Vogue

Front Cover Analysis

Layout: dominant central image – Sophia Loren, Oscar winning Italian actress, glamorous, at the height of her fame in the mid 1960s. Lack of cover-lines (list of words) – breaks conventions, focus mainly on a very dominant image of Loren

Masthead: over Loren, not very clear but clearly recognisable, iconic magazine brand ‘Vogue’ – French word meaning fashion/fashionable, connotations of style, sophistication

Language: List of words relating to content – linguistic technique to appeal, emphasise, capture attention Denotation of content of the magazine. Connotations of ‘mad midsummer’ – breaking free of conventions/constraints, freedom – hints of the emerging freedoms of the 1960s

‘scintillate’ – stereotypical norms of femininity/beauty – women need to be ‘scintillating’ in any environment.

‘even at a picnic’ – sense that readers will not necessarily have access to glamorous or exotic seaside holidays but that the magazine is relevant for all summer occasions – links to a feature about picnics in the magazine

Elements of narrative: Enigmas – e.g. what is the link to sheiks?

Cover lines: Unconventional list, lower case – more contemporary but unusual for 1965 – sense that Vogue breaks conventions, individual, stands out – appeal to independent women

Central image: Photograph of Sophia Loren by David Bailey, a still from her latest film. Sophia Loren dominates the front cover

Direct gaze/mode of address, but aloof (chin slightly raised, not smiling) – connotes star status, sense of mystery or mystique

Connotations of exoticism – Loren’s character dressed as a Turkish dancer

Sophia Loren is an embodiment of a ‘mythic’ notion of femininity that is aspirational, potentially a sense of the ‘desired self’ that a reader wishes to become.

Mise-en-scene: Iridescent turquoise colour palette connotes glamour, luxury, wealth, emphasised by the shimmering scarf, feathers, pearls and jewels. Make-up clearly emphasises Loren’s dark brown eyes, stereotypical notions of female beauty

How does this front cover reflect the social/cultural context?

Sense of economic prosperity – luxury, glamour, decadence, ‘mad midsummer’.

Cultural context – Sophia Loren, iconic film star of the 1960s