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The fashion magazine “Vogue” portrays the Ukrainian First Lady Olena Selenska. There is criticism of that.
on current covers of the fashion magazine “Vogue” the spirits separate. It features Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, wife of Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In simple, high-quality clothing, she sits on a staircase and looks into the camera. The shots were taken by star photographer Annie Leibowitz.
In the article, Olena Zelenska speaks of the emotional stress of the past few months and of her belief that Ukraine will win the war. Actually, she is a reserved person and does not look for the public. However, the war changed that.
“Mega likeable” to “embarrassing”
The story drew mixed reactions on social media. Some praise the inspiring story, the “mega-sympathetic First Lady” and the power of Leibowitz’s pictures.
Others ask what the topic is doing in a fashion magazine, or describe the photo shoot as “embarrassing”.
The judgment of the German-language press is also rather critical. «Glamor meets war – a strange combination», writes the Austrian «Kurier». Other media are even clearer.
NZZ Bellevue: Do fashion and war go together?
Journalist Malena Ruder, for example, feels uncomfortable given the perfectly staged images. War and fashion didn’t go together, even if Selenski deliberately gave himself a do-it-yourself look with his military green T-shirts, says Ruder.
“Vogue” addresses these contradictions, but does not resolve them. It is questionable when a report from a war zone also deals with the question of which fashion labels a politician wears.
The images looked promotional and not entirely authentic, the journalist continues. In addition, Ruder wonders why photogenic politicians like Michelle Obama or Olena Selenska made it onto the “Vogue” cover, while that was not the case with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Süddeutsche Zeitung: War? Make it fashionable!
Biting falls comment the journalist Julia Werner. Fashion may be political, but please not in Vogue of all places. Because the magazine’s reputation was fading, it would increasingly focus on politics.
But that doesn’t work. Rather, the break between Selenska’s “perfectly styled hair” and the ruins behind her is disturbing. This mixture of war reportage and home story in the article makes the glossy images even more disturbing. Although these should appear reportage-like, they are staged as thoroughly as a fashion advertising campaign.
From a feminist point of view, too, the photo series leaves a bitter aftertaste, as the message is that the man is at war while the woman is “responsible for children and fuss,” says Werner.
World: Images of Resolve
Journalist Faina Voskanian is impressed from the recordings showing the First Lady together with her husband. You can see the stress of the past few months on their faces. At the same time, the recordings conveyed a strong sense of solidarity.
While she doesn’t take a clear position on the pros and cons of the “Vogue” article, Voskanian mentions how the war in Ukraine has changed the fashion world: Ukrainian fashion designers have increasingly come into focus in the West.