Makeover media as fashion journalism: What Not To Wear, fashion, authority, and Gonzo subjectivity

ABSTRACT The USA-based television program What Not To Wear (WNTW) was a staple of popular fashion media, informing audiences about acceptable modes of dress and appearance. We consider how aspects of this show and its accompanying book encompass features of traditional fashion reportage – particularly advice literature – and also approaches to fashion communication that overlap with the style and concerns of “New Journalism” (those modes of reporting – sometimes called “Gonzo” – that emphasize informality, emotional engagement, and an interest in “real” people and “real” lives). By examining the text, images, and talk deployed by the book and the TV show, we indicate how WNTW perceives, constructs, and conveys the fashioned subject in ways that link makeover media to broader contexts of cultural commentary.