Blogger bags Paris Vogue column

My eyes are green with envy!

PARIS VOGUE SEPTEMBER 2012

Paris Vogue, commonly referred to as French Vogue, has appointed blogger Garance Dore as its newest columnist as the magazine launches its new look with this year’s September Issue. WWD.com quotes editor Emmanuelle Alt as saying; ‘All the other Vogues carry a country name. Vogue Paris is the only one to carry the name of a city. Everyone fantasizes about Paris. It’s the concept of the “Parisienne.” The “Parisienne” is a girl who makes people dream worldwide, rightly or wrongly, a girl who represents a particular style, a taste, an allure.”

Garance Dore is certainly that girl for me. Just wish I also had a magazine like Vogue thinking I deserve a page of my own… juuuuust for control!

Did Conde Nast pull a Miranda Priestley on former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld?

“All because of the list,” says a victorious Miranda Priestley to her assistant Andrea Sachs as the two sit at the back of her chauffeur driven car. “The list of designers, photographers, editors, writers, models all found by me and nurtured by me and have promised to follow me whenever and if I choose to leave Runway.”

FORMER FRENCH VOGUE EDITOR CARINE ROITFELD SEEN HERE WITH CHANEL DESIGNER KARL LAGERFELD (AP FILE)

She had knocked the final nail into her rival’s coffin. If you haven’t seen ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ I’ve probably lost you.

I am reminded of these words following reports that Conde Nast chairman Jonathan Newhouse has ordered employees at the publisher not to work for Carine Roitfeld’s upcoming magazine titled CR Fashion Book. The former French Vogue editor left Conde Nast at the end of 2010 and her new magazine is scheduled to make its first appearance on the shelves in September this year. She is launching it through Fashion Media Group LLC, whose assets include V Magazine and V Man.

It is alleged that Newhouse sent a word of warning not only to staffers but also to world-renowned photographers like Mario Testino and David Sims, ‘reminding’ them that they shoot exclusively for Conde Nast titles that include Vogue, Vanity Fair, Allure, Glamour and GQ, among others.

Oh, the drama!

Women’s consumer magazine industry doyenne pens autobiography

PIC COURTESY: ASSOCIATED MAGAZINES

Jane Raphaely, the woman who became the first editor of the South African edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine, has penned an autobiography telling the story of her determination as a young woman to make the best of her life. 27 years after launching Cosmo in South Africa, Raphaely is now Chairman of Associated Magazines, her company and publishers of the country’s best loved international titles. These include Marie Claire, House & Leisure and O: The Oprah Magazine. ‘Unedited’ shares the secrets of her success and those of a world many of us know very little about- the women’s consumer magazine industry. I know many like myself are hoping for a Devil Wears Prada-esque literary delight but I guess we will have to wait until the 14th of June when the book is launched at Exclusive Books, V&A Waterfront to find out. In Johannesburg the book will be launched on the 19th at Exclusive Books in Hyde Park. If you are lucky enough to be at the Cape Town Book Fair on the 16th, you are in a position to have your copy signed by Jane Raphaely herself.

Why Marie Claire’s June 2012 cover is worth celebrating.

In a country where we are often confronted by the demon of racism, politicising a magazine cover might seem unnecessary. The fact, however, is that there’s more to it that just simple racial politics. It goes to the core of equality. Magazine covers, especially women’s consumer magazine covers, are symbolic of social status and influence. When True Love is the only reputable glossy giving black women a shot at shifting copies, in a country where most of those buying those magazines are black anyway, it becomes a bit of a bitter pill to swallow. Of course magazines sell more based on aspiration- selling a dream- than anything else, but still, is relating to its content too much to ask for? By not putting South Africans on the covers are we saying we have nothing to learn from each other? Are Hollywood stars more valuable than our own? I’m just saying, there’s a lot that something as seemingly trivial as a magazine cover suggests.

MARIE CLAIRE SA, JUNE 2012

This is why I think Marie Claire’s June 2012 issue is something worth celebrating. Thank you, Marie Claire.

Grazia South Africa makes shelf debut

The South African edition of Grazia Magazine makes its highly anticipated shelf debut tomorrow with pop sensation Rihanna as its first ever cover star. I am told the magazine has an ambitious print run of 70, 000, but judging by the hype that it has enjoyed in the run up to its launch a lot of these copies will fly off the shelves.

Grazia SA is helmed by editor Danielle Weakley who is supported by a strong fashion team that includes Kirsty Stoltz(formerly at FHM and ELLE) as fashion director and Mbali Soga, who recently left Cosmopolitan and was at True Love prior to that, as fashion editor. The beauty pages are edited by Malaika Alf.

ELLE ventures into Facebook e-commerce

(PIC: MASHABLE.COM)

Meet the founding editor of GRAZIA SA

By now you are most probably aware that a new fashion magazine title will soon be hitting the shelves across South Africa. Grazia was first published in Italy back in 1936 and since then 19 international editions have been launched. South Africa is the 20th country- and Africa’s first- to publish an edition of the magazine. The Frock Report caught up with Grazia SA’s founding editor Danielle Weakley to tell you a little bit more about the world’s ‘number one selling fashion and news weekly’.

Danielle Weakley (far left) and some guests at the magazine's recent launch party

FR: Who is Grazia Magazine targeted at?

DW: Grazia girls are 30-something, globally-savvy urban professional women. They’re earning their own cash and choosing where to spend it. They read the monthly glossies, but they want their information faster and more up-to-the-minute.

FR: GRAZIA is an international title, how much local content can we expect for the local edition?
We’ll be working on a 60 – 40 international-local mix, but all our fashion will be locally generated by our fantastic fashion team, led by Kirsty Stoltz as fashion director and Mbali Soga as fashion editor.

FR: What is your vision for GRAZIA SA as its founding editor?
DW: I want a magazine every week that is an informed, witty and newsworthy read, but one that looks stylish, chic and sophisticated. I believe there is a huge gap in the market for a magazine that delivers the gloss of a fashion monthly with the paciness and relevancy of a news weekly. And that’s Grazia.

FR: When does the first issue hit the shelves and what can we expect from it?
DW: We’ll be on shelf on May 18 2012. It’s a Friday. Diarise it! And you can expect 96-plus pages packed with fashion, news, celebrity, beauty, lifestyle, real-life reads and more.

FR: The challenge with establishing a new title in today’s environment is that you have online to compete with and there’s the blogosphere as well as twitter and Facebook. Is GRAZIA going to integrate its offering to include social media and how important is this for any new title in the current environment?
DW: I spent the last year of my career hugely involved in the digital space and fully believe that magazines need a digital platform to remain relevant on a day to day basis. You’ll find Grazia South Africa on Twitter @GraziaSAmag and Facebook is moments away, so both will be launched pre-launch. Grazia online will go live in the week of the magazine’s launch in mid-May.

FR: Can we expect different content online as compared to the magazine itself?
DW: Absolutely! We will not be rehashing the magazine’s content online, which is not to say that we’ll be running online as separate to the magazine either – but it will be different. And there’ll be huge social interaction and opportunity for reader involvement.