Two years of (un)sustainable discourse: The Vogue Italia case

This article sets out to examine Vogue Italia’s self-proclaimed commitment to sustainability in the period between January 2020, when the ‘Sustainability and Creativity’ issue was published, and September 2021, the last issue of Emanuele Farneti’s editorship. Aiming to assess and critically address the authenticity and depth of this commitment, the article uncovers a pronounced dissonance between Vogue Italia’s vocal support for sustainability and its actual editorial practices. The magazine’s sustainable narrative is approached from a holistic and systems-based standpoint, challenging the prevalent ‘feel good’ discourse. By illustrating key sustainability themes and emerging patterns, this article problematizes the process of un(sustainable) discourse formation resulting from a series of mitigating and intensifying discursive strategies. The article demonstrates how these strategies ultimately contribute to a devalued understanding of sustainable commitment within the fashion context, reducing it to mere industry interest and framing it within the business-as-usual logic. By illustrating how Vogue Italia’s stance on sustainability reinforces, rather than challenges, the growth-oriented logic inherent in the fashion industry, this article contributes to the emerging critique of institutionalized fashion media as publications with extensive cultural influence and a direct link to industry interests.