Fashion in the UK has been split in two. Over here you can’t get much nearer to style’s summit than new mega-zines LOVE (which is on its second issue) and the newly relaunched POP. The latest issues of both magazines came out within days of each other and everyone is trying to work out which is best. See, Katie Grand, editor of LOVE, used to edit POP, and when she left, rumour quickly spread that working for POP from now on meant you would be banned from working for LOVE. Now, only someone with truly enormous fashion balls or nothing to lose would be willing to risk a clash with Katie’s untouchable in-crowd, so enter Katie’s old boss and POP co-founder, Ashley Heath. Heath was forced out of POP by the corporate types years ago, and so being asked back to rescue the title must taste sweet.
Right now, LOVE’s profile is sky high, Katie is loved by the press, dresses Madonna in the Louis Vuitton ads, and basically is a big fashion deal. Ashley can’t compete on a fashion level, but by appointing 28-year-old Dasha Zhukova as POP’s new editor-in-chief back in February, he proved he’s got tricks up his expensive sleeve. In Dasha, Ashley gets the tabloid friendly face he needs: she’s hot, ass-kissed on the celeb blogs and super in with the art world. Plus, her boyfriend Roman Abromavich’s connections are probably kind of useful.
But, comparing the magazines, which is better?
The 13-year-old blogger
Both magazines have massively bummed the same 13-year-old blogger, Tavi Gevinson. POP put her on the cover. LOVE had Pixie Geldof interview her, and she wrote how boring it would be to go on about how modern she is, so instead they got her to dress up the way she does on the blog. POP got an adult to style her and wrote about how modern she is. So, clearly LOVE wins!
Fold-out poster
Only POP comes with a free poster and since no one actually buys magazines anymore, this added-value stuff is probably the only future of print. POP wins!
Pixie Geldof in LOVE
Green woman in POP
Fashion
Neither title covers itself in fashion glory. LOVE at least tries – they’ve picked up on all that punk stuff being worn in London and there’s a tie-dyed Nike hoody in the sportswear shoot, which is tasty. Frankly though, it’s not much of a competition because LOVE’s photography is in another league. LOVE wins! Oh, and LOVE gets double points here, because these are fashion mags and should be really good at this.
Covers
Considering this is LOVE’s New Blood issue (which you’d expect to be pretty hyper and energetic), both its covers are a bit understated. POP has four, and don’t hold back on any of them. Two of them have the 13-year-old blogger on alongside some pretty Damien Hurst butterflies, one is a limited edition hardback Ed Ruscha cover, and the last has La Cicciolina and her nipples on it. POP wins!
Art
POP has interviews with Damien Hirst and Ed Ruscha. POP wins!
Gays
There are no articles about female homosexuality being fashionable, “eating out” innuendos or romantically shot teenage boxers in silly clothes in POP. LOVE wins!
Non-whites
One Naomi Campbell shoot and one Liberian president interviewed in POP, vs. a Chipmunk interview and more widespread use of black models in LOVE. POP wins!
The Barbara fucking Bush interview
LOVE doesn’t have any interviews by any members of the Bush family. POP wins!
Being right-wing
POP bangs on about Margaret Thatcher’s “wonderful dress sense” and how she got it from the Queen and has Barbara Bush as a writer. This issue of LOVE is dedicated to rich celebrities’ children and how much better than you they are. That’s pretty right-wing. DRAW.
Writing
Though LOVE is way better subbed, POP doesn’t have any articles about the Jonas Brothers, so POP wins!
Final score
Great fight! POP’s 6 just beats LOVE’s 5. Heath, you’re the man!
Reader Comments
September 2nd, 2009
2:47 pm
was better than both.
September 2nd, 2009
3:30 pm
[...] leave a comment » Since Dan started working at Vice I’ve started paying a lot more attention to the magazine. Over the past 6 months I think it has improved hugely and has become a lot more interesting since it stopped being so, well, Vice. Anyway, that’s a subject for a whole other blog post. The Vice Fashion Blog has been a bit all over the place but recently it seems to be churning you some pretty interesting and amusing pieces, the latest of which caught my eye as it’s a very au courant debate, that of POP vs LOVE. [...]
September 2nd, 2009
5:22 pm
The Pop cover is a million times better.
September 2nd, 2009
6:22 pm
love definitely wins, the photography is way better and they basically have the same articles, pop’s just katie grand’s cast offs. plus hugh hefners sons, come on.
September 2nd, 2009
6:29 pm
too good for little tavi
September 2nd, 2009
6:58 pm
Vegemite vs Marmite vs Spam vs Katie Grand should get her dirty knickers out of her loft and wash them. I can smell them from Hackney.
September 2nd, 2009
9:05 pm
New Pop way better than old Pop. Old Pop actually much better than Love. The winner? Billboard owners taking all that ca$h
September 3rd, 2009
10:21 am
POP definatly wins the Mark Borthwick shoot is incredible!!!
September 3rd, 2009
10:58 am
HEY! Who gives a shit about fashion?
September 3rd, 2009
10:58 am
judging solely on the covers, I like “Pop” better
September 3rd, 2009
10:58 am
i give pop the edge because of the logo. otherwise, i couldn’t give a shit about fashion mags.
September 3rd, 2009
10:59 am
LOVE really lost me a Jonas brothers.
September 3rd, 2009
10:59 am
layouts of each look great to me. never buy paper mags anymore though.
September 3rd, 2009
10:59 am
I wonder how much of ‘working’ at vice involves kissing arse while still trying to appear ’subversive’ in order to secure future employment opportunities
September 3rd, 2009
11:12 am
After religion, fashion is the biggest evil in the world today. If all your friends weren’t so stupid they wouldn’t need to judge you on your clothes.
September 3rd, 2009
12:18 pm
For me, it definitely has to be LOVE, I’m really liking the layout for this month, and there’s something about the cover of POP being too busy that it just puts me off looking at.
Next issue though it may well be another issue!!
September 3rd, 2009
1:07 pm
Neither of these magazines are as good as Dazed, Italian Vogue or Purple or W anyways.
September 3rd, 2009
1:11 pm
If VICE knew anything about fashion, they’d know LOVE is way better. Like VICE don’t employ rich kids ever. POP’s just like all those other deep fashion mags, boring and silly.
September 3rd, 2009
1:44 pm
POP is clearly better since LOVE is just all about pixie geldof, the fact that she gets to be both an interviewer and in a photoshoot is just tacky.
September 3rd, 2009
3:35 pm
Maria is right about the Pixie Geldof thing, its really annoying. Pop is awesome!
September 3rd, 2009
4:00 pm
LOVE made me feel really old. I’m 23. I haven’t read pop yet but I hate feeling old so pop wins clearly.
September 3rd, 2009
4:12 pm
Love looks exactly the same as Pop used to. Pop doesn’t (erm, apart from the name)
Pop winds by a fair distance. More imagination on every page.
September 3rd, 2009
4:15 pm
Bring Back The FACE
September 3rd, 2009
4:20 pm
Given a choice between fucking Katie up the arse or fucking Dasha up the arse…Dasha wins hands down. She is well fit and will talk dirty in Russian, always a turn on. That katie is a fat munter and has a smelly fanny.
September 3rd, 2009
4:33 pm
Are you kidding have you seen the size of her tits. Power is a great aphrodisiac too.
September 3rd, 2009
7:34 pm
Whose kidding who, I’ve been tapping that ass of Katie for years and its like throwing sausages in a breadbin now. You can fit a coke can up that shit all day long and she ain’t even feeling it bitch.
September 3rd, 2009
9:52 pm
they look the same to me, which ones cheaper?
September 4th, 2009
12:31 am
Both having features of Tavi, isn’t it good to see two such big magazines going out there and finding the stories which know one else has, instead of lazy copycat hype journalism?!
September 4th, 2009
1:05 am
DE were you being ironic?
September 4th, 2009
10:47 am
The only “winner” here is Pixie Geldof. Anyone with no discernible journalistic talent who can get paid work is surely laughing at everyone right now.
September 4th, 2009
11:40 am
Anything with Pixie Geldof is out of fashion with me. Can’t wait till she goes the same way as her mum in fact the whole family in the same way as their mum.
September 5th, 2009
12:05 am
[...] POP vs. LOVE | VICE FASHION BLOG - I love this take on the UK’s latest style magazines [...]
September 5th, 2009
3:38 am
they’re both shit anyway…lackkkk this something…
shitbollockssit
far enough i do rate them though considering they actaully hve a magazine while in my case i have £1:3o to my name and a broke jobless art & sociology student
soo im just vexing my annoyance on evry1 :)
September 6th, 2009
2:50 pm
hey this sounds familiar, isnt this a bit like vice v platform…all that jazz about vice employees arent allowed to be associated with platform in any way shape or form.
September 7th, 2009
9:01 pm
Both are a crock of shit aimed at the 2,000 spoilt kids around the world involved in making the magazines in the first place.
Ooh look - they slashed an “I ran the world t shirt - coooooool”.
Self masturbatory bollocks for those who actually regret the loss of Dash Snow and have no fucking clue where Helmand is or what is going on there or anywhere outside of Victoria Park or the lower east side (oh, sorry, and mebbee Green Point).
September 16th, 2009
1:57 pm
They’re both a bit bleh
Bring back real models and big photographers
Oh, and women
not girls