VOGUE WORLD 2025

Vogue World has reached its fourth edition and, has left fashion enthusiasts a bit perplexed, The show should be a mix between a fashion show and a charity event that aims to celebrate together the fashion seen in the last year and the “cultural weight” of Vogue. Cultural weight that, to be frank, has become increasingly lighter in recent years during which the magazine has become a kind of violin with which the industry plays a serenade to itself. Vogue World is a reflection of this new status quo: that of a publication that would like to become both a media company and a brand.

But what strikes the most is the fact that this fifteen-million-dollar event is a zero-sum game: it is not a real fashion show where new things are seen (there were some custom looks from Balmain, however), it is not an artistic moment where culture is produced and not even a moment of encounter with the wider public since it is an event for VIPs by VIPs. The only output that is not strictly economic or financial is a series of images of a costume parade where Alex Consani dressed as Orlando walks alongside a cosplay of Diane Keaton in I & Annie and Angela Bassett reprising the role of Queen Ramonda from Black Panther. All the taste but zero calories: the event is in fact the Diet Coke of fashion. It says a lot, in fact, that this pharaonic event has no concrete impact except for the money it makes for Vogue.

Despite the doubts of the entire industry, Vogue World generates big revenues for Condé Nast, mainly exploiting sponsorships and partnerships with major brands like Chase Sapphire Reserve, eBay or Eli Lilly that invest millions of dollars to gain visibility among influencers, entrepreneurs and jet set figures who amplify exposure on social media and in the press. There is also charity. Ticket sales, whose price ranges from 500 to over 5,000 dollars, are usually donated entirely to selected charitable causes. This year the 4.5 million dollars in proceeds went to the Entertainment Community Fund to support costumers and industry professionals affected by the fires in California.

It even comes off as a bit cringe when the more discerning viewer realizes they are watching a series of famous people in costume walking a bit emphatically, with dramatic high school Shakespeare gesturing, for an audience of other famous people. Anyone who wasn’t being paid to be there was paying to be there.

World Vogue 2025