The news that US Glamour managed to bag an interview with President Obama for their November issue was slightly baffling. Granted, the magazine's readers are the female votes that he wants to appeal to as his campaign gets underway, but the decision to talk to Glamour over some of the more serious fashion magazines is questionable. After all, the magazine have admittedly increased their fluffy, throw-away celebrity content over the last few months so talking to the President about serious issues like health care seems at odds with that. By the sounds of things, I'm not the only one that had that feeling.
On the whole the critics have been unncessarily harsh with some going as far as saying that he deliberately opted for the magazine to avoid having to talk about the serious issues but as The Cut points out, whether you like the magazine or not, he was hardly talking about mascara. However, I can see what National Review contributor Jim Geragthy was coming from when he told WWD that, 'the grumbling about Obama's fluff interviews would be quieter if the country were in a time of peace and prosperity or if he hadn't gone close to eight weeks without a press conference.'
What do you think? Was the Glamour interview a good move?
The September issues are all out so you know what that means. The reports on what we can expect from the December issues are coming in and the most surprising one is the news that US Glamour editor Cindi Leive recently sat down with President Obama for an interview that will appear in the magazine's next issue.
Appearing in the magazine makes sense for the President, especially as his campaign has recently shown signs of diversifying their media strategy to press their message forward and after all, Glamour does have a big female audience.
The surprise comes from the fact that the magazine pushed so hard to have the interview in the first place. As part of their shake-up they decided to opt for a lot more weekly-style celebrity content to help increase circulation numbers so having Obama in the issue seems like a departure away from that, albeit a departure that I can totally jump on board with. According to WWD, the interview touches on women's health care and the recent controversy over the Todd Atkin's rape comments.
President Barack Obama knows how to throw a good party and deliver a good red carpet and the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which took place over the weekend was no different. Along with the usual mix of politicians came fashion folk like Tory Burch and Rachel Zoe, models like Kate Upton and Irina Shayk and major actresses like Kerry Washington and Claire Danes. As you know, Kim Kardashian never misses a photo-op was made an appearance with mother Kris Jenner making Obama joke, 'Why is she famous anyway?' during his speech.
When we heard that Karl Lagerfeld would guest editor French newspaper Metro for the day, we were excited. Kaiser Karl is known for delivering a good sound bite and as you would expect, it was business as usual.
On Lana Del Rey:
I prefer Adele and Florence Welch. But as a modern singer she is not bad.The thing at the moment is Adele. She is a little too fat, but she has a beautiful face and a divine voice. Lana del Rey is not bad at all. She looks very much like a modern-time singer. In her photos she is beautiful. Is she a construct with all her implants? She's not alone with implants.
To me, the most exquisite fashion credit I can remember in my lifetime was the day of [President Obama's] inauguration, when Michelle walked the parade route in that greenish-yellow Isabel Toledo dress. Because this was a real moment in which fashion, and quite directional fashion, played a role. When I think about the project of T and the Times, I think about that. I think about fashion outside of the studio and fashion that lives on the street. It doesn't mean you're going to repeat that moment, but I do think there's a way in which you can make lifestyle choices seem pertinent to the way we experience the world, and you can draw those connections in a magazine.
