Leave it to the Italians — Italian Vogue that is.

Like its sister publication French Vogue, Italian Vogue doesn’t shy away from making political statements with fashion editorial. Controversy and a multitude of ideas is more prevalent in Europe than in America, which is why it’s no surprise that Italian Vogue has introduced Vogue Curvy.

The current Italian Vogue cover spells out the approach to fashion in Europe. The concept of Individuality is much more important.

In America, fashion is all about must-haves and following the crowd. Our teen girls live in fear of not being part of the ‘in crowd’ and dissed to death in text messages.

The American desire to ‘fit in’ is also driven by a key item mentality, required by our low-cost manufacturing approach. To a great extent, we want the population “in uniform’.

Not only do Europeans have more ‘elan’ in their dressing, wanting to stress their individual interpretations of ‘chic’. The traditional manufacturing of smaller runs and higher prices supported a disdain for disposable fashion. Lower prices have now made a big impression in Europe also, but never as dominantly as in America.

The move to ‘fight back’ against the depersonalizing ‘big’ trend is much stronger in Europe than america.

I find it totally ironic that America — with the curviest women — watches this English-language Vogue Curvy website debut under an Italian umbrella.

Small Is Beautiful

One of the biggest ideas in business today is ‘small is beautiful’. Today’s great small idea is launching Vogue Curvy, a website that will surely be adored by women everywhere. Anne

Vogue Italia has also launched Vogue Black and Talents, with a focus on new designers, although featured Rodarte is hardly a new designer.