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A small survey about Gen Z perception towards fashion magazines was conducted, asking whether they can relate to the magazines’ content. Despite an array of fashion magazines available at bookstores, none of the respondents read Indonesian fashion magazines. Only one out of 20 respondents follows Gadis magazine on Instagram.

“Do we have one [Indonesian fashion magazine]?” asked one of the respondents. “I follow Nylon and Harper’s Bazaar,” said a 17-year-old respondent. However, when asked whether she follows Indonesian Harper’s Bazaar, she said she was not aware that there is an Indonesian edition. As for Nylon, she meant Korean Nylon.

Three respondents follow more than ten fashion magazines on Instagram, but all of them are overseas magazines. Vogue is one of the most frequently mentioned publications by the respondents.

Fashion magazines are primarily published to give its readers tips on how to improve their style, highlight current trends and inform readers on how to improve their careers. In the fashion advice section, they provide visuals of a model in an outfit for both men and women to catch readers’ attention and give them a source of inspiration. 

Jo Dingemans writes, “Some fashion magazines offer readers a creative shopping guide, showing their readers what is available and different ways to wear it is. Others take a more artistic approach and invent a lifestyle around the clothes,” (1999, 11).

For the respondents, fashion magazines still serve the purpose of providing styling inspiration, but all of them said that they went to online platform instead. A number of respondents still purchase printed magazines, but they are extremely picky about the magazines they buy and the timing of purchase.

“I love Japanese magazine ViVi. I always get three to four issues when I travel,” said Alicia, a 16-year-old respondent. “I bought InStyle and Vogue magazine when I went to Singapore,” said Michie, a 17-year-old respondent.

Thanks to increased consumer interest in digital platforms, luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton have increased online ad spending by 63% since 2013, according to the Wall Street Journal. Over the same period, these “high luxury” brands still spent roughly 73% of their budgets on print, but spending on magazines fell by 8%. (Carmen Busquets)

Fashion magazines are increasingly turning away from traditional ad buys, the number of brands that pay a large sum of money to be featured in a magazine are decreasing and the ratio of ad to editorial content growing even slimmer as online content increases.

Levya Samantha, a respondent, said that, “It’s a dying industry. People favour online platforms more.” Another respondent, Kay Jasmin, said, “I haven’t bought one in years, focusing more on online resources honestly.”

It seems that print publications aren’t highly favoured amongst the Gen Zs. Aimee Garibaldi, a respondent, said she has lower interest for printed, but continuously developing interest in online publications. “[Online is] A good platform to seek styling ideas, current trends, pop culture and the contemporary world,” she said.

According to the respondents, what lacks in today’s fashion publications is the sustenance and supportive articles that can both help men and women. This is due to the nature of fashion publications: they censor and prioritise advertisements over raising important issues.

“They may offer unique insights into various facets of fashion, but they are also notorious for promoting poor body image and making light of social issues,” said Taran Narula, one of the respondents.

Some of the respondents also raise concern about the relevance of high fashion editorial photo shoot. Yes, fashion is selling fantasy through glossy images, but they also wonder whether the target audience understand the message.

“A lot of middle-aged high spenders don’t understand editorial concept. They buy designer clothes because their friends recommend them or they are invited to fashion events,” said a source close to TFR.

It seems that publications conform to the old ways of wanting to comfort the readers because in some ways, that is what the readers want. They want the kinds of thing that have always been provided because it feels reassuring.

Many would say that fashion magazine pages are shallow, intended to entertain, whilst some may provide educational information. “Mostly for entertainment purposes, but educational text is still included in a certain amount,” according to a respondent, Cattleya Chandra.

“Vogue and Vanity Fair would be more educating and Marie Claire or cosmopolitan more entertaining,” Levya explained.

“I prefer the educational ones, but some are purely entertaining too so maybe a mix of both but preferably the former,” said Kay.

One example is Vestoj, an online fashion magazine that actually investigates, critiques and unveil not only the underlying trends and the nitty-gritty within the fashion industry, but also how the fashion industry operates on a global and individual scales. Unlike Vogue or GQ, Vestoj is pure fashion journalism, with no ads, which makes it quite dense and wordy, but the ideas it put forth are very intriguing.

Yet, from a creative standpoint, it seems ingenious and too idealistic that fashion — which depends on capital — can be held up as unifying when it often divides people by class, gender and culture.

Magazines like Vestoj are very much of the view that you don’t have to be anti-fashion in order to be critical and question the way the industry operates in a capitalist world, and that being critical of the way the industry operates in a capitalist world doesn’t mean that you can’t divulge in the enjoyment of celebrating its cultural phenomenon.

However, implementing such concept in Indonesia might be challenging. There are other threats that fashion magazines face in Indonesia: low literacy rate and low reading interest.

Contrary to their view on fashion magazine, all respondents follow social media accounts that publish controversies in the fashion industry, such as Diet Prada and Influencers in The Wild (@influencersinthewild). Social media accounts that provide bite-sized content on social media are highly favoured as media consumption is shifting to online. Fashion commentary channels on YouTube, such as FH TV (@fuckhopsin) and The Fashion Archive are seeing their popularity rising as well.

Social media gives readers the ease to click and read, anytime, anywhere. There is power in instant information. The latest fashion trends and so forth can be found on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and independent fashion websites. The way people consume information today has changed and becomes more democratic. It’s created to appeal to and target a more diverse audience.

When it comes to Gen Z, the woke generation, it is important for fashion magazine to realise that a lot of them are the advocates of inclusivity and diversity. With that being said, academic cannot be separated from fashion because it’s important to hold the industry accountable.

This is what the respondents want and in fact need; fashion publications should not only meet the aesthetic appeal, but also extend to academia. Bridging the gap among academic, politics, art and fashion is something that magazines could do.

Although this discourse may not be new and is adopted from previous academia, bringing it to light and looking at it from a theoretical standpoint could prompt independent fashion publications to reconsider their approach. This could actually be influential because fashion media is easily as, if not more, important as the word of brands themselves.

Having to cater to everyone is not easy, so a consistent tone is needed. There should be a distinct tone, including what kind of voice would work best on a digital platform. As fashion is continuously being democratised, a relatable and relaxed tone is getting more and more desirable.

Today, it is important to put emphasis on conversations and relatability. This is why zeitgeist representations are important; because they are the essentials of issues happening at the moment. 

Through this, a direct relationship is created. In this digital system, readers can share positive or negative responses, which then boosts or negatively impacts business and changes the outlook for brands and media alike. When the structure is turned upside down, readers become the ones telling them what they like and want.