Vogue is Dying and Taking Down the Magazine Industry, Too

BY ALEEZA GANI ’27

When Anna Wintour stepped down in June of 2025 as editor-in-chief of Vogue, it marked the end of an era. For 37 years, her sharp bob and black sunglasses were the face of Vogue, the face of fashion, even. But Vogue needed this. The magazine industry needed this—because it’s falling apart.

There was a time when Vogue defined fashion, shaping trends, telling stories, and spreading messages through art. But now, its influence is gone; its articles are bland and subpar, and its covers and editorials are one-dimensional and meaningless. 

Vogue Summer School alumna Nicole L. addressed these issues and said, “I canceled my Vogue subscription after seeing this year’s December cover. It had no meaning, no creative direction, and apparently no budget. [Vogue] has officially lost the plot.”

But why is this decline happening? Well, for one, magazines such as Vogue are struggling to adapt to the digital age. Social media has eclipsed the magazine’s authority in fashion: Trends are now shaped by influencers rather than editors. Because of the declining demand for print media, the magazine is losing money and is being forced to prioritize commercial efforts over creative ones. 

A Vogue magazine today is made up almost entirely of ads. Not only that, they’ve recently been using AI models due to their cheaper cost, sparking major controversy. Creativity within the magazine is simply a memory, with each cover being less inspired than the last. In an attempt to appeal to their incredibly wide audience, they’ve been weakening their craft to the point where the covers no longer have meaning. Not to mention, the magazine has become overly reliant on the same rotation of celebrities rather than focusing on fashion. Though the odds aren’t exactly in their favor, Vogue is destroying itself.

Vogue isn’t the only magazine struggling. The industry around Vogue mirrors this same issue. Magazines are merging, shrinking, and scrambling to survive. Teen Vogue is being folded under Vogue’s umbrella for financial reasons. Teen Vogue’s voice, once bold and political, now risks being absorbed into a machine of straight-lined content.  

On the other hand, former Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful, who was once thought to be Anna Wintour’s successor, has launched an independent magazine called EE72. The publication aims to highlight individuality and bold storytelling, which is exactly what Vogue is missing.

Magazines are clearly confronting their own emptiness, grasping to the little that’s left of their authority, and for the most part, they aren’t doing a great job. So what’s the future of magazines? Are they on their way out, or are they simply adjusting to the digital age? 

Here at Jericho, we are looking to refresh the magazine genre with our J-MAG. Find our articles on the homepage, housed under the J-MAG toggle, and keep an eye out for a more traditional ‘zine coming your way, soon!