W Korea’s Volume #7 2024 summer issue joins the bandwagon of Asian and Southeast Asian magazines rolling into fashion-content excellence with impossible-to-ignore photography that surpasses their counterparts in America and Europe. The differences are also noteworthy among European issues that are locally-owned vs. the global fashion conglomerate we all know well.

AOC understands the concept of editorial independence from luxury brands. But if the degree of recycling images across multiple titles — while also operating with obviously-reduced production budgets — doesn’t result in editorial excellence commensurate with smaller titles, that is a long-term problem perhaps worse than the current situation for big fashion media. Obviously one stable in particular is most at risk.

Additionally, we have ‘professional competence meets star power’ with people like Karlie Kloss entering the discussion with her titles at Bedford Media. I’m speaking of digital imagery as well, not print.

In fact, many of these low-production budget images are worse in digital than print. AOC looks at the differences every day all day. It’s long been my contention that only luxury brands or ‘hot brands’ will save fashion media. What we are seeing this summer reinforces that belief more than ever. This Kering-sponsored initiative with Vogue Korea only confirms my thinking.

The digital images are delivered to global audiences, not confined by national boundaries. Whether on Instagram, Pinterest or melded into Tik Tok videos, it’s important to come to grips with these challenges.

AOC challenges all major fashion media to back away from their own suppositions about how to make money and use a critical eye to evaluate their own content against competitors big and small. Because whatever it is they are trying to sell to make money in a financially challenging environment, imagery counts. Especially if one is claiming authority status in fashion and marketing visual presentations.

In the case of W Korea’s “women in motion” issue, supermodel Anja Rubik is part of a cover story lineup that also includes Carla Bruni, Han So-Hee, Julianne Moore and Yoona Lim.

The fashion stories are a project with Kering brands Boucheron, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Qeelin and Saint Laurent. The issue builds on Volume #5 2024, focused on Amelia Gray. All fashion shoots happened in the south of France during the Cannes season.

In this story, Anja wears YSL by Anthony Vacarello and Boucheron jewelry in images by Mok Jung-Wook [IG]./ Hair by Seb Bascle; makeup by Dariia Day ~ Anne