The Business of Magazines

[caioherrero]

In a recent interview with BoF, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson revealed she has resigned from Vogue.

Anyone knows why?

 

[WinstonH20]

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson confirms she resigned from Vogue​

‘The truth of the matter is like anything else, you know, we grow, and sometimes our containers don’t grow with us,’ she says​

Kaleigh Werner
New York
10 hours ago

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson has confirmed her resignation from Vogue after officially joining the publication in 2013.

During an episode of The Business of Fashion podcast on 24 November, the fashion editor detailed her decision to not renew her contract as Global Fashion Director at large, in tandem with her industry plans moving forward.

The seasoned professional - known to be the first Black woman to style a cover shoot for American Vogue - has already imposed immutable influence, passion, and drive to effect change in fashion. Karefa-Johnson’s devotion to creating a still image that tells a larger story, for the sole benefit of impacting others, is one that often fizzles for professionals inside the competitive fashion industry.

In conversation with Imran Amed, the artist explained that her ultimate intention to make room for aspiring “little Gabriella Karefa-Johnsons” in the future was reflected through an eagerness for transparency. The two spoke about “burn out” and “pressure” within the fashion industry, arguing that a career in fashion shouldn’t force people to endure so much stress.

For Karefa-Johnson, working for highly-regarded publications previously brought about mental hardship for her. However, the nature of the environment wasn’t necessarily what convinced her to leave her position at Vogue. “The truth is I was a contracted employee there as the Global Fashion Director at large, and my contract was up for renewal, and I decided not to renew it,” she confessed. “That resignation was something that was right for me at the time, still is right for me.”

“The truth of the matter is like anything else, you know, we grow, and sometimes our containers don’t grow with us,” she continued. “And so I’m excited to build a new container for all of these ideas and this new energy.

“I loved and learned so much at Vogue magazine. It’s my home. I grew up there, and I can’t wait to take those tools and apply them in ways that are really just true to who I am and serve me and serve people who look like me and people listen and follow me. It’s really about serving that community now.”

Among Karefa-Johnson’s many Vogue cover shoots, there was one cover photo that was particularly striking in her opinion, for both good and bad reasons. In 2021, the fashion editor worked on Vice President Kamala Harris’ Vogue cover - a photograph that prompted widespread controversy and scrutiny.

For the magazine cover, the vice president was positioned in front of a waterfall of pink satin pouring down by her feet. Harris donned a black pantsuit and an honest smile, while she wore a pair of black and white high-top Converse - her favourite everyday shoe. According to Karefa-Johnson, the politician’s natural poise was captured in just 25 minutes because that’s all the time the vice president had for the day.

In addition to time constraints, Karefa-Johnson explained that there was a communication barrier due to Covid-19 masks and Harris’ large team of staff. The fashion editor was still able to successfully snap Harris in the way she intended, but backlash quickly followed as people criticised how Harris was presented.

Earlier in the interview, Karefa-Johnson called her younger self “witty, loud, and drive” - similarly to how she views herself now. Before Vogue, the fashion editor worked for Garage magazine under Vice Media, the juggernaut that recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.

independent.co.uk

 

[Rigida]

Reshuffle in Sight for Chinese Fashion Publishing​

Vogue China is on the hunt for a new deputy editor, and Hearst Magazines terminated its license agreement for Cosmopolitan and Esquire in China.

SHANGHAI — Change is in sight for the fashion publishing business in China.

Condé Nast on Wednesday shot down speculation about whether Vogue China‘s editorial director Margaret Zhang will leave the publication after her contract expires next March.

A recent listing on the Chinese hiring platform Liepin, which quickly began to circulate on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, showed that Vogue China is hiring a deputy editor.

Responsibilities of the position include “assisting the editor in chief in overseeing the editorial team,” supporting marketing and sales initiatives and overseeing branded special projects.

“As the deputy editor at Vogue China, you will be the driving force behind the magazine’s features content, working closely with a talented team of journalists and editors,” wrote the job description.

“In this pivotal role within our senior leadership team, you will not only shape the voice and tone of our features but also play a crucial part in advancing Vogue’s global cultural initiatives,” the post continued.

The deputy editor position at Vogue China, which essentially oversees the day-to-day operations of the magazine, is not dissimilar to the role of head of editorial content, which has been given to the heads of all other directly operated international editions of Vogue under the singular vision of Anna Wintour, Condé Nast global chief content officer and Vogue editor in chief.

Wintour has solidified her dominance over the company’s editorial operations over the last few years. Most recently, Chioma Nnadi was named British Vogue’s head of editorial content, taking over responsibilities from current editor in chief Edward Enninful, who will be taking on the new position of global creative and cultural adviser at Vogue and will also become an editorial adviser at British Vogue.

Vogue China is the last remaining international Vogue edition operated directly under Condé Nast to have an editor in chief title besides Wintour herself. However, in the title’s masthead, the Australian-Chinese Zhang is listed as editorial director. In China, the role of editor in chief at Vogue China by law is reserved for the magazine’s local publishing partner, China Pictorial.
According to multiple industry sources, Zhang’s contract will expire next spring.

Zhang’s tenure at Vogue China has been controversial. She was publicly called out by Huasheng Media founder Chuxuan Feng on Weibo for being disrespectful to the Chinese market, and her business skills have been questioned on social media as several covers have gone unsponsored under her watch.

According to industry insiders, a Vogue China cover, while in theory not for sale, can fetch at least a 3 million renminbi, or $428,000, in sponsorship from top luxury brands. Having no one paying for a cover is extremely uncommon in the highly commercialized Chinese fashion magazine business.

In a statement sent to WWD, Condé Nast confirmed the hiring of a deputy editor, who will report to Zhang, and said the move “underscores the company’s commitment to the title and to Zhang.”

That said, Condé Nast was unable to confirm whether the deputy editor would later become head of editorial content at Vogue China, a move that has happened across all other directly operated international editions.

Apart from the hiring plan, Vogue China is preparing for the inaugural China edition of the Vogue Forces of Fashion conference. Wintour is visiting the country for the first time in more than 10 years and will be in Shanghai on Thursday to host the event.

The lineup for the event includes executives and designers at brands like Vivienne Westwood, Salvatore Ferragamo, Courrèges, Jason Wu and Proenza Schouler.

Vogue China isn’t the only publication that got people talking this week. On Wednesday, Hearst Magazines announced it had terminated its license agreement for Cosmopolitan and Esquire in China, effective immediately.

In a statement sent to WWD, the legacy media company said “We are currently discussing the relaunch of these brands with interested parties in this important market.”

The Chinese edition of Esquire was founded in 1996, under a license agreement with Trends Group, a Beijing-based media company that started in 1993 as Trends Magazine, the first local fashion publication founded by two former travel reporters, Liu Jiang and Wu Hong.

In 1998, Trends signed a license agreement for Cosmopolitan to launch the title in China, where media titles are only allowed to be operated by Chinese companies.

In China, foreign titles must obtain a publishing permit to legally publish content in China. Both Esquire and Cosmopolitan’s permits are issued by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Apart from the Trends Group partnership, Hearst Magazines China was formed in 2011 after the acquisition of Hachette China. The Shanghai-based company operates titles such as Elle China, Super Elle, Elle Men and Elle Décor.

In 1997, Trends Group set up the advertising firm Beijing Shi Zhi Shang Advertising Co. to manage the commercial side of the magazine business, with Trends Group, Beijing Meng Si Tong Consulting Service Ltd., Hearst, and IDG as major shareholders.

According to Chinese corporate data provider Tianyancha, Hearst holds a 20 percent stake in Shi Zhi Shang.

In the 2010s, Trends Group grew to become one of the largest fashion publications in China with 17 titles — including Harper’s Bazaar and Men’s Health — under its belt, according to local media reports at the time.

After Liu’s sudden death in 2019, shareholders wrestled for control of the media empire. In 2022, Trends Magazines Co. Ltd, a business entity that owns five titles including Cosmopolitan and Esquire, declared its independence as a “wholly state-owned enterprise” and withdrew advertising rights from Shi Zhi Shang.

In an internal letter that Trends Magazines distributed to employees, which was widely circulated online, Shi Zhi Shang is accused of “not paying a substantial amount of the advertising income to Trends Magazines for many years.”

Soon after, Shi Zhi Shang struck back with a public announcement that said the company still held exclusive advertising rights for Cosmopolitan and Esquire.

But it was unveiled in a notice issued by Shi Zhi Shang Wednesday that the company stopped operating Cosmopolitan and Esquire’s ”main brand business” in July 2022.

According to industry sources, Shi Zhi Shang still holds the licensing rights to magazines such as V Magazine, which launched its Chinese edition this March, and Harper’s Bazaar, which launched its Chinese edition in 2001.

At the time of publishing, members of both Cosmopolitan and Esquire’s editorial teams confirmed to WWD that the high-level changes have yet to affect daily operations.

Sophia Liao was right

independent.co.uk

and people on twitter is spreading misinformation that GKJ was "fired"

 

[kasper!]

Her work is the worst.

 

[Xone]

In a recent interview with BoF, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson revealed she has resigned from Vogue.

She said why?....

 

[Xone]

Her work is the worst.

and her obvious hungry for fame...really annoying...

 

[Koibito]

This could be one of the reasons:

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson: Israel Hamas Conflict: First black woman to style Vogue cover removes job title after her rant on Instagram - The Economic Times

Vogue contributing editor Karefa-Johnson removed her job title from her Instagram account following a controversial rant about the Israel-Hamas conflict. She compared Israel to an "apartheid state" and accused it of "genocide." Her comments have sparked a heated debate both within the fashion...

m.economictimes.com

 

[kasper!]

Although I loathe her work very much, I hope she get fired for her terrible styling work, not politics.

 

[vogue28]

Vanessa Kingori to depart Condé Nast:

 

[aracic]

Huh... a sinking ship. Good on all these women for leaving it.

 

[PierreGotha]

CN imploding as usual, not much of a surprise.

In light of GKJ's resignation, Vogue should hire stylists who are not too attached to politics...
It honestly affects their work if they are too partial on certain topics and bring divisiveness towards their readers.
Especially if it's coming directly from their IG accounts.

 

[caioherrero]

Vogue Us need to hire good stylists: Geraldine Saglio, Karl Templer, Brian Molley

 

[vogue28]

Carlos Nazario joining Harper's Bazaar as Style Director at Large:

 

[caioherrero]

So American Vogue lost two black editors at once, now only dull white ones are left: Alex and Thabita. Too bad !!!
This magazine used to have good fashion editors, what now?

 

[Xone]

So American Vogue lost two black editors at once, now only dull white ones are left: Alex and Thabita. Too bad !!!
This magazine used to have good fashion editors, what now?

and they kept one of the worst: Max Ortega

maybe it's time to go back to their roots...but for sure they will search young insipid ones...

 

[Rigida]

Carlos Nazario joining Harper's Bazaar as Style Director at Large:

Samira should have done this 3 years ago.. but I hope that with him joining US Bazaar, the magazine will get stronger.

 

[MModa]

I hope that Carlos Nazario brings positive visual changes to US Harper's Bazaar. It is a great fashion magazine and I want it to flourish.

 

[Bertrando3]

Anna Wintour in Taiwan for GQ Men of the Year Awards | TaiwanPlus News​

Isn't it strange or rare to see Anna Wintour, the US editor in chief of American Vogue going to GQ Taiwan awards? Is she preparing something with Vogue Taiwan in the near future, like a collab or something? Does anybody know?

 

[MModa]

Emanuelle Alt and David Sims worked together on set for French Harper's Bazaar. Info via Alt's instagram stories.

 

[vogue28]

Kristina O'Neill (formerly of WSJ. Magazine) has been appointed editor-in-chief of Sotheby's Magazine: