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Vogue's 1965 Cover: Iconic Analysis

The document analyzes the 1965 Vogue magazine cover featuring Italian actress Sofia Loren. The cover relies heavily on Loren's image and iconic status to promote the magazine, as there is little other text. Loren's mid-close up portrait exudes glamour and exoticism through her costume and makeup inspired by her roles, promoting an image of empowered international beauty. The cover reflects theories of 1960s feminism by featuring Loren, seen as a role model, in a professional but not sexualized presentation. Of the theories discussed, the document concludes Butler's theory of gender performativity through beauty and presentation best explains Loren's highly made-up and accessorized image used to demonstrate her worth and status.

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Paulina Wegrzyn
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268 views1 page

Vogue's 1965 Cover: Iconic Analysis

The document analyzes the 1965 Vogue magazine cover featuring Italian actress Sofia Loren. The cover relies heavily on Loren's image and iconic status to promote the magazine, as there is little other text. Loren's mid-close up portrait exudes glamour and exoticism through her costume and makeup inspired by her roles, promoting an image of empowered international beauty. The cover reflects theories of 1960s feminism by featuring Loren, seen as a role model, in a professional but not sexualized presentation. Of the theories discussed, the document concludes Butler's theory of gender performativity through beauty and presentation best explains Loren's highly made-up and accessorized image used to demonstrate her worth and status.

Uploaded by

Paulina Wegrzyn
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Paulina Wegrzyn

Media Studies
Vogue Cover Deconstruction

Vogue Cover Deconstruction


The Vogue cover which I will be analyzing is the 1965 vintage copy. There is very little text on
the cover, so one thing which immediately stands out is the masthead. It is the iconic Vogue
logo which has been in use since 1958. Perhaps one reason this stands out to us so much, is the
fact that there are no straplines, just the date and the price. This shows a lot of self-confidence
on behalf of Vogue as they are expecting the readers to understand exactly the contents of
what they’re getting as It is such an iconic, well-known brand. To elaborate on that, there is
very little printed content, which suggests that the creators of this cover are relying heavily on
the graphic. The graphic is a photo of Sofia Loren (actress), who is an internationally famous
film star, hence she is referred to by her first name as there is an assumption she is ‘universally
known’. The mid-close-up shot of the star in high key light, provides little emphasis on clothing
which is unusual for a fashion magazine. However, this shows that Vogue feel as though Sofia is
a real sensation and will sell products well, so they want to focus on selling her as the star,
instead of her fashion. We are met with a direct mode of address as Sofia meets the gaze of
the audience. On top of this, her slightly tilted head could connote class and glamour, as it is a
pose widely used in modelling. The model’s facial expression is also quite plain and not very
friendly, this suggests a more professional atmosphere that is more high-profile and glamorous,
which Vogue like to associate with. Sofia Loren is a tanned Italian actress who is seen to be
wearing a faux Arabic headdress- which was used in a costume for her part of the ‘Turkish
Princess’ in a film, this in addition to the jewelry she is wearing (such as beads), accentuates a
mise-en-scene of exoticism. These details would be highly exotic to Britons during that era as
traveling was not as easy therefore individuals would do much less traveling. A woman of such
high standard promotes the female empowerment era in 1960’s, which is the time at which
theories such as those of Belle Hooke, Van Zoonen and Butler would have been evolving.
Makeup worn in the shot was a common fashion trend which was made popular in the film
‘Cleopatra’. The eyeshadow accentuates the eyes making them look bigger, which is
theoretically meant to make them more adorable- like in babies and puppies and make people
want to nurture them. The main image is an empowered picture of ‘international beauty’.
Promoting a very successful woman whose lifestyle would be merely a fantasy for the vast
majority of women in the UK during the 1960’s.

Van Zoonen’s theory that women are sexualized, may be rejected by this Vogue cover, as the
mid-close-up shot of Sofia is not particularly revealing or drawing attention to any body part
which promotes the male gaze. However, this doesn’t mean that looks are not important to
Vogue, although this is quite prominent upon looking at the pictures of women used. Belle
Hooke’s theory about feminist struggles in society to achieve equality may certainly apply in
this cover, due to the fact that Sofia Loren during her time, would be seen as a feminist role
model. Lastly, I think the theory, which is most prominent in this text, is Butler’s theory of
gender performativity. It states that women have to be beautiful, made up and well-presented
because that is the primary virtue of women which can be utilized to give her status and worth
in the world. When all of the accessories which Sofia is wearing are looked at, and her
glamorous looks taken into account, it seems that this theory is very well suited, especially
given the context of how successful this woman is.

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