“I think what I often see is that people are frightened of fashion and that’s because it scares them or makes them feel insecure they put it down … they just mock it,” said Anna Wintour, Vogue’s editor-in-chief, in the 2009 documentary “The September Issue,” a film that goes inside the process behind putting together the biggest Vogue issue of the year.

“Issue” did what it could to diminish negative stereotypes of the fashion industry by showing all of the thought and hours of hard work going into a magazine that, for this particular issue, focused on color blocking, texture and an elaborate editorial inspired by the golden age of Italian cinema, featuring actress Sienna Miller on the cover.

For the non-fashion lover, it’s not exactly life-changing material. So, if the most powerful woman in fashion can’t convince the public to take fashion seriously, will people’s minds ever change?

First, the problem is to be examined: why is fashion treated like a joke? Wintour’s own daughter, Katherine “Bee” Shaffer, shared sentiments not far from what seems to be the general public’s opinion when she criticized the industry after being asked if she would follow in her mother’s footsteps.

“Some of the people in there act like fashion is life,” said Shaffer. “It’s really amusing, and you can make fun of them, but for that to be your career … there are other things out there.”

The belief that prominent fashion figures are vain, superficial, materialistic and, amongst other things, judgmental plagues the industry; living a life dedicated to style and beauty just isn’t held in high-esteem, which makes fashion editors, critics and stylists appear ridiculous to those who assume them to be arrogant and self-involved. Fashion is, at the end of the day, subjective, and because not every American reads Vogue, every American is not getting the Anna Wintour-approved style tips that would presumably make the country a more stylish place. Does that mean fashion’s most influential figure could be replaced with anyone off the street? If what is printed in magazines isn’t taken to heart, then it would seem so.

“I don’t pay attention to it,” said Chelsea Lupica, a DePaul junior, when asked about whether or not the opinions and guidelines laid out by magazine editors played a part in her style decisions. “I don’t like that it’s as if only a handful of people have a say in what to wear and what not to wear.”

DePaul sophomore Serena Miller said she cares about what she wears and does take note of the pieces others choose to put on, but does not pay close attention to the industry itself.

“I respect the fashion industry, but I don’t really follow it,” said Miller.

There’s more to the fashion industry than magazines though, and what starts in the world of haute couture trickles down to retail chains. Those sneaker wedges everyone has on their feet? Isabel Marant. The varsity jackets that won’t go away? Alexander Wang. The reason for those comfortable blanket coats? Thank designer label Rag & Bone. In essence, anything put out on those runways can eventually end up in the wardrobe of the biggest fashion naysayers. Trying to avoid the influence of the fashion industry is nearly impossible. After all, clothing doesn’t appear on the shelves out of thin air. Still, even though clothing is a necessity, and so is supporting the industry that produces it, plenty continue to judge it for the values and ideas they feel it sells to the masses.

The most fashion-filled four weeks kicked off Thursday with the beginning of New York Fashion Week, and then it is off to London, Milan and will wrap up in Paris. The press coverage will be intense with critics praising the design talent and looks of the starlets sitting front row. The other end of the media will say how the models are too thin, too white and too young, then scoff at the audience in attendance, remarking how they sit stone-faced viewing clothes far too outlandish to make it to the light of day.

Articles focused on the latter are nothing new to the industry, nor will they hurt the fashion industry’s feelings in any way. The stigma will continue to surround fashion, no matter what good it does (such as heart disease campaign The Heart Truth and its annual Red Dress Collection) as long as people believe it promotes materialism, conformity and impossibly high standards of beauty. Yet, even if fashion is the be-all and end-all, or it seems more like a joke, fashion is everywhere and in a society where being anti-fashion is even a fashion statement, it can’t be escaped – we’re all a part of it.