Hash tagged to sell!

Who are the celebs who merit profiling on a fashion magazine cover besides the predictable Hollywood actresses? Where are the icons who'll have a pan global appeal? An early issue of Vogue India comes to mind when they had put TV actresses on the cover. Internationally, it's been mostly the Hollywood glamazons but Anna Wintour threw the fashion addicts off kilter by choosing the trashy reality TV stars as Vogue US's cover subject, who are ridiculed day in and day out, left, right and centre. Is it her way to reach out to the elusive online audience? Or the magazine is shedding its elitist tag? Or have we simply run out of celebrities, who sell no matter what?

It seems after months of a rumoured feud between editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Kimye, the editrix caved, featuring the couple on the April cover.
And who can overlook the grammatically incorrect hashtag on the bottom: #WORLDSMOSTTALKEDABOUTCOUPLE.

Singer Lily Allen said, "I think that all industries that can be taken advantage of by the Internet now, there is no time for irony, it is like 'what the f**k is going to sell?' That is it.""

We spoke to some designers to understand if not Hollywood then who else? And is it more about the shock value today than personality and merit?

Hemant Sagar, Lecoanet Hemant
The only reason to put a screen celebrity on the cover is to augment sales. What makes it controversial in this American Vogue cover is that both are genetically non-American and represent new success. Also, it is not usual that Vogue will put a real life couple on the cover. Fashion is about looks first and brains later, so the cover of a fashion-only magazine like Vogue has to go to a 'Sellabrity". India identifies beauty with establishment and establishment is internationally associated with age, unlike other countries where beauty itself is identified with success. So beauty in India is about established people and less the young and up-coming.

Nachiket Barve
Fashion reflects society. A magazine cover is about what people are seeking at that time. It all started with society swans, who were replaced with models, who were later replaced by actresses. There was a time when film stars were considered non-chic and Anna Wintour was the first one to put celebrities on the cover. Kim-Kayne cover is a reflection of today's hash tagged times when everything from your dinner to the new plant you got gets a hash tag. I'm not a Kim fan and every magazine has to reinvent itself. Print media is dying out and we can't live in denial. Jennifer Lawrence falling in Dior gets trending instead of a cerebral author who's launching a book. In India you need a Bollywood actress to sell everything from a mosquito repellent to a broom.

Aniket Satam
Even Paris Hilton was on the cover of Indian Marie Claire and Vogue Japan. Both Kim and Paris rose to fame because of sex tapes, reality TV shows and being socialites. I feel the Vogue US is a shape issue and Kim has always been known for her curves and people are not taking that into consideration. Also, she is a Latin American married to a coloured man so the cover has diversity in it. Also, it managed to break the tag of elitist. And of course, the magazine's digital version needs that kind of push. Even Indian magazines' shape issues had personalities like Tabu and Vidya Balan, who are not mainstream but that's the way to push the envelope. A magazine cover choice has to be aspirational but it's also about having the right personality for the right issue.

Tanieya Khanuja
I don't think there is a dearth of interesting personalities but sadly they don't have a global appeal. The whole point is to put an individual with whom people can relate to quickly. There are some celebs like Kim and Kayne whom you can either love or hate but definitely can't ignore. I read that young girls in Europe wanted to buy the cosmetics which Kim uses and even her accessories. Today it's not just about what you do or who you are but what's your personality like or how you dress up.