PROPAGANDA: THE DARK VOGUE
Text & Photo by Fred Berger
Yesterday, New York Fashion Week wrapped up after a 6-day whirlwind of style held at the iconic Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan. Alas, distracted by the hectic 24/7 news cycle, all the event did was remind me that I was once a part of the New York fashion scene back in the comparatively carefree days of the 1990s. It was a time when Propaganda Magazine was gaining considerable recognition in the press, including the New York Times, Details Magazine, Time Out New York, and the Village Voice. Because of its avid attention to fashion of the underground persuasion, one journalist referred to it as “the dark Vogue.” Style genres such as goth, punk, retro decadent, militaristic, and fetish were regularly featured in the publication, with much of the photography being done by yours truly. My work was gaining such notoriety that even Calvin Klein’s top photographer, Steven Meisel, contacted me on two occasions to recruit a couple of my models for his shoots. Moreover, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York approached me to use several of my photos for one of their publications. Even so, Propaganda remained more-or-less on the fringes of the scene because of its often controversial and macabre aesthetics, making it the guilty pleasure of many a fashion luminary.
PHOTO CAPTION: This photo of Propaganda cover girl Ana K. was taken in 1995 in Soho, New York’s fashion district. In the background is the Savoy restaurant and bar on the corner of Prince and Crosby, a favorite local haunt of fashionistas. (Photo & Copyright © by Fred Berger)
(ARTICLE POSTED SEPT. 17, 2025, 3:45 PM, EST, USA)
