your idea, or anyone for that matter.
bye.
xo, vc
