Analysis of gossip/ fashion magazine

As for the overall concept that will be conveyed through out our magazine, which is the fusion between music and fashion and how they reflect the ideologies we will try and convey to appeal to our target audience. Although it is a music magazine my group wants to create fashion as a hybrid genre so our magazine will include articles on the upcoming club, festival and social music scene, and also any new artists who appear to have a mix between music and fashion and not just the effect they have of the artist, but also the genre. Due to this I wanted to look and analyse a popular fashion magazine called Look , which has a double page spread on the artist of Taylor swift who is a singer and songwriter.

The double page spread appears to be set out in A4 format, as there are spaces for the contents of the pages. Comparing both the two pages on the first page there is a small image which appears to be taken from the paparazzi of her and Taylor Lautner whereas on the other page is a large picture of Taylor. Above the paparazzi picture is the masthead which is large and takes up nearly half the page. The background is mainly white. But the headline at the top of the page which states the artist name ‘Taylor Swift’ is in a plain black font which stands out as its contrast to the white background making it easy to read.
Underneath this is the masthead which looks like a smudge of paint with writing going across it . This smear effect makes the page seem more fun to look at, and creates a more unique and unusual layout. As of the white background the black smudge creates a serious atmosphere. It looks relevant to the artist having a mysterious, edgy and dark personality which can be conveyed through her music and fashion.

This reads ‘ I’m a dangerous girl to date’. This attracts the reader to read the article as Look magazine has highlighted something interesting Taylor has said. The font is in black with the word dangerous written in red. This word being chosen in red is symbolic of love, passion and violence which Taylor might want to create as an image for herself. As the word dangerous means taking risks, and doing things that could cause her or others harm by putting it in a red colour creates more of an impact as of the connotations of this colour. Underneath the masthead is two lines informing the reader of what Taylor Swift has been up to as she’s ‘dated a twilight hunk’. This font is bigger then the font used for the interview which stands out to the reader before they go to read the interview.

The interview consists of many phrases one which is in the left collum in quotations where the font has been enlarged to show a quick glimpse what the interview is about. This reads ‘ people are just waiting for me to stumble out of a club’. This suggests she feels the public are expecting her to be like every other young female in the pop industry and could suggest they don’t have as high expectations of her. Another phrase that interested me was "Taylor is stunning (just ask her ex, Twilight's Taylor Lautner") . From this phrase the journalist has included other celebrities into the interview, so it doesn’t just focuses on Taylor Swift herself. Also the phrase "Here, the girl who made country music cool talks about closing the Kanye chapter, her gorgeous ex and why she'll only settle of true love." This has been included to show the singer's personal life than her actual music, but this would be more common considering it is a fashion/celebrity magazine. Although when I’m creating my music magazine I will include questions on the artist’s music career as well as their fashion inspirations and gossip about their personal lives.

The image used on the first page is in the bottom left corner and shows Taylor Swift and her ex-boyfriend, Taylor Lautner in a car, holding hands and smiling. This is a paparazzi shot and conveys the lack of privacy and on going struggle to involve celebrities in their every day lives. They have also included this picture to encourage the reader to want to read the interview as this is a topic which is involved.

I personally like how Look magazine have used the technique of enlarging the first letter of the interview and is underlined and bold. This technique is known as a dropped capital. It grabs the readers attention to the text to encourage them to read the article.

On the second page of the interview there is a main image, which is the main feature across both of the pages. The image is placed on the right hand side , the image is a portrait going vertically down the page, so there is room for writing along the other half of the page and for another small image. The image is a long shot due to it being of her whole body. This illustrates she is wearing a strapless, purple above the knee style dress, which stands out against the white background. As of Taylor wearing a purple dress, from research I found this has the connotations of mystery, nobility and spirituality. As of her body language looks as if she is out at a party due to her hair and dress are swaying, her arm is bent toward her head and her eyes are closed and her mouth is open. This illustrates her fun, carefree and easy going personality.
She is also wearing a exaggerated yellow necklace which portrays her bright and daring fashion, and how she isn’t afraid to be different and stand out. Her entire image from this photo creates a joyful, feminine and youth full atmosphere portrayed through her clothes, body language and facial expression.

Another small image which is placed in the bottom left hand corner. The image appears to be slightly slanted and shows Taylor to be with another previous ex boyfriend, singer Joe Jonas. Through the interview it tell us the image was taken at an event and appears to be another paparazzi shot. Both pictures represent her personal life as of both previous relationships. This creates gossip for the celebrity as well as promoting her music which I will try to include in my interview.