Understandably Fab Magazine’s primary focus is not to be a fashion mag, but a lifestyle publication; however Max MacDonald’s coverage of LG Fashion Week really left a lot to be desired.
Firstly his article “Plastic Bitch Invades Canada” was poorly thought out in my opinion, being a fashion writer myself. Yes, of course, Barbie is not Canadian, but David Dixon is and it is an honour for him to be chosen as the only Canadian designer to create a collection for the doll. If it is an honour for Michelle Obama to wear Canadian, why not Barbie? Dixon joins the ranks of Bob Mackie, Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, Vera Wang, Cynthia Rowley, Diane Von Furstenberg and Jeremy Scott not all of whom are American but who have all been inspired by one of pop culture’s most recognizable icons. Also in the Bitch article MacDonald asserts that Canadian designers were ignored in favour of Barbie, though I am not sure of whom he is speaking. The FDCC has tirelessly worked to support Canadian talent and lifted designers to the international spotlight who would have been virtually unknown were it not for them. No fashion week in the world could afford to show every emerging designer in it’s city without some corporate clout.
Then there is MacDonald’s breakdown of the shows, or actually he only bothered to write about the shows that had shirtless men in them. That in and of itself is a problem as Fab, as far as I’m aware is not read exclusively by men, and not only that but a lot of gay men are interested in women’s fashion too. Its part of fashion week.
For the Gsus show, which took his number one spot while many other fashion writers ignored it (also, it ‘aint Canadian either), MacDonald claimed we’d be seeing a lot of plaid this fall, which is pretty much like every other fall we’ve seen in the last decade. Of Travis Taddeo he said “Blue is the last colour a man wants to look down and see…” and I really haven’t the foggiest idea what he means or how that’s relevant in a runway review. He mentions Zegna, Ed Hardy and CK Underwear, none of which are Canadian, but all, he assures us, had hot models in the shows. And in my favorite review, of the Carlton Brown show, (who MacDonald says isn’t officially Canadian, meaning he is actually Jamaican), the designer is said to be “hip enough to jump on the return to the ‘80s trend…” As anyone knows, the ‘80s only briefly went out of style in the mid ‘90s, but other than that its not a return if it never went away.
Toronto magazines should show their support by sending their journalists to cover LG Fashion Week, but the coverage needs to be a little better than that.
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ood Afternoon Daniel,
ReplyDeleteThis is Max MacDonald, Fashion/Style Editor at FAB Magazine. Thank you for your comments and I appreciate knowing that you read my piece.
However FAB did, at one time, cover women's and our fashion coverage was not well received by our audience which mainly gay men. There are only a handful of gays who want to look at women's clothes. However they are going to read Vogue, W, or industry journals such as MAX Paris or Paris Vogue’s Season Book before reading FAB. I know I do as I love looking at women's collections as well.
Most of our readers and the straight women who read FAB only want to look at hot men in equally hot clothes. Sometimes designers such as Joe Fresh Style show clothes and others like CK Underwear just show hot men in underwear. What you neglect to mention is our readers want to see both. It is still fashion nonetheless whether the model is clothed or just sporting briefs and a hard-on (which is what several designers have done in the past Vivienne Westwood comes to mind for that).
I feel honored that I upset you enough and you felt the need to post this. Though there is one misconception I would like to clear up in your letter.
I have spoken to many designers across Toronto and Canada when this particular piece was printed in FAB. Many designers and the general public agree with what I wrote. I understand the Barbie exhibition brought great publicity to LG Fashion Week. However, it also did more damage than good. The perception the Barbie event left with the public was the FDCC does not care enough to support our own. So in turn, why should the average Canadian? I'm not saying the FDCC hasn't in the past but with this being the 10th anniversary it was doubly important.
If Mattel really did care about Canada they would have sponsored several Canadian designers to work with models who looked like Barbie. As well if you look at the piece I did praise Dixon for cutting an excellent collection sans the Barbie part.
I do however respect your opinion and your right to have it. Though, I do hope you will respect mine as well. Since the piece was published I have seen and heard from many people in the industry, in addition to, the general public that Barbie marketing was considered a slap in the face to Canadian fashion. That is not what the FDCC is here to do. The primary goal of the FDCC is to promote Canadian fashion design and talent in all its forms using, when available, Canadian funding.
Finally, I noticed that in your letter you rarely mentioned any Canadian designers at all which is your choice. However being a fellow fashion writer you must realize that you are doing exactly what the FDCC did. You are turning your back on your own in favor of non-Canadian labels. Unfortunately, as fashion houses around the world are feeling the economic pinch that is one turn that we all, in Canada, can no longer have the luxury of making. For as we both know if we don’t buy, support and wear our own Canadian talent simply goes away…sometimes for good.
If you have any further feedback please do not hesitate to e-mail me at: style@fabmagazine.com and I will happy to answer whatever is bugging you about my coverage.
He's gone. Done. And he was never an editor at fab. He was a columnist.
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