Vogue vs. Vogue: Magazine asks pub to change its name, owner refuses

The owner of a rural English pub says he was asked to change the bar’s name by a fashion magazine because of the village where it’s located: Vogue, in the southwestern region of the country.

Mark Graham, who runs the Star Inn at Vogue, said British Vogue publisher Conde Nast argued the name could “cause problems” because members of the public might confuse the two businesses.

At first, Graham thought it was a joke from someone in the village.

The publisher asked if he would change the name, but he refused, arguing that the village is considerably older than the magazine, whose British edition was founded in 1916.

The pub itself is about 150 years old, according to the BBC. Graham also pointed out that Madonna has a hit song named “Vogue” and that she did not ask the village to use them as a namesake.

Graham said that on Friday he received another letter from Conde Nast saying that, on reflection, “we did not need to send such a letter on this occasion.”