December 11, 2007

everything is about starting again.


death is a natural occurrence, and as we all know, inevitable. one thing you might need to be reminded of though, is that it is by no means limited to humans & animals. magazines, among other things, are included in this inescapable happening. now before you scoff & label me insane, let me give you an example: nylon magazine.
nylon started out as an alternative to the predictable and stereotypical magazines that dominated the newstands. it was created primarily by marvin scott jarrett, the current editor-in-chief. it was edgy, unexpected, eclectic, unique, independent, unapologetic, fashionable, substantial. far from anything that existed at the time. nylon chose bright young things - promising models, actresses, whatever - to grace their covers; while the competitors plastered the faces (and chests) of overused women on theirs. nylon was the perfect blend of siouxsie sioux, holly golightly, jane birkin, courtney love, alice in wonderland, and later on, cory kennedy. how could anything possibly go wrong?
well, for one, they stopped using intelligent girls on their covers. nicole richie? lindsay lohan? please. several readers grew tired and angry of seeing ladies like christina aguilera and the afore mentioned richie & lohan, resulting in turned-off readers. some even swore off nylon and vowed to never read it again. nylon started using cory kennedy - an internet fashion phenom - as their poster child. they even gave her the highly coveted position of writing her own column: cory's corner. she triggered instant obsession in some, and hatred & irritation in others. with their magazine on the rise, and their popularity growing, they broadened their horizons and jumped into the big sea of trends we like to call 'mainstream'. to add to that, they've collaborated with urban outfitters - the king provider of all that is in high demand of high school kids & hipsters alike - to make a collection of t-shirts.
gawker.com calls nylon a "disinfected, unfunny Vice" and i can't say i disagree. it's as if they're afraid to stand out and speak up because of their newfound prevalence in the magazine world.if we were to compare nylon's demise to a disease, alzheimers would be appropriate: slow, forgetful, and torturous for both the victim and the people around them. now, nylon may not be dead, exactly, but they are slowly spiralling downward.
and so, a word of advice to you, nylon: it is in your best interest to stop trying to please everyone and start doing your own thing again.

jh.

ps so many rants, so little time. i suppose i'm just trying to let it all out before christmas.

6 comments:

A. said...

i miss the old nylon, too. :[

Isabel said...

Nylon is just so BORING! MaryKate is my favourite celebrity and I read through the article to determine its quality before buying the magazine, and I just couldn't bring myself to. Nylon really had died. Bring back Ellegirl!

Emma said...

I'm not going to lie, I loved the Richie cover, mainly because it was titled "I Don't Know Why I'm Famous, Either!"
But I'm a bad, shallow person, and for the most part I hate Nylon's new hipster thing.

LDF said...

I find Nylon so barren. There's hardly anything in it. The world needs a new Sassy!!!!!!!!!!!

Eva. said...

i suppose i cant say what you are saying is wrong but I still love to read NYLON. anyway.. i love your blog and your header and im linking you.

Hildur said...

I loved the post, interesting and well written. You just described it perfectly.