Pub strikes a pose against Vogue to win row over changing name
FOR AN unassuming Cornish pub perched on a country lane and offering £10 all-you-can-eat burgers and hot dogs, a letter from the most iconic fashion magazine raised eyebrows.
But when Mark Graham, the landlord, opened it to discover that Vogue was demanding that his pub change its 200-year-old name or face legal action, that curiosity quickly became a fierce determination to resist. The magazine sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Star Inn at Vogue, based in a rural hamlet called Vogue near the town of Redruth, arguing that its name might confuse readers.
They said they were “concerned that the name which you are using is going to cause problems because as far as the general public is concerned a connection between your business and ours is likely to be inferred”. The letter, seen by
The Daily Telegraph, added: “Please reply within seven days or we will take remedial action.”
In what has been dubbed a classic David versus Goliath battle, residents rallied together and were prepared to go to court, with the pub declaring it has no plans to change its name.
It said it intended to “crack on the way we always have”, pointing out that Vogue was first published in 1916 – nearly a century after the pub was
established. Last night, lawyers for Vogue’s parent company Condé Nast changed their minds following the protest, admitting in a letter to Mr Graham that “you are quite correct to note that further research by our team would have identified that we did not need to send such a letter on this occasion”.
Mr Graham said: “I was astonished that in this day and age that a company that big could not be bothered to do any background checks before sending such a nasty letter.
“The community are up in arms, they want me to create a parish magazine and call it a ‘Vogue magazine’ and have a fashion week and call it ‘Vogue fashion week’. One of our lovely barmaids wants to rewrite the Madonna song Vogue and release it for ourselves on Tiktok or Facebook.” He added: “It’s
another case of the big companies trying to bully the little companies into submission and that ain’t going to work in Cornwall. We’ve got a history of rebellion.”
In the letter to the pub, Sabine Vandenbroucke, the chief operating officer of Condé Nast, asked Mr Graham and his wife, Rachel, to provide more information about what type of business the Star Inn at Vogue pub is and any imagery it uses to make sure it obviously cannot be confused with the magazine.
Mr Graham, who initially thought the letter was a joke, replied with a selection of photos of the pub and street names found in the area bearing the name Vogue. He said the “at Vogue” addition to his pub’s name “has been used on and off, but I’ve been here 17 years and always used it”. His letter concluded by saying: “In answer to your question whether we would change our name, it is a categorical NO.” Yesterday, Christopher Donnellan, Condé Nast’s top lawyer, explained that Vogue was alerted to the name on Companies House, but was “grateful for your response and to learn more about your business in this beautiful part of our country”.