Magazines find insurrection irresistibly sexy
With camouflage clothing still popular eight years after the coup that was supposed to get rid of Thaksin Shinawatra but instead sparked a fashion fad, it might not have been a stretch to predict that couture would play a big role in the current insurrect
And the glossy togs magazines are indeed lured like moths to a flame by the colourful outfits of the protesters.
But Lips magazine – whose editor happens to be on the front lines of the anti-Shinawatra uprising – looks set to leap past the competition with a cover shot on its second February issue of “Kamnan” Suthep Thaugsuban, rabble-rouser-in-chief of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee.
The edition hasn’t hit the news stands yet, but a behind-the-scenes image from the “fashion shoot”, apparently at a rally site, was posted on Suthep’s Facebook page. The picture shows him with several supporters “Taking photos for Lips” and has him declaring, “I was a politician for over three decades and never did any modelling, but now that I’ve turned into Kamnan and a traitor, I’m going to be on the cover of a fashion magazine.”
More than 92,000 visitors hit the “like” button and shares topped 3,600, which is enough to safely forecast that this imminent issue of Lips is certain to sell out. Heck, it would clean out its press run if only the protesters bought copies. “The Kamnan cover will break the record for any magazine ever sold in Thailand. Confirm!” Jessada Meetam commented on the post. Pornphen Windhorst added that “Kamnan fever” exceeds any flurry of attention that a professional model could possibly generate. “I’m looking forward to buying a copy,” she said.
Not everyone will do that, of course. Suthep generates plenty of dislikes as well, and the pro-government crowd turned up on the same Facebook page armed with nasty comments. “Eyesore” is one random criticism of the “fashion shoot” that we can publish without blushing.
Meanwhile another PRDC sweetheart, Chitpas “Tant” Kridakorn, will be gracing the cover of Dichan next month. Some of the shots have sneaked onto Instagram with Tant’s rallying words, “Don’t forget to give me support!” At the risk of sounding sexist, we have to say that Dichan has a far better-looking cover-person, but that still doesn’t undermine expectations that Lips will outsell every other mag around, including the hugely popular monthly James in His Underpants.
Even the venerable and usually conservative Praew magazine has tilted toward revolutionaries, picking actor couple Chatchai and Sinjai Plengpanich for its Valentine edition, a couple who have shown strong support for the anti-government movement. The headline is “Rak Prathet Thai” and they’re pictured against a Thai flag backdrop – the magazine is playing up “love” in the sense of “love your country”.
Several famous couples are interviewed inside, but people are taking the cover photo as a statement of policy. Is Praew turning into a political journal? Unlikely, but it’s certainly demonstrating that politics and fashion make a good mix. The cover image went viral on the social media and the print copies are selling well too.
