The Business of Magazines

[Benn98]

“Under Nina, Elle has been less into politics or news,” Ms. Carroll said. “Nina’s Elle is a fashion magazine. So I went with New York magazine, which knows how to break news.”

Truer words were never spoken! It's preposterous that Elle thought they would get E.Jean's exclusive especially considering the severity of her claims.

The thing that stayed the most with me after reading this...she was being paid $120,000 annually for 12 1,800 word columns?! That's $10,000 for a single column.

Carrie Bradshaw looks downright frugal in comparison.

LOL, I don't even want to think about still have writers making anything from 80p to 2 quid per word. Yet to be fair, she has been doing this since 1993 for Elle specifically so in a way she's worth that. I recall Glenn O'Brien also pulled a massive salary for The Style Guy column in GQ.

 

[Benn98]

Great read, but I find it incredible that there are so many typos in these articles which not only comes from Forbes magazine, but it was penned by an actual 'seasoned fashion writer'.

Tonne Goodman: On Personal Style, Lessons Learned From Female Editors And Sustainability

Samantha Tse Contributor

Tonne Goodman is instantly recognisable in her crisp white Levis, navy cashmere twinset topped with a Charvet scarf tied around her neck, and sensible Italian loafers. The iconic fashion editor may wear a simple uniform but her bold editorials and groundbreaking covers have changed the industry and how we look at fashion. She was in Paris last week for the couture shows and to do a book signing for “Point of View” at the Galeries Lafayette Champs-Élysées which details her work in the industry over the past four decades. Goodman is perhaps most known for her work at Vogue where she spent almost 20 years styling memorable covers and editorials that, with the power of her vision, helped solidify the magazine’s position as one of the world’s biggest brands.

The book also details her work at Harper’s Bazaar, Calvin Klein where she was the Vice President of Advertising, her early days working with Diane Vreeland at the Costume Institute, as well as her childhood growing up in the Upper East Side with formidable parents who would continually influence her work and her sense of style.

Goodman sat down with Forbes to chat about her book, collaborating with photographic giants including Peter Lindbergh and Patrick Demarchelier, what makes a models such as Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell great and her creative process.

The celebrated fashion editor talks about personal style, her morning routine, how she winds down at night, as well as working with some of the most revered female editors and the importance of sustainability.

The Vogue editor has worked with legendary women in the industry including Diana Vreeland at The Costume Institute, Liz Tilberus and Anna Wintour. Goodman tells us what she’s learned from her editors and how their lessons helped prepare her for her future roles.

After nearly 20 years, Goodman stepped down as Vogue’s fashion director and became a contributing editor in 2018. In January this year, she was appointed the publication’s first ever sustainability editor. Goodman told Forbes about living with a smaller carbon footprint and changes she thinks the fashion industry will need to adopt in order to be more sustainable.

Sustainability seems to play a big role in your life.

In the course of my career, I’ve made a change and that's the sustainability element that is part of our lives now. I happen to be in fashion and I have a responsibility, I feel, to incorporate it into a point of view of fashion. And that is what we - Vogue - and everybody has to do now. It’s a complicated subject because there are so many aspects to it. But I think that any conversation about it helps move things forward because we do not have a choice. We all have to think about how to re-envision prosperity, progress and the commerce of production. I think that’s going to be part of a conversation coming up.

But fashion magazines, through imagery, create the of desire, want and fantasy. But also the fashion industry and fashion brands measures their success by growth. If sustainability is a key issue, how does that work?

It’s going to evolve into something we don’t quite know yet. I think we don’t know the answer to that yet. I think the whole sensibility is going to have to start to shift. I do feel that value is going to be something people consider more. It's less fast fashion and more consideration, I think. Instead of being something that is a trend that you wear to give information about yourself that isn't really about you - it's really about what's going on about a trend - that philosophy gets taken over by something that you buy, that you value and that you're going to hold on to and that it means something to you. And when you put it on, it reflects who you are and makes you feel good.

I’m a kid of the 60’s so I had a blast and you know, I had the fringed jacket and all that stuff. You really expressed who you were by what you were wearing and you wore what you thought was cool. You had so much freedom.

How does sustainability affect your work?

I actually have a new title at Vogue, which sustainability editor. There’s not a definition of it really but I’m a point person so you can keep talking. I think the more conversation and the less it’s the elephant in the room and becomes the room, that the better off we’re going to be.

You’ve worked with a lot of respected female editors in your time, what are some of the lessons have you learned from them?

At this point, I don’t discriminate between men and women. Women are the same as men to me.

After I dropped out of art school, I volunteered at The Costume Institute because Diana Vreeland had recently taken over and I knew her through her grandson. She was putting together an exhibition and the labour force behind it were these kids who came in and volunteered. I was one of them and I ended up being her right hand and stayed for five exhibitions. Mrs. Vreeland gave me the foundation, the work ethic and the understanding of how to navigate different circumstances to prepare me for the next thing, which was a newspaper.

First of all, you had to figure out what Mrs. Vreeland was saying because she spoke her own language and then you had to do it and you had to do it fast and you had to do it without any question.

One thing that she taught me was if you don’t know, ask a question. If you should know, that's one thing. But if it's something new, she said, you need to ask a question, get an answer that is going to provide you with what you need to carry on.

Mrs. Vreeland was a wonderful character so in a day’s work, there’s delight because you’re in the presence of this person who is very demanding but gives you a kind of joie de vivre because she has it.

After that I joined the New York Times to work with Carrie Donovan, who was a very flamboyant character who's very decisive and very delightful. At the New York Times it was a really different approach because they were journalists. And the first assignment I got was with Helmut Newton and I hit the ground running. You have to think on your feet and the stress is real.

Then Harper’s Bazaar hired Liz Tilberis from British Vogue to resurrect the magazine. She came over with a great vision, which was photography and that really heralded and championed photographers that she felt were essential to the development of fashion photography. Some of the names that are out there now started very early with us, which was part of Liz's appreciation of developing photographers and having a wide overview. It was about exploring new things.

Why did you decide to do the book now?

There's so much work to be cataloged at this point. I did not actually have any intention of doing a book. I was approached to do a book by the director of photographer at Vogue for the first 10 years I was there and now he’s the director of archive. He approached me and said it was time to do a book. And I said, well, you know, I hadn't really thought about that. You know, everybody's already seen the work, who cares? And he said no, you’ve got a really big catalogue behind you.

How did the book come together?

Sam Shahid was the art director at Calvin Klein when I was there and we chose him as the art director of the book. We know each other very well. We share the same sensibilities. And we also share fun, which is one of those words that is kind of getting lost these days. So every Friday at 3pm we would meet and we would start to look through the pictures. It was a huge amount because we had every story that I’ve ever done for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and there were 176 Vogue covers. We decided to print them all and put them in the fold of the book.

What reflections did you have when going through your life’s work for the book?

In the course of selecting the photographs, it became very clear to me that that photograph came from an experience that I had. And this photograph referenced my mother, for instance, and the style that my mother had. The cultural aspects of my work are because I was exposed to all the cultural aspects of New York growing up in New York as a child. So I had this great opportunity to have this exposure and the exposure stayed with me because it resonated with me and it later showed up in the photographs. So the whole preface to the book, which is starting out, the picture of my parents, being a model, living on a boat, you know, all of that stuff fed into the photographs later on. I think it kind of makes the book a little bit of a different book than just a fashion photograph book. And we organised it chronologically rather than by photographer. And it was great fun putting it together.

You’ve often talked about your experiences and how that’s influenced your work. Your parents were a very celebrated couple. How did growing up with them influence your style, your taste and your direction?

Both of my parents were self-made. My mother came from Ohio. She came into the city as a textile designer. She had great style of her own. It was just born with it. My father was an only child that grew up in Long Island and he had an enormous presence of his own. They had it innately and when they came together as two people, they had a magnetism that drew people to them including people from the theatre, musicians and the ambassador of England. They had a big coterie of people that were their friends and we had exposure to that as kids. We were included all the time. We had dinner with our parents every night. My parents changed their clothes into the attire for the evening and the amount of exchange of interests is something that feeds a child and that’s what kept us going.

You talk a lot about collaborations in your book and you’ve worked with some of the most respected names in the industry. Who are your favourite collaborators and what makes a good one?

The collaboration with Peter (Lindbergh) and Patrick (Demarchelier) - I used to call them my surrogate husbands I’d spent so much time with them. I was married and had children but we would go off on these trips and they would accommodate me when I had to, like, get off the set to pump when I was nursing my kids from abroad. We were very close.

As for what makes a good collaborator - faith. I think exchange, understanding and humour. Humour is absolutely essential. I think that you naturally collaborate with somebody that you respect their talent. That’s a given and then knowing that, in order to work well with their talent, they need to have humour, they need to be able to exchange and they need to be patient because a lot of things go wrong. They need to be unflappable. And when you encounter these problems you all figure it out together with humour, which is very, very important.

Who are your favourite models you’ve worked with throughout the years?

It’s all the great supermodels. I loved working with Christie Brinkley, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. Those girls, they're all remarkable, remarkable women and models and models. It's a very, very hard job to be a model and to be a great model and they're all great models. And then, you know, since then, you know, Carolyn Murphy, Karlie Kloss and all the girls whose names you know. They’re great because they have the generosity in the photograph. When you look back at the photographs of the 70s, the girl, the contact that the girls were making with the photographer was very apparent.

You’ve been responsible for some of the most iconic images in the world. What is your creative process?

Well, I think that it starts, if you're doing a fashion photograph, it starts with the fashion that you're working with, how it resonates with you. And is it modern and exciting or is it strange and does it need a context or is it very mundane and it needs a kind of a narrative that goes with it? So it informs you of what you're going to do. And then, you know, also current events informs you what you're going to do. So for instance, when I shot at Galactica at the Mojave Desert with Karen Elson, that was because I was interested in the space exploration that was coming up and there was fashion out there that could support it. And the team that did it with me was extraordinary. Steven Klein is a visionary and Garren did the hair and makeup by Val Garland was beautiful.

What was it like to work with Michelle Obama?

The best photograph I ever did of course was with Michelle Obama. She’s one of the most incredible people I've ever met - I have no words. We photographed her a few times and each time was better than the last. Everything that she was a part of was so thrilling - everything about that administration was thrilling and that reflected in the experience of being at the White House with her and meeting the President. He came down to say hi and it was like ah! You’re almost on the floor when you see that smile.

How has fashion photography changed?

It became more aloof and there’s a disconnect. I think it’s probably a form a protection from everything. This is a very personal point of view and it’s probably not a very popular one but but I do feel that when you are threatened and when you're worried and when you are concerned about a general situation, which is what we are involved in now it's reflected in the kind of distance to protect yourself and the ones you care for. I think it trickles down and maybe that’s why you see a disconnect.

There are also the use of digital cameras and technology now that wasn’t there when you first started.

The difference with film is that when a photographer is working with film, there’s a focus on communication and the photographer who is shooting on digital is focused on the image coming through and what's going to happen to it. So there’s an immediate disconnect and I think the models feel it. It's really a different experience of human contact, content and context. It’s changed a lot.

Fashion has changed a lot since you started in the industry. What do you think are some of the biggest changes and how is it affecting publishing?

Evolution is part of life and the economy. The advent of social media is huge and Instagram has made the playing ground equal, in a way. Anyone can be a photographer now and anyone can present their work. There was an audience, all of the sudden, and it became a tool for manipulation. So Influencers, they didn’t exist before the platform, and I feel that fashion follows a pulse that is going on in culture. For example, when grunge came, it reflected a moment that was needed. The significance of asking questions and really seeing where we are does reflect itself in fashion, I think. And today the kind of narrative and storytelling that a lot of the fashion stories that I did earlier on is not really relevant anymore. That kind of narrative you see less and less and less in fashion photography. And that’s a part of what the visual reaction is, I guess. I think the reaction to a photograph very kaleidoscopic because you can either see it on Instagram where it’s on a small screen, or you can see it in a magazine or a large billboard or poster. There are so many ways to appreciate or not appreciate an image.

Have you embraced Instagram? Has it changed the way you think of images and how you work?

I haven't embraced Instagram the way I should have. Everybody tells me I should be pushing my numbers and all that kind of stuff. But, my approach to a photograph is still the photograph. That can't change for me because it's still the, the, the joy of putting together all the pieces with the team that you have.

Forbes

 

[MON]

Nina & Hearst expecting a Trump expose exclusive for Elle? Where in the world will they put that in the magazine?

When was the last time that Elle had a cover line regarding politics? If E. Jean were employed at Conde, I'd get it that Anna was pissed. But for Hearst?

Also, terminating a contract just because you didn't get an exclusive? It's not like she's the first whistleblower.

I find all of these insanely incredible. Makes me believe her even more now.

 

[SLFC]

Also why would you go to a fashion magazine for politics unless you aren't really interest in actual journalism and more about activism disguised as journalism. Though that is all the rage nowadays and it has completely taken over other US publications.

 

[Hafyiez wafa]

vogue taiwan relaunched 5 march 2020 ?

 

[MON]

Yes. New editor in chief

 

[MON]

Glenda just had her last day in Bazaar.

Both US and UK editions are now running without an Editor-in-chief. In what world is this possible?

Such a shame that no one wants the job. Hearst needs to step it up in their search. With each passing day, it makes the job look less appealing, and the magazine's image tarnished.

The fact that no one wants to take the job just reflects on the prestige (or what's left of it) of the magazine

 

[tigerrouge]

When you think back to the days when people would have stabbed each other with stilettos in order to get sitting in the editor's chair...

They mustn't be offering enough money. People will do anything for money. Offer enough perks and you'll get lots of people wanting the job. Might not be the right people, but at least it would look like people wanted the job.

 

[caioherrero]

When you think back to the days when people would have stabbed each other with stilettos in order to get sitting in the editor's chair...

They mustn't be offering enough money. People will do anything for money. Offer enough perks and you'll get lots of people wanting the job. Might not be the right people, but at least it would look like people wanted the job.

I think they are only waiting the end of the fashion month to announce that Fabien is the new EIC.

 

[MON]

I think they are only waiting the end of the fashion month to announce that Fabien is the new EIC.

If so, what a terrible move.

Fashion month/week is the prime time to flaunt THE FACE of each and every magazine. Think of it as EIC Battle Royale.

Someone needs to represent the magazine in the front row, and let's be honest, people look into an individual and not "The Harper's USA Team."

Glenda had her last day the other day. Who represents Bazaar US then? Who has been representing UK Bazaar? Having an acting EIC / Deputy Editor sit there is not a good look.

Also, they should stop these leaks/articles about having a hard time finding a replacement. It cheapens the position and the brand imo.

 

[aracic]

Wasn't there a big Harper's Bazaar exhibition opening the other day as well? To me that seems like a perfect opportunity to announce the new EIC but they gave us nothing.

 

[dodencebt]

I'm pretty sure they haven't secured anyone yet and the whole "we'll announce a replacement after fashion month ends" thing is just a way to buy more time.

 

[vogue28]

Someone needs to represent the magazine in the front row, and let's be honest, people look into an individual and not "The Harper's USA Team."

Glenda had her last day the other day. Who represents Bazaar US then? Who has been representing UK Bazaar? Having an acting EIC / Deputy Editor sit there is not a good look.

Glenda remains in Paris for PFW, attending the shows and sitting front row still to this very hour (Givenchy). Her IG bio also remains unedited, stating she’s the editor of US Harper’s Bazaar, so Bailey is still the face out there representing the magazine - at least until the shows are over on Tuesday.

 

[MON]

Glenda remains in Paris for PFW, attending the shows and sitting front row still to this very hour (Givenchy). Her IG bio also remains unedited, stating she’s the editor of US Harper’s Bazaar, so Bailey is still the face out there representing the magazine - at least until the shows are over on Tuesday.

Thanks for the update! That's a good move imo unlike what they did for UK Bazaar. Justine left and that's it.

Any updates on UK Bazaar?

 

[vogue28]

Thanks for the update! That's a good move imo unlike what they did for UK Bazaar. Justine left and that's it.

Any updates on UK Bazaar?

Lydia Slater, British Bazaar’s acting EIC is in Paris representing the magazine.

I wouldn’t be surprised if she became a permanent fixture at this rate. Yet I’m even more amazed that Avril Mair hasn’t been announced as Picardie’s successor - she seemed to be the perfect candidate to replicate the magazine’s current winning formula.

It’s slim pickings out there... real slim. Two decades ago, you would of had MULTIPLE people gunning for an EIC position.

 

[Benn98]

So she liked Tilberis at Vogue, but not Tilberis at Bazaar? Perfectly sums up her tastelessness. Also, first time ever she mentioned Anna by name.....

At least she's honest about something - she is a terrible writer. Or rather, terrible for the position which she held.

Media People: Glenda Bailey on Display

As she steps down as editor in chief of U.S. Harper's Bazaar, Bailey reflects on leadership, talent and magazines.

By Miles Socha on February 26, 2020

She’s definitely going out with a bang. Tonight, Glenda Bailey will cap her reign as editor in chief of Harper’s Bazaar with a gala at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs marking the opening of an exhibition devoted to the magazine’s 150-plus years.

While she lamented that some designers and VIPs cannot attend due to travel restrictions related to the coronavirus outbreaks, Bailey adopted her glass-half-full perspective on things, always on the lookout for opportunities when problems arise. “Health is way more important than fashion,” she reasoned.

She even saw an opportunity in another health scare to write a new chapter for herself after 32 years being an editor in chief, divulging with some emotion that she had hidden from the world, her family included, two bouts with breast cancer in recent years. In fact, she interrupted one round of radiation treatments to attend the Paris couture, and only informed her nearest and dearest when she was cancer-free.

“I wanted to tell the good news and not the bad,” she demurred.

Her superiors at Hearst Magazines listened with compassion and generosity when she informed them she wanted to slow down: hence her new role as a global consultant for Bazaar’s 29 global editions, effective March 1.

An exuberant fashion enthusiast with a ready laugh and a can-do attitude, Bailey recounted how she managed to propel herself from a middle-class upbringing in the British Midlands to the top of the masthead. Born in Derbyshire, Bailey worked at a factory that made lingerie for Marks & Spencer for a year to earn money for fashion studies at Kingston University — and that did not go according to plan. “I’m a terrible designer,” she said. But in Marie Claire Bis, a biannual magazine exalted by her and her classmates, she spied a possible path for herself. “It was just so great, it had a viewpoint, it had wearable, desirable clothes. It had photographs by Peter Lindbergh and I wanted to be part of that,” she recalled.

Her father’s cancer diagnosis six months out of college was a blow — her mother had predeceased him, also from cancer — and interrupted her stint in fashion forecasting. When her father finally passed, Bailey boarded a bus to London with her husband Stephen Sumner, picked up a payphone upon arrival and dialed up Colin Reeves-Smith at IPC Media. “I must have been very persuasive because he had me in the next day,” she recalled.

She was put in charge of a quarterly called Folio, and it wasn’t long before she had convinced IPC to take over British Marie Claire — and install her as editor in chief. That was in 1988, and she confessed it was a steep learning curve. “I started at the top and I never looked back,” she said. She would go on to edit American Marie Claire before joining Harper’s Bazaar 19 years ago.

In a wide-ranging interview, Bailey confessed her enormous admiration for Vogue’s Anna Wintour, her rabid interest in business strategy and why she thinks magazines have a chance to be around forever:

WWD: You mention a steep learning curve. Did you have mentors, and how did they help you?

Glenda Bailey: Heather Love was my publisher (at Marie Claire) and she was a brilliant boss. She had taught me very much to let your team know if you’re displeased and that’s the opposite of what I am now. I obviously have to let people know when things go wrong, but you can’t show your emotions. She encouraged my directness.

My approach to everything was just problem-solving. There’s no such thing as a problem, only an opportunity. I always say good is the biggest enemy of great because I always wanted to produce the extraordinary, otherwise why bother? And Heather was very straightforward, and she always said, “Treat people like you want to be treated.”

WWD: Are you more passionate about articles, or images?

G.B.: I’m very realistic about what I am good at and what I’m not good at. I’m a really terrible writer. I can’t write well enough for Harper’s Bazaar — such a shame. But I’m good at visualizing and coming up with ideas for shoots. I’m good at predicting fashion trends. I’m good at strategy. And it turns out I’m good at fundraising. I’ve raised for Lincoln Center alone something like $8 million.

I love fashion forecasting. I think that’s what I’m really good at. They used to say that I edited by crystal ball.

WWD: What were the glory years for you in magazine publishing, and some of your favorite memories?

G.B.: Obviously lighting up the Empire State Building (with Bazaar covers) is up there. But I’ve really enjoyed the entire journey.

I used to love British Vogue when Liz Tilberis was there. Of course I love Marie Claire. This might sound surprising, but I’m actually Anna Wintour’s greatest fan because I know what it takes to produce a magazine like American Vogue, and I think she’s done an incredible job.

When I see somebody do something fantastic, it doesn’t matter where it comes from. I’m just so appreciative because it’s hard to come up with innovative ideas all the time.

I think it’s the journalist that will kill print, not the reader. If we as journalists and editors produce fabulous fashion magazines, then the reader will respond.

WWD: Can you share what you learned working with photographers?

G.B.: It’s the up-and-coming ones that are the difficult ones to work with. The great photographers? So easy to work with. For example, Peter Lindbergh: You could not wish to work for a more fabulous man. …It was just such a wonderful memory of creativity. …That’s what I think is fabulous about fashion magazines, reflecting what’s going on in society.

WWD: What makes a fashion image very Glenda Bailey?

G.B.: Originality. Whimsy. Memorable. And hopefully when you look around the exhibition you’ll see that, because there are so many incredible greats that have gone before in Harper’s Bazaar’s history.

What’s fascinating is how times have changed. One of the greatest fashion photos of all time has got to be “Dovima With Elephants,” and I encouraged the museum to blow it up hugely. Because what many people don’t realize when they see that image, is that we would never, ever do that image today because it’s horrific. You’ll see that the elephants’ legs are bound by chains. You can’t whitewash the past. It’s important to learn your lessons from the past, and produce something that is relevant for now.

WWD: Do you have a favorite cover image from your long career, or a favorite fashion story?

G.B.: I’ve always been very hands-on when it comes to covers. One of my favorites was Demi Moore. Remember the Alexander McQueen collection with the Armadillo shoes, his very last? I remember calling Demi and saying, “Now, what I need you to do is stand on a spiral staircase on sand wearing the Armadillo shoes. I know it might be precarious, but if you could also just hold your hand out, and I’m thinking you could feed a giraffe.” And all she complained about was the fact that the giraffe had bad breath.

WWD: I know you’re proud to have shaped many young editors, more than a dozen of whom have become editors in chief. What’s your secret to growing these leaders?

G.B.: I always employ someone who has different talents than me, and I love to see them grow. And I’m good at choosing people with talent. I’ve only ever chosen strong people who would challenge me. That’s what making a good magazine is about — making the most of everybody’s talents.

When I took over Bazaar there were 60 members of staff. Now there’s nearer to 20 on the print edition, so everybody has to work harder, and I’m a very demanding boss. I believe in editorial excellence. I think it’s from the journalism I learned at Marie Claire.

What I love about being editor in chief, I very much encourage debate and I love an open-door policy, and I love collaboration.

Also, transparency is something I really believe in and letting everybody know exactly where they stand all the time.

WWD: Your cancer scare seems to have been a life-changer.

G.B.: I felt too scared to say. I never missed a day of work and I even skipped radiation treatment to go to couture. I didn’t want anyone to look at me and think cancer and not Glenda. As soon as that happened, I realized in a way that life is too short. I really want to concentrate on the projects that bring the most joy.

WWD: Do you see your exit as “the end of an era?”

G.B.: No, I’m not so pretentious to think that. And because there are other great editors out there following that tradition of being inventive, of being creative, of not accepting the standard. Like Laura (Brown, editor in chief of InStyle) and Kristina (O’Neill, editor in chief of WSJ Magazine, both of whom worked for Bailey at Harper’s Bazaar.)

WWD: What are some of your proudest accomplishments in your long tenure at Harper’s Bazaar?

G.B.: I think it’s those great people, by far, because they’re going to go on to do their own things. They’re not going to produce things like I would do. That’s what’s so great, the evolution. That’s what’s brilliant about fashion — it’s ever-changing and that’s why we all love it so much.

WWD: What are some of the things you wished you had done better, or didn’t have time to accomplish?

G.B.: You’re only as good as your last issue, so of course I want to do more. I have to tell you, I was sitting at the shows going, “Oh, I’ve got such a good idea for that look.” The good news is that I had a lovely meeting with the international editors when I was in Milan, and so of course I get to work with them and bring my experience. So it’s not like I’m completely disappearing.

WWD: What’s the best thing about being an editor in chief, and the worst thing?

G.B.: The best thing, definitely the people — the collaboration, and the talent. The worst thing, having to let people go, always thinking you could have found a way to save them.

Even sometimes good people go off on a tangent. But if you’re direct with them, and tell them, so often they can turn things around and they’re incredibly successful. I think people just need to be told what your expectations are.

WWD: What do you think the exhibition at Les Arts Décoratifs will convey to the public? That magazines are a part of the past, or the future, too?

G.B.: I’m hoping they’ll realize that magazines have their place and will continue to grow and develop alongside digital, just as when radio or TV came up, it didn’t put a stop to newspapers. But I do think it acts as a reminder to anybody producing magazines that we all get our news online. So to produce something which is relevant with a monthly format, it has to be memorable. I always say to my team, we’re not just about hemlines, we’re about headlines.

WWD: Do you feel you adapted well to the digital revolution, or is it something to be tackled by a new generation?

G.B.: I don’t think I’ve had the opportunity, because as you know it’s separate at Hearst. That’s the one thing I’m most looking forward to in my new role is getting involved in digital, particularly video. I can’t wait. I don’t think it matters what your background is. Everybody can be an editor now and that’s something I love and want to push that idea. Magazines and digital are in praise of the individual. As I always say, Bazaar should be the party that everyone’s invited to, whether it’s print or digital.

Anybody from Condé Nast or any other publishing house, they’re all welcome to come, and they are coming to the gala. I think that’s what the industry should be about. We should be supporting each other in these difficult times. I’ve learned a lot from being arms-wide-open. I think by being narrow, you show weakness. You’re much better to be open arms and inclusive. I know it’s a novel approach in our industry, but it’s one that’s always worked for me.

WWD: Would you recommend fashion editing as a career? What advice would you give to young people who want to work in fashion media today?

G.B.: Hundred percent. My advice: Be invaluable. You have to be essential, that people can’t work without you, so that you’re the solution. The other thing I would say: You must do your homework, you must be knowledgeable, and you must be passionate, because it is hard, and there’s no doubt about it — it’s very competitive, but so few people bother to do the research and are knowledgeable. Talent is so rare. I worship talent. I try to make members of my team feel like the goddesses or gods that they are.

You want to encourage people to be the best that they can be. Think how proud you must feel to have their work at the Arts Décoratifs. I say to the team, “Is it museum-worthy?”

WWD: Have you ever considered jumping into another facet of the industry, like sales, PR, retail or brand management?

G.B.: Strategy. Frankly, I find it very creative to make money, and I’m very good on trends, so I know what’s coming next. When I was growing up, before I ever realized it was possible to be an editor in chief, I wanted to create advertising. And now we have an opportunity, because you can do native (advertising), which I love. Also, I love doing events, because I love meeting readers. Experiential, those parts of the industry I really want to get more involved in. A few people have asked me to be on their boards, and I’ve never been allowed to before. Obviously, I’d have to ask permission from Hearst, but I think there might be an opportunity for me and I’d welcome that.

I still want to have enough free time for Steve and me to enjoy. We want to buy a house and we want to do it up. We’ve always rented.

WWD: You plan to apply your experience to the business side now. What do you hope to accomplish?

G.B.: As well as editorial, of course.

On the business side, maybe it’s just that other people’s problems are easier to solve, but I look at companies and I think, “This is what I would do if I could contribute strategy.” There are so many brands in our industry that could so benefit from fresh eyes, I think, with the understanding I have, and the knowledge I have, and frankly the contacts I have.

Fashion shouldn’t just be a vanity project, it is a business to make money, and keep people employed, which is honorable.

WWD: What are your first tasks and your first goals in your new life?

G.B.: Professionally, the first task is to get the Bazaar exhibit to tour. Maybe in the future there’ll be an opportunity for me to collaborate with someone who’s worked perhaps at Condé Nast, you never know. Or a designer, for example. That would be unique. Obviously, I’m a Hearst employee.

But I’m more interested in working with people who you admire than accepting the norm and doing things the standard way.

WWD

 

[Miss Dalloway]

^ Lol she is so clueless, but I am shocked Anna attended the Bazaar exhibition event, wow. Pretty cool on her part though.

 

[Benn98]

......but I am shocked Anna attended the Bazaar exhibition event, wow. Pretty cool on her part though.

She did!?! Hahahaha. Maybe they've cleared the air because when asked what she thought about Glenda's appointment at the time she coughed up this soundbite:

“I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who buy Volkswagens,” she says. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for a Mercedes.”

 

[Miss Dalloway]

Lmao, hahah these days she would never say that, on the record! Anna attended the event with Hamish, she looked great, and even posed with Glenda and some older gentelman. I saw pictures on IG, was surprised to see her go to the Hearst event.

 

[dodencebt]

"I always say good is the biggest enemy of great because I always wanted to produce the extraordinary, otherwise why bother?"

Oh, Glenda.