Is San Francisco Still the Cultural Hotspot Vogue Thinks It Is?
As a native Californian, whose parents both grew up in NorCal during the height of San Francisco’s inital cultural boom, I’ve always had an awareness of the vibrancy of the art scene and the immense diversity in people, food, and lifestyles that called the peninsula home.
Growing up just over two hours away from the city, and with grandparents that lived a ferry ride across the bay, trips were frequent and filled with all of the staples. Visits to the California Academy of Sciences to see my beloved Claude, an albino alligator who had lived at the museum since 2008 until his death at age 30 last year, and eating at Tadich Grill before heading home were coveted moments.
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world and subsequently my prom, I opted to drive down to the city with my dad and take photos in my prom dress outside the Palace of Fine Arts and Coit Tower.
I could go on and on with various memories in the city over the years and my long standing appreciation for it but I’m still aware that it is not the city that I used to know. While the city has been making a comeback in the years following the pandemic after what seemed like an endless stream of businesses shuttering and a slight spike in crime rates right after the initial lockdown period, something new has taken hold of the city, something bland, something artificial.
While the “tech bros” have existed in the Bay Area for decades they usually stuck to their domain of the South Bay, in and around Silicon Valley, but post-Covid and in the midst of the “A.I. boom” they have moved to the city in rapid numbers. Scooping up properties that have been deemed too expensive for others in an already notoriously expensive city and planting dystopian-esque A.I. company billboards within eye view on the parking lot that is I-280 during rush hour traffic. Our beloved city with quirks seems to be a shell of its former self.
Last month, Vogue announced that next year’s stop on its fashion world tour would be in San Francisco for the first time. In comparison to the former tour stops, New York, London, Paris, and later this month Milan, San Francisco sticks out like a sore thumb when talking about fashion capitals of the world.
In the initial announcement, Anna Wintour who serves as the chief content officer and the global editorial director of Vogue stated “Vogue believes in celebrating cities, and San Francisco is a city like none other … There’s a history of rebelliousness here, as well as incredible innovation. I love that San Francisco has always stood up for its values, and the things it believes in. We think it’s the perfect setting for Vogue World 2027,”
Current mayor Daniel Lurie also supported the decision by Condé Nast by saying “‘Thanks to our ecosystem of talented designers, musicians, and small businesses—and the artists and workers behind them—visitors are coming to our city, and our economy is recovering,’ Lurie says. ‘Vogue World will support San Francisco’s creative minds and strengthen the entire ecosystem—and it will offer another opportunity to show the world that San Francisco is on the rise,”’
In reality, the longtime residents both middle-income and lower are being priced out at alarming rates and individuals who had been living in rent-controlled units are being offered tens of thousands to vacate ASAP by landlords.
The artists that have made San Francisco the world renowned city that it is are also being pushed out in droves as the various tech booms and skyrocketing rents have increased tension on an already limited housing market.
While the idea of Vogue considering San Francisco as a prime location for a global fashion event would have excited the younger version of myself who was always jealous of those who lived in/around New York City and Los Angeles since they were typically favored, my present day self is not so sure.