Alexandra Shulman Leaves British Vogue as EIC, *Update* Edward Enninful Confirmed

[gbam]

Penny Martin from the The Gentlewoman or Lucinda Chambers

 

[Marc10]

^Ohhh, I didn't even think of Penny! Now that would fantastic, but I'm afraid she's too "progressive" for Vogue.

 

[Benn98]

Aso, don't think Penny will want this, sacrifice her creative liberty for a stringent publication such as Vogue! She works on two issues per year, and focus on every intricate detail of the magazine. That's what makes Gentlewoman so unique. Now throw in 10 more issues, the Vogue Festival, compulsory fashion week attendance and whatnot......

 

[honeycombchild]

The industry concensous, from what I have been privy to, is Natalie is almost a dead cert.

 

[vogue28]

How do you think Natalie Massenet would do at British Vogue? What's her style? I'm not very familiar with her work or what she's doing right now. I understood she worked well with Lucy Yeomans launching Porter, and the two seemed to have similar tastes so I'd be keen to see what Natalie might offer!

 

[GreyVetiver]

The industry concensous, from what I have been privy to, is Natalie is almost a dead cert.

That'd be a huge relief given that Katie Grand is said to be a top contender. But would Natalie take the job if she's waiting for the Anna Wintour to step down?

 

[dodencebt]

^ I don't see why she couldn't move from Vogue UK to Vogue US when Anna steps down, if that's the plan. It'd be what Wintour did anyway.

 

[honeycombchild]

I think Natalie will do a good job of straddling the commercial and directional lines. Ensuring the magazine is well and truly considered a true 'fashion' magazine without sacrificing the commercial aspects.

To me, British Vogue has always had to play to a little bit of a lower end market than the other editions, it's book cannot be filled with solidly designer and aspirational product. Perhaps more so than any other edition. Which is why we see features like More Dash Than Cash etc.

I also imagine she would be able to push younger, more fledgling labels further because of her current role. She's quite big on championing up and coming designers, something Alexandra has never been too fussed about doing. Perhaps because she was always more concerned about the written content than anything else.

It's just a total personal opinion here, but my belief is Natalie would let her staff's expertise and talent come further to the forefront. Rather than ignoring her entire team's opinion about a cover choice for example. Natalie isn't an editor, she's an avid fashion enthusiast and a brilliant business woman. She hasn't got to that point by ignoring the advice of the people's she's hired to do their jobs.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

The industry concensous, from what I have been privy to, is Natalie is almost a dead cert.

Oh no, more of the same basically.

 

[Benn98]

It will be interesting to see how Natalie will shape this edition. I must admit, hand on my heart, I have my reservations. One of them being the similarities between herself and Anna Wintour. The businesswoman. Wintour too is an avid fashion enthusiast, but she's rotten to the core because her heart seems governed by commerce. And there is in theory no place in the UK for such editors. Anna herself said that she could never work for British Vogue because her 'style' was more American, what she really should have said was that the British could never buy into her brand of crude and flashy commercialism. The British fashion demographic is inherently more intellectual, could be why Alexandra had such a long and succesful run. You cannot just throw clothes and celebrities at them without some form of substance. There's no women's glossy on this market which is only filled with fashion from cover to cover.

Yes, Natalie helped launch Porter, but the conception of the Porter woman was all down to Lucy. Lucy based the worldly and fashionable Porter woman on Natalie, Natalie (astute businesswoman that she is) saw it as the perfect counterpart for Net-A-Porter. Lucy also had that wealth of actual experience to execute and put all the ideas into motion irrespective of her team, whereas Natalie may need a very strong team to back her up.

One thing's for certain, the magazine's obsession with Mario Testino will continue unabated if Natalie takes charge.

 

[Deleted member 45369]

^ I don't see why she couldn't move from Vogue UK to Vogue US when Anna steps down, if that's the plan. It'd be what Wintour did anyway.

Maybe this is a succession plan being put into place for US Vogue by Condé. They need to start thinking about who will eventually replace Anna and this would be the perfect testing ground. Althoug, isn't Natalie in her 50s already? Anna was like 36 when she took over American Vogue.

 

[Lola701]

Maybe this is a succession plan being put into place for US Vogue by Condé. They need to start thinking about who will eventually replace Anna and this would be the perfect testing ground. Althoug, isn't Natalie in her 50s already? Anna was like 36 when she took over American Vogue.

Yes, but being 50 today is totally different to being 50 back then. Carine took over Vogue at 47 i think and Alt will be 50 this year.

I think those kind of questions are asked at Conde Nast. For some reason i think that Nathalie could also be the EIC of US VOGUE later...

I really don't see anyone who can take US Vogue after Anna other than NM right now...

 

[blueorchid]

Althoug, isn't Natalie in her 50s already? Anna was like 36 when she took over American Vogue.

Not to be morbid, but picking older editors does ensure that they don't run a magazine for 30+ years... for better or for worse.

 

[jescajade]

I've heard rumours of switching to a male editor with Hamish Bowles, that would be interesting. I'm surprised Sarah Mower hasn't been discussed much, she has been particularly supportive of British fashion writing for US Vogue. Hopefully whoever it is they make the magazine more fashion focused, Shulman seemed to forget that's what Vogue is all about.

 

[Benn98]

Hamish Bowles? Didnt Hamish used to edit that ill-fated US Vogue Living? It was actually pretty decent, if I recall. If not a bit like a decor extension of US Vogue.

I dunno, he's like Grace Coddington for me. Cannot wrap my head around them leading a magazine.

 

[blackkohl]

Sad that Shulman is leaving. As others have said, though, it was only a matter of time before this happened because she was clearly worn out during the filming of the documentary. In Inside Vogue, which also covers the run-up to Vogue's centenary celebrations, she writes about feeling stressed and often has moments of wondering what a calmer life would be like away from Vogue, so I get that she's moved. It's a shame because I did love her honesty and disinterest in looking flawless 24/7, as well as her old-school attitudes towards printed media. Plus she's a brilliant writer. Anyway, I just hope and pray that Katie Grand doesn't get the gig... it would ruin Vogue. I've read something about Eva Chen being tipped for it but I doubt she'd want to move back to print. NM would be great I think as she knows her stuff... fingers crossed for Natalie!!

 

[jescajade]

Hamish Bowles? Didnt Hamish used to edit that ill-fated US Vogue Living? It was actually pretty decent, if I recall. If not a bit like a decor extension of US Vogue.

I dunno, he's like Grace Coddington for me. Cannot wrap my head around them leading a magazine.

Same here. Doubt they'll go for Bowles, but you never know him and Emanuele Farneti could start a new trend...

 

[Creative]

It's great that she is leaving but the front runners are all equally boring. But oh well, it's UK Vogue so who cares...

 

[CTSunshine]

Hi all - what about Plum Sykes? Don't know why I had not thought of her previously. She could be great for British Vogue and could bring her strong sense of tradition with a new aesthetic and direction

 

[Bertrando3]

THISSSSS!

“I’ve never been a fashion editor, so I’ve always been more interested in curating other people’s work, which creates an interesting mix. If you see French Vogue it’s very much Emmanuelle [Alt]’s vision, and before it was about Carine [Roitfeld]’s vision who did a lot of the shoots, same with American Vogue, as Anna [Wintour] has very strong ideas about what an image should look like,” said Shulman.

“Every now and again I manage to get something that’s my idea in the magazine, but it’s a rare occasion. Usually people pitch to me, they have to explain to me why their idea will work, and I let them get on with it. I’ve hardly been on a shoot. Can you imagine 25 years at Vogue and I’ve been to about one shoot?” she said.

She eventually admits that she did not pull herlself IN the job as she should have as editor-in-chief! This is so crazy to me, I meannnn how could you work 25 yearssss at the top of a big fashion magazine or any other job actually and not give your voice and your input and give personality to it? It baffles me, really. And then she also goes on about the fact that they and she at British Vogue did not or were not able to create a star because of the fast pace of the Fashion industry. Ehhh dear Alexandra, as editor-in-chief, you have the power and you´re in control so you did have the possibility to slow that pace and to truly groom covergirls and repeat with them, don´t hide behind your chair saying it´s the photographer´s fault COME ON! Look:

Touching on social media and the way it has boosted models’ careers, Shulman said that while the impact of visual platforms such as Instagram have helped unconventional beauties like Cara Delevingne rise to fame, the constant search for newness has also been detrimental to the industry.

“One of my great sadnesses is that we haven’t been able to build a lot of great, new models — and that’s a pity. We don’t have that many models on the cover anymore because photographers and designers are constantly looking for ‘the new face,'” added Shulman.

Source: http://wwd.com/business-news/media/alexandra-shulman-british-vogue-leaving-exit-10771721/