Alexandra Ilyashov

The influencer scene is more crowded than ever, especially for social media-famous personalities that really make it big. For them, success might mean being able to quit your day job to be a full-time influencer because a social media-centric side-hustle becomes so lucrative it should be the main event. Or, success could be launching an ambitious project — a fashion or makeup line, a book, a modeling contract, a documentary — that was perhaps the ultimate goal from the start.

An influencer is best poised to succeed if he or she has "offline credibility," forging a career that's not contingent on social media fame, explains Max Stein, founder and CEO of Brigade Talent, whose talent roster includes Leandra Medine, Reese Blutstein and Isabella Boylston, a principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. "A movement I'm seeing as a manager is that brands are interested in people that have a discernible skill set, and/or are contributing work to the creative economy, other than sharing posts on social media. People are after talent that has a career that's created in a way that's not just happening online."

That offline credibility "can create value in someone just as much as their follower count," he adds, noting that he's getting positive feedback from brands that are "seeing strong results off-platform and in terms of conversion" from these well-rounded, accomplished, more-than-just-Instagram-famous talents. Stein points to his client Shiona Turini: "She obviously had her magazine career, and now has a big business as an 'influencer,' but she's still styling covers of major American magazines and costume-designing; those two kinds of work, the more public work and behind-the-scenes work, really complement each other. Brands like working with her because they're working with someone doing something else" besides influencing. "Essentially, her B2B advertising for her services is also kind of business-to-consumer; it's all interchangeable."

Medine is among the OG mega-influencer set, though somewhat unintentionally: A very early-to-the-game fashion blogger, Medine sees her sizable social influence as a byproduct of her success with her site, and the Man Repeller brand as a whole. (Spinoff projects like a memoir released in 2013 and a shoe line launched in 2016 don't hurt, either.) The handles piquing Medine's interest lately aren't people she considers influencers firstly or by definition. Rather, they're "changing the way we have known how to tell stories." For example, Jessica Yellin, a news correspondent "using her social following to reinvent the way we think about broadcast journalism; to be able to catch a snippet of what's going on in the world, hear her political views and what she thinks through Instagram Stories is really interesting, and it's one of the most refreshing ways I've seen Instagram used to serve a bigger topic."

Also on Medine's radar: Caroline Calloway, "who's basically releasing chapters of a memoir from the perspective of a twenty-something, through her Instagram account," Medine says. She sees Yellin and Calloway as illustrative of new ways to powerfully harness social media, particularly Instagram, that eclipse familiar (follower-)winning formulas. It's an interesting way to consider how much more Instagram can provide, beyond "beautiful girl, wearing a dress," or "interesting face, sharing vulnerable moment," Medine notes.

Some influencers who will rise to the top of the next generation will likely be true change agents, with the desire and capacity to evolve or better the world in some way — not just photogenic folks with the biggest follower counts. "I think in 2019, the pendulum will shift over to influencers that are actually influencing change in culture," explains Julia Gall, accessories director at Marie Claire.

Xenia Adonts, Caroline Daur, Karina Nigay, Jessica Mercedes Kirschner and Irene Kim were top performers in a November 2018 Launchmetrics report, which analyzed influencers with 500K to 2M followers during the Spring 2019 season's fashion month; these five had the strongest MIV (Media Impact Value, a term Launchmetrics came up with) compared to their peers. "While these girls may have strong visibility, we can see they have even stronger engagement, and thus they present great potential for growth in untapped markets," explains Yuli Ziv, managing director, USA of Launchmetrics. "If impressive MIV numbers equate to particularly strong engagement — followers that comment, double-tap and are both interested and invested enough in a stranger to communicate with him or her in some way(s) — that can lead to increased presence, and better crossover potential, like expanding from beauty to travel," Ziv explains.

We polled a dozen players in the media, retail, influencer marketing and digital strategy spaces who revealed the handles they've been engrossed with lately — and why they're so confident that we'll see a lot more to come from the talents behind those follower counts. With varied career trajectories and social media motives, the names ahead are poised to dominate your feeds in 2019 and beyond.

Continue reading on Fashionista.

Will Welch is the consummate Gentleman: He’s spent more than a decade in various roles at the Condé Nast glossy and even served as launch EIC of GQ Style. Now, Welch is expanding his reach at GQ proper. Over eggs at The Odeon, he fills us in.

How’d you feel when you first found out about your promotion to creative director?

It didn’t come out of the blue, and there were no balloons and confetti. [Laughs] An ongoing series of conversations led to this. I’ve been thinking a lot about the political, cultural, and economic environment we live in, and the ever-changing relationship between celebrities and magazines. The only constant right now is upheaval and change, so I feel like the only way to succeed is to fully embrace that. It’s what we’ve been trying to do since this role officially started, right after the holidays.

You’re quite the Condé lifer.

I started at GQ in 2007, after working at Fader, a downtown music magazine, for four and a half years; I thought of myself as a music guy. Then, a friend at GQ—Adam Rapoport—called me about an opening. I thought, “What do I know about GQ?” It was on a Friday—I remember that I was out apartment-hunting—and I woke up on a Saturday knowing I wanted the job. I was hired to work on lifestyle stuff, but because of my music background, I quickly started doing music coverage and booking talent, too. I became editor of GQ Style in 2015, and for the past two years, I’ve been having the time of my life, work-wise.

How has the GQ reader’s relationship with fashion changed over time?

When I joined GQ in 2007, we were telling men how a suit should fit; what shirt to wear with what tie; get out of your baggy jeans; don’t wear square-toed shoes; you don’t need a giant watch to seem successful. Really basic stuff. Now, there are edgier, more open-minded ideas about fashion. We’re deep in a lawless era of men’s style. In an increasingly freelance economy, “salary men” like myself are few and far between—most of the people I spend my days working with are freelance, like photographers, writers, and stylists. We’re seeing this with WeWork and the shared-economy culture. So this fashion moment, and broader culture moment, completely make sense.

Continue reading on Daily Front Row.

The concept of the influencer didn't exist a decade ago, but now it's a viable career path, as influencer marketing is expected to be worth $10 billion by 2020. While anyone with an Instagram account and a closet, a cosmetics case, a global travel itinerary, and/or a voice worth following can theoretically become an influencer, is it still possible to make it big?

As the market becomes more saturated, how feasible is it to become a mega-influencer on the level of OGs like Arielle Charnas, Chiara Ferragni, Aimee Song and Leandra Medine in 2019 and beyond? In short, it's not too late, but it's complicated — and perhaps harder to ascend to the same levels of fame and lucrative sponsorships in the field than ever before.

"There is definitely room for someone who has something different to bring to the table through their point of view and story," says Yuli Ziv, who launched Style Coalition, one of the first influencer marketing platforms, in 2008. (It was acquired by Launchmetrics in 2017, where Ziv currently serves as managing director, USA.) "People like to follow those who are relatable, which means different things for different people, so once someone establishes their 'voice,' the options are limitless for them to forge their own path."

Launchmetrics's 2017 report on The State of Influencer Marketing found that brands are becoming more savvy and engaged when it comes to working with influencers and seeking out their "perfect match," with around 80 percent of fashion, luxury and cosmetics professionals partnering with them. "Influencer, as a term, has entered our daily lives and the role has become more defined and legitimate — but with legitimacy comes accountability. Brands are no longer easily impressed by a simple follower count … they are going deep into the study of influencers, looking at their media impact value, engagement, content and voice, understanding who they are working with and what that person can bring to the table as a brand ambassador."

So what, exactly, makes a mega-influencer? That depends who you ask, says Alyssa Coscarelli, a former market editor at Refinery29 who recently left the publication to pursue her growing influencer career. "Different brands have their own tier one, two and three influencers," she explains. "In my eyes, micro-influencers have under 20K, they're still getting brand partnerships and have some authority over their small audience; there's a 30K to 50K 'breakthrough' range, where you're not micro anymore, but you're not quite in the big leagues; 100K to 300K is mid-level, with steady jobs and solid authority, but still accessible; then, 300K to 500K or more, you get into the mega-influencer range."

There's a place and need for influencers of various levels of clout: Size matters based on what a brand wants to get out of its influencer pair-ups at any given point, per Ziv. "Ultimately, the tier of influencer or profile that a brand will choose to engage with will depend on the campaign goals they are trying to achieve," she explains. "If a brand wishes to create awareness, then they are better off with mega-influencers, as they act as a megaphone, creating echo around the event, campaign or product launch. If their main objective is to attract a more local, connected audience, then they are more likely to activate the mid-tier influencers, as they would be more willing to post regularly about the brand and engage their local audience in a community approach. Lastly, a micro-influencer will serve the purpose not of a megaphone but of a connector."

Continue reading on Fashionista.

In the past few years, the industry has been rocked, and some of our favorite editors and designers have moved on to different pastures. So we tracked down the heavyweights and scored the scoops on their latest endeavors. Yes, chéris—there is indeed life after making it big in media and fashion!

ATOOSA RUBENSTEIN

The wunderkind editrix was Hearst’s youngest-ever EIC when she founded CosmoGIRL! at just 26 years old in 1998. After three successful years helming Seventeen, Rubenstein quit the glossy grind entirely, and yet we’re still obsessed!

What’s new, Atoosa?

I’m a stay-at-home parent, and while I’m busy taking the kids to school and gymnastics, the biggest thing is that I’m learning a lot about myself.

Such as?

In my adult life, I was a little bit of a hot mess. So I’ve been focusing on my family, on slowing things down, and not being so externally focused. The past 10 years have been a period of tremendous personal growth. Before, I was very focused on me and my journey. In retrospect, I really lacked compassion and empathy.

Have you considered writing a self-help book?

Ha! I’ve been writing some things, but I’m no guru. Right now, a lot of media that people consume is random negative chatter. I’m not a big fan of that. It hurt me personally—a lot—and that was a big reason I stopped working. I felt bullied; it was affecting me. If there was an opportunity for me through writing or otherwise to be positive and supportive, though…

What happened to atoosa.com and Big Momma Productions?

When I stopped working, I felt done. I was successful at a young age; I didn’t feel permission to stop. So when I told my company I was leaving, I had an LLC, my website, an agent all ready to go. But I just wouldn’t pull the trigger on anything, so they got frustrated. Life is messy, and I’ve been in the messy part. This might be TMI, but for many, many years in my childhood, I was sexually abused. In my career, I didn’t feel empowered to talk about it. I felt like I didn’t have permission from my family, even though I was a thirtysomething-year-old woman, and I didn’t feel like my company would support me if I talked about it. As I got racier with the coverage in the magazine, they’d get scared about advertisers. Once I felt there was a truth I couldn’t share, I felt I needed to stop within the corporate arena.

Do your kids know about your life in media?

My twins know nothing. My big one is 9 years old. She’s noticed that, on a couple of occasions, people have had my picture in their wallet, and I think that makes her feel proud. But she wishes I’d dress fancy again; I only wear workout clothes now. I’m like, “Yeah, that’s because you guys basically vomit on me all the time!”

KIM FRANCE

The founding Lucky editrix successfully reinvented herself a couple of years ago, and now she’s graduated from glossies to something more personal and lengthier.

What’s new?

I’m writing a memoir for Algonquin Books that will come out in fall 2019; I got the book deal in the winter. I’d been thinking about writing a memoir off and on since leaving Lucky, and a few years ago, the [New York Times] Styles section ran a story about me, and a bunch of agents got in touch. I wrote a few essays earlier this year on Medium that got an overwhelming response, so I thought that was a sign that people maybe wanted to hear from me. It’s about my life in magazines, and things that happened to me in my personal life while I was at the top of my career. I may go into my youth in Texas a little bit. I want the title to be Typical Me, but my editor and I disagree on that.

How’s it going?

I’ve been interviewing people I worked with at Sassy and Lucky. Condé Nast treated me very well, and I’m certainly not going to trash them, but I have fun details about what it was like to work there, plus personal details about my life that will surprise and interest people. I work at home and at Ludlow House, Soho House’s Lower East Side outpost.

How’s your blog, Girls of a Certain Age?

It’s grown nicely. It’s small, but it has a really vibrant community, and I’m proud of that. The readers are really engaged, and there’s never any negativity in the comments, which I love.

Thoughts on glossies?

Magazines have really suffered because nobody’s putting resources into them. It’s the end of magazines, which is really sad.

Will you ever return?

Not really. I think I closed that chapter.

Read the full article on Daily Front Row.

It’s been five years since Kristina O’Neill unveiled her first issue of WSJ., and the mag is simultaneously celebrating another big milestone—its 10th anniversary. O’Neill fills us in on her successful tenure at The Wall Street Journal’s very chic sister pub.

What are some highlights from your stint at WSJ. so far?

Five years flew by! I remember putting the first one together like it was yesterday. A lot of the franchises and visual language we launched in my first issue are still going strong today. It’s exciting to see a lot of things really calcify and click. Also, I’m really grateful that I’ve had the time to put a lot of long-lead, big ideas into play and see them through. Our March cover is Oprah Winfrey, and that’s an idea that went on our cover bucket list many, many, many years ago.

How did you snag Oprah?

The timing just aligned—I keep saying, “Forget 2020—2018 is Oprah’s year.” She embodies power, success, empathy, being self-made, all the things that our culture is hungry for, and all that the WSJ. reader wants. We work with an amazing celebrity/entertainment bookings director, Andrea Oliveri, at Special Projects Media; she and I have always had similar tastes about celebrity when we do celebrity. The luxury we have at WSJ. is that we don’t have to put a celebrity on the cover every month, so when we do, we really want to make sure they embody the messaging we’re trying to tap into. I’m sure there were a lot of prayers and e-mails that went into getting Oprah [Laughs], but the stars aligned. Having her on our March issue is meaningful because it’s a fashion issue, and I think the fashion industry really respects and admires Oprah. It was exciting to work with [photographer] Mario Sorrenti and [stylist] George Cortina on the shoot to really transform Oprah into the powerful goddess she is.

When you started this role, you talked about freedom of working on a title with a lot less history than where you were before, at Harper’s Bazaar. How has that panned out?

To be clear, The Wall Street Journal is an institution. It’s 128 years old—that’s an amazing statement in and of itself, because the trust factor is there. It’s this packaging for us to exist in. But the magazine itself is only 10 years old, and it got off to kind of a slow start. It was only four issues per year when it launched, and it slowly increased and increased. When I took over, it was the first year WSJ. published 12 issues. It’s not like you’re up against these historical dictates that magazine or fashion fans expected; there was no visual language we had to subscribe to. I felt like we had the freedom to work with a whole new regime of writers and photographers. But, that said, a lot of our creative direction came from how the newspaper looks.

Read the full article on Daily Front Row.

Teen magazines were treasured objects during my formative years: Absolutely none of the sex or relationship advice was relevant, and I didn't actually buy most of the fashion or beauty picks I enthusiastically dog-eared. But savoring a print glossy from cover to cover was basically my favorite form of entertainment. Poring over teen titles certainly prompted my career path. I even bought, and obsessed over, How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter To The Greatest Teen Magazine Of All Time, even though I'd never been a Sassy reader. (It shuttered when I was in kindergarten, alas.)

When my parents finally made me clean out my childhood bedroom this summer, I found stacks and stacks of erstwhile titles like Elle Girl, YM, Teen People, and CosmoGIRL, dating back at least a decade. Nostalgia aside, I was struck by the sheer variety I had (and took for granted). 

Today's teen doesn't have nearly as many options on the newsstand. Gen Z's media diet is certainly more varied than mine ever could've been — it might be purely digital and mostly mobile-driven at that, thanks to, say, Snapchat Discover and Instagram as viable news mediums. In print, Teen Vogue and Seventeen are the only titles available to the 2016 teen (or tween; magazines are aspirational, after all). A number of teen titles shuttered before or during the recession — YM ceased publication in 2004, Teen People and Elle Girl both bit the dust in 2006 (though ElleGirl.com continued on), and CosmoGIRL folded in 2008, followed by Teen's demise in 2009.

So, this change didn't just transpire. But the two enduring teen glossies have shaken up their leadership structures lately: Less than two years ago, Cosmopolitan's editor-in-chief and publisher started overseeing Seventeen as well. More recently, Teen Vogue's founding editor-in-chief, Amy Astley, decamped for another Condé Nast title, Architectural Digest, in May; she was succeeded by not one but three people who are, in effect, equally in charge. (There's beenspeculation over time that Teen Vogue would be folded into Vogue, or just cease print operations completely.) 

So what do all these changes mean for the future of the teen title? Do teens even want or need print magazines anymore? As essential as digital content indisputably has become, I'm forever a champion of print; I certainly hope the answer is a resounding yes. Ahead, 15 experts on the topic — including teen-magazine editors past and present, creators of next-gen teen media, and magazine-journalism professors — muse on the beloved medium's past, present, and future.

Read the full story on Refinery29. 

It’s been a rough, drawn-out demise for Lucky, the magazine that completely pioneered the conceit of an entire monthly read devoted to shopping when it launched in 2000. It brought a particular kind of magic to its readers every month (or every day online), and that's what its alums are quick to remember when given the chance to look back — even after moving on from the cherished publication. Alas, Lucky's last print issue came out in May, and it’s been living online as LuckyShops.com since then. That quietly came to an end on Friday; the site stopped publishing content, and remaining staffers packed up and left. 

A whirlwind of changes have rocked the beloved glossy since last August, when the magazine’s parent company, Conde Nast entered a joint venture with now-defunct e-comm company Beachmint to form The Lucky Group, and the title’s staff moved out of Conde’s digs in November. A round of layoffs occurred in February; editor-in-chief turned chief creative officer Eva Chen departed in April, and one month later, the magazine shifted from monthly to aquarterly publishing schedule. In June, Lucky ceased publishing its print edition entirely, and subsequently endured an (even bigger) round of layoffs. (We’ve reached out to The Lucky Group’s CEO, Josh Berman, as well as PR reps for comment.)

To put it lightly, it’s been a tumultuous time for the magazine and its staffers, and there’s been enough exhaustive rehashing of what’s gone down. We’d rather focus on its legacy as an early advocate of street style’s importance and a veritable bible of styling hacks. It was a fashion magazine focused on developing and celebrating personal style instead of tossing out rigid sartorial mandates, and that was so novel. It was empowering, it spoke to us like peers, and in so doing it felt very ahead of its time. (On a superficial note, we were all about those color-coded ‘Love This’ stickers…) 

We could keep waxing poetic about what made Lucky so special. But in the words of a dozen people who truly knew the magazine best — the talented folks that spent time on the its masthead, including the three editors-in-chief from its 15-year lifespan, and lots of top-level editors — this is why the magazine mattered so much. 

Read the full story on Refinery29. 

Hearst’s Kate Lewis reveals her strategy for navigating the publishing world in period of unprecedented change.

You’re a year into your chief content officer position. How’s it been so far?

One of the things I delighted in when I was in the digital role [as Hearst Magazines Digital Media’s SVP and editorial director] was the collaboration and communication across the brand. There are too many editorial leadership people to get everyone in a room and think it will be productive; you’re not going to be honest and open. So we’ve broken out a bunch of smaller groups meeting as courses, to tackle everything from sponsored content to, “What should the Front-of-Book look like?” to “How do we work with celebrities?” Many print EICs already have relationships with each other, but getting people who aren’t—or are—on the same kind of brand to talk was a personal goal for me. Another goal for the company was having brand teams begin to coalesce. My thinking: it isn’t so much about integration, which is the word people use, but more that content teams should think of themselves as platform agnostic. You’re not a print editor, video creator, web editor, or social editor. You’re a person who makes great content and delivers it across whatever platform that content is appropriate for. That’s why all of our teams now co-mingle, to a degree; some are fully integrated.

What are you in the weeds working on now?

Video. It hadn’t been a priority for a long time, and obviously having a greater mandate, it’s been easier and harder at the same time to execute. A couple months ago, we hired Zuri Rice, a new SVP of video [head of video development and content strategy for Hearst Originals], and we bought Clever, which is a YouTube channel, and it helps us understand how to accelerate our own growth on YouTube. For example, we have a hit series, Seventeen, called Bestie Picks Bae.

How do you prevent burnout among staffers, when multiple jobs fall on one person?

This is a conundrum, actually, that we go through all the time. Can you dig in deeper if you’re on a single brand? Probably, but could you burn out faster because you’re in a certain place? That may be, too. Because we now have a much more transparent and fluid conversation around content creation, from brand to brand, it means that people will move around. We have a star player on Delish who came from Cosmo. We have a star player on House Beautiful who came from Delish. We do try to take people and give them opportunities in other places here because I think you’re right—you don’t want to do the same thing over and over, year after year. I mean, one thing that’s nice about right now is that everything that we hold sacred today will be irrelevant tomorrow. You could be a writer on Esquire and that job over the course of a year might change a lot.

Continue reading on Daily Front Row.

Meet the influencers captivating us this season, and the behind-the-scenes talents orchestrating their success from all angles. First up: Jennifer Powell, a longtime model agent turned influencer manager.

A dozen years ago, seasoned model agent Jennifer Powell saw the vast, untapped potential of influencers, and worked with OGs like Fashion Toast and The Blonde Salad in their infancies. Now, she skillfully guides the big businesses of WeWoreWhat’s Danielle Bernstein, Tezza Barton, Happily Grey’s Mary Lawless Lee, Sincerely Jules, and more.

How did you pivot from models to influencers?

I was a model agent for more than 20 years, at Look in San Francisco and Next Models in L.A. When I was at Next in 2008, Rumi Neely was sent to me by a photographer; she had a “photo diary,” Fashion Toast. Brands were sending her clothes, asking her to shoot and post them, and link out to product; then the product was selling out! Rumi, being the brilliant lady she is, knew there was financial value to what she was doing. At Next, I booked models with a lot of the brands sending clothing to Rumi, so when I spoke to those brands, I’d mention this new type of model that clients could track sales ROI on. They started paying Rumi for shooting and posting. I applied model day rates to what Rumi was doing, because I knew how much money brands had, and what typical usages were. I just winged it! She started making money, sitting front row at shows in NYC and Paris, and shooting campaigns.

Who did you work with next?

Chiara Ferragni from The Blonde Salad came to me. I booked her for fashion projects and magazine covers, which led to capsule collections and campaigns. Then the flood gates opened: Kristina Bazan from Switzerland, Gala Gonzales from Spain, Danielle Bernstein from NYC, and Sincerely Jules from L.A., all of the first fashion bloggers. It was wild. I stopped booking models altogether to be able to just focus on them and really understand the landscape. I realized I really loved building brands with talent, so I started my own agency, Jennifer Powell Inc, or JPinc, in 2017.

How do you help clients amass business acumen?

I know my way around a contract, so I definitely help them with those. I also advise on business infrastructure: Do you have an attorney? Are you incorporated? Do you have, or need, a business manager, financial adviser, or wealth manager? Do you have contracts with photographers, who own the imagery?

Continue reading on Daily Front Row.

You rip out-and have possibly ripped off-his brilliant infographics. His long-form journalism makes your heart beat heavy. After eight years and 15 Ellies, New York magazine EIC Adam Moss has captured the city’s zeitgeist with such veracity that lesser editors are in the midst of a collective existential crisis.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

What’s it like to be at the top of the glossy heap for the third consecutive year in terms of ads and newsstand dominance? Just ask InStyle’s Ariel Foxman. The mag’s managing editor and his team have modified that full-on celeb lifestyle focus to delve deeper into immediate gratification. And man, does it feel good!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Awaiting this week’s drop of Carine Roitfeld’s biannual mag; CR Fashion Book, has been an exercise in fervently curious patience for the style set. What’s happened since Roitfeld contentiously decamped from her EIC post at French Vogue? The grandma moniker, for starters, which might have something to do with Roitfeld’s newly-channeled “good girl” persona. Don’t worry, though: she’s still a bit crazy and, yes, irreverent.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Condé Nast’s resident turnaround artist Bill Wackermann has finally turned his attention on Glamour; as the mag’s executive VP and publishing director. But during his hopscotch through the glossy glut he’s learned a thing or two about success-and the gaffes that happen en route. This year; Wackermann penned a how-to guide on the topic, Flip The Script, and dished on his personal process of going far in the biz. Behold his key tenets for making it in life, publishing, and beyond!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

American Vogue was Kate Reardon’s version of college, thanks to a fashion assistant gig scored at age 19. Two years later, this It Brit was named fashion director at Tatler, and in 2010, she landed at the tippy top of the masthead. That wit and unexpected verve that has readers guffawing? It’s all thanks to the wry, dry Reardon, who has turned the usually fusty world of high society onto its head.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Courting and scoring solely highbrow advertisers for a luxury mag exclusive to American Express’ most affluent cardholders: Welcome to the charmed reality of Steve DeLuca, publisher of Departures. Does he really have the easiest job in publishing?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Angling, no doubt, to recapture glories past, Jason Binn has cooked up a new mag concept with DuJour. It’s a somewhat befuddling three-way partnership, so let’s see if we got it straight. Gilt delivers flash-sale shoppers, Hudson News hawks 15,000 newsstand copies nationwide (plus, brings some investment $), and Binn contributes the trumpeted hype that brought him success at Niche Media and his ad sales prowess. If this isn’t complicated enough, Keith Pollock and Nicole Vecchiarelli. And they’re adorable!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Long-form journalism’s boy wonder Hugo Lindgen is all grown up, and his redesigned The New York Times Magazine is earning (mostly) favorable feedback. Have you renewed your Sunday subscription yet?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Make what you will of BuzzFeed’s cute animal pics and the kitschy stamp-of-approval “reaction buttons,” which let readers “LOL” and “WTF” their way through the site’s share-happy content. But recently, the site’s name has become a truly fitting moniker for its business, thanks to ex-Politico Ben Smith taking the reins as editor-in-chief with Rolling Stone, Gawker, and Observer alum Doree Shafrir as exec editor.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Meet Michael Hainey, Jim Nelson’s long-time number deux at GQ who’s been topping the masthead since the Art Cooper days. When he’s not agonizing over every single word in each issue, Hainey paints on the weekends (sellable stuff, even!), dabbles in poetry, and has been waking up at the crack of dawn for a decade to pen a memoir, out next year. Intrigued?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

Tom Florio has shifted gears from bolstering the bottom line of tony Condé glossies to revamping trade shows as fashion group CEO at Advanstar. Managing the constellation of MAGIC shows today while strategizing the digital add-ons of tomorrow, Florio proves he’s still in vogue.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2012.

After 10 years atop Harper’s Bazaar, and among rumors of a possible change of guard at the iconic Hearst mag, formidable editrix Glenda Bailey announced a redesign. She then enlisted Alexandra Shulman’s once-secret weapon Robin Derrick (see above) to give the stately bible a makeover. Brows were raised (and questions asked): What to make of it all? One month later; Derrick was gone and a new-ish day had dawned.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

Lucky’s got a new executive editor, and it’s a homecoming of sorts-Deb Schwartz spent five years on the title’s launch team. What’s the former Out senior editor been doing in the interim? Another Condé launch-remember Domino?-a string of contrib editor and freelance gigs, and yes, an almost-finished novel!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

Can you imagine decamping from the top fashion glossy to run an even more luxurious magazine… where you never have to think about celebrities or newsstand sales? Meet Richard David Story: Vogue alum, one-time Weisberger boss, and now, EIC of American Express Publishing’s crown jewel, Departures.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

US Weekly, formerly the publication of choice to pass the time at the nail salon, has evolved from glossy guilty pleasure to a weekly ogle-fest that’s more than a breakup, makeup, and a baby bump intel for the starry-eyed. Under the mild-mannered helm of Michael Steele, the Wenner mag has become the ultimate crib sheet for editors across the industry when it’s time to up the addictiveness ante and beef up newsstand sales.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

Before arriving in the plush publisher’s chair at The New Yorker, Lisa Hughes spent over 20 years hopping around at Condé, from erstwhile Mademoiselle (R.I.P.), to VF, to a decade (and change) at Condé Nast Traveler. Now she’s tasked with luring in ad dollars to fund one of the most respected journalistic operations in the world.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

With the biggest masthead (and biggest budgets) at Condé, Vanity Fair requires a staggering amount of dough to stay flush. Good thing power publisher Ed Menicheschi is up for the challenge!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

What does Cookie’s former editrix Pilar Guzman have in common with her new boss, foodie doyenne Martha Stewart? She’s evangelical, she’s drank the Kool-Aid, and she knows masthead slimdown.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

After 15 years editing Esquire, David Granger remains one of the heroic, happy few with overflowing reservoirs of passion for every little detail of publishing. How do you like your paper additives? Aspiring EICs, meet your maestro!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

The most titillating read in the UK has never felt a need to phone-hack (that we know of!). Grazia’s formula comes courtesy of its visionary founding editrix, Jane Bruton.

Originally published The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

Named for a bygone mag of the Victorian era, The Gentlewoman is a Brit-based title run by a Scot and produced by the Dutch. But forget its fashion cree-this beautiful biannual aims to revive long-form, lady-centric journalism. Meet its fearless editor, Penny Martin.

Originally published The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

Dapper Men’s Vogue alum Jay Fielden is making Town & Country into a co-ed arbiter of journalism, with just a dollop of society gloss. Since September, publisher Valerie Salembier has been on board to revamp the business side. The Daily checks in on the relaunch…

Originally published The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2012.

A vet of Vanity Fair and Elle with a spate of fashionable familial connections, Alexis Bryan Morgan, is nearing her first nanny in an upper masthead title at Condé, tailored just for her. The Daily grilled Lucky’s executive fashion director on tutto from Brandon Holley to, ahem, her heavy-hitting taste in music. Metallica, anyone?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

Can the original wunderkind editrix jump start her career online? That’s the plan with xoJane.com, Pratt’s destination for the kind of first-person provocation that’s always been her trademark. And, of course, tongues are wagging. The Daily dropped by Pratt’s Tribeca abode for the scoop on all things Tavi and Jane’s take on what’s wrong with your mags. Hint: it’s a lot!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

WSJ’s new publisher entered the biz with Vogue Italia because he wanted a gig where he could speak Italian. Decades later, Anthony Cenname is raking in top-notch and dollars for the Journal’s mag vehicle. Is it Cenname’s charm or his themed dinner parties? Pass the lamb ragú!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

Margaret Russell spent over two decades helping launch, and then helmed, one of the style-mag set’s most successful forays in the shelter territory at Elle Décor. Less than a year ago, she was named head editrix at the venerable Architectural Digest-the slightly austere glossy’s first passing of reins in 35 years. With a style-themed issue on newsstands right now and a closet brimming with Prada, Russell is seizing The Daily.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

Pavia Rosati has always been fond of the ever-evolving new media landscape-the executive editor of Daily Candy for a decade, she debuted her curated travel site, Fathom, in July. Her husband, Ben Schott, culls his own flavor of random brilliance in decidedly more old-fashioned formats, thanks to a series of eponymous elegant print volumes, Schott’s Almanac, launched nine years ago. What better duo to duel it out (over the groceries, the excesses, and the caveats of today’s media landscape)?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

An alum of multiple Vogues with a formidable slew of stints beyond the confines of 4 Times Square under her chic belt, Laura McEwen is settling in as publisher of Self, where biz meetings involve Pilates instead of Pilati.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

Remember when the salmon weekly inspired shock, awe, and envy from both its subjects and its peers? Elizabeth Spiers sure does. Has the ROVING EDITRIX finally met her match with the Observer? She seems to think so.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

Two decades ago, Stephen Gan launched Visionaire, a shapeshifting tome and work of art, in each of its wildly creative thrice-yearly iterations-with a hefty triple-digit price tag to match. A more accessible but equally arty version are about over a decade ago with the advent of V, and shortly thereafter, then new Bazaar editrix Glenda Bailey tapped Gan as her creative director. From his hard-partying ‘80s days at Details to his recently-hatched friendship with Gaga, Gan remains one of fashion’s most intriguing visionaries.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

The buzz around the venerable hallways of Essence magazine (disclosure! they’re our much-beloved neighbors!) is that the iconic title is undergoing an eagerly-awaited transformation. Les responsables? Newly-minted editrix in chief Constance White (fashion guru, fashion critic, and fashion chicster par excellence), and brilliant executive powerhouse Michelle Ebanks, the title’s president for the last decade.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

For this Cosmopolitan editrix, running Hearst’s massive-circulation rainmaker is just a day job. After hours, (actually, before) she puts on her writing cap and churns out mystery novels-seven and counting.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2011.

A beacon of originality in a sea of fashion followers, the bimonthly miracle that is V reflects the relentless creativity and independent spirit of its founder, Stephen Gan. In case you haven’t noticed, he’s winning.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

Millenial mega-beauty Karlie Kloss is a master of the online medium, using her Instagram and Twitter accounts in new and insightful ways. Follow her lead!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

With the fattest September issue in Bazaar history, a new partnership with YOOX, and oodles of those precious beauty ads under her belt, Carol Smith is sitting prettier than ever.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

W’s multitasking style and fashion director, Edward Enninful, kicked off his career at i-D at the tender age of 18 and hasn’t stopped since. Along with his day job at W, he’s one of the most in-demand stylists in the biz. Now, about that tweet…

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

Marshall Heyman hits up half a dozen shindigs a night yet somehow manages to bang out the sharpest society column in town. What’s his secret? No cocktails, for starters, and a brilliant knack for teasing divine obscurities out of the snootiest soirées. The Daily dialed up the Princeton grad and New Yorker alum during a rare week at the beach for the full story.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

As Glamour celebrates 75 years on the newsstand, its perennially sunny editrix, Cindi Leive, talks having it all, celeb profiles, and defending Huma Abedin. Plus: A Patrick Demarchelier ‘zine’? Indeed, darlings.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

Lucky’s new editrix, Eva Chen, snagged the coldest seat in publishing this summer after a seven-year stint pushing beauty pages at Teen Vogue. She’s got Anna on speed dial and can schmooze like nobody’s business. Can this Web-savvy 33-year-old solve Condé’s biggest puzzle?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

Pamela Drucker Mann might be the only publisher to have hopscotched between Condé editorial mastheads before selling out-or up, rather-to the business side at Jane, Glamour (where she played for both teams), and, as of late, Bon Appétit. Even rarer? She has her very own stylist! Drucker Mann dished on Wolfgang Puck’s grub, her Brooklyn dining haunts, and the joys of waiting for a table.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

Since starting her eponymous boutique PR agency 21 years ago, Susan Magrino has worked with an enviable klatch of clients, from luxe resorts and libations to Oprah-plus, she’s been in Martha’s inner circle for three decades! What moves her? A dizzying YSL collection, for starters…

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

Ever encountered Stuart Emmrich? Sure you have: He’s the guy behind your required brunch reading material. Emmrich took over as the New York Times Styles editor in 2009, 11 years after joining the paper, hopping over from the Travel section. So, how’s he adjusting to the fashion grind? One crisp blue shirt at a time.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

For the new publisher of the staggeringly weighty InStyle, the fashion beat is no strange territory. Neither is Time Inc. stardom, which came to her in the form of publisher titles at People StyleWatch and Entertainment Weekly, after a brief stint at InStyle as former publisher Connie Anne Phillips’ right hand. As for pressure factor? She’s loving every minute.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2013.

After clocking nearly a dozen years as the Financial Times’ go-to fashion gal, Vanessa Friedman arrived a The New York Times to tackle the big, bad title of chief fashion critic-and also serve as the paper’s fashion director. Just don’t call her the new Cathy Horyn!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

Following a decade of stellar styling stints, including a longstanding run at Prada, Melissa Rubini hopped back onto the masthead as style director for InStyle. A year and a half into the new gig, Rubini is ratcheting up the mass glossy’s fashion cachet, one burgeoning talent at a time.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

The Clio Image Awards debuted in May as the chic, much younger sister to the Clios proper, aka, the Oscars of the advertising and marketing realms. The sold-out event was masterminded by Nicole Purcell, executive vice president of the Clio Awards. Andy Cohen was on host duty, SJP nabbed a statuette, and brands both major and soon-to-be-major got deserved recognition. Purcell dished on the advent of the Clio Image Awards-and what to expect at round deux.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

Condé Nast’s latest first-time EIC, Joyce Chang, has spent nearly six months perched in the corner office of fit-chick glossy SELF. After putting the masthead on a rigorous slim-down regimen and then building her own team, Chang is using what she learned at Camp Joanna Coles to run a mag. Plus, she’s always got her first glossy boss, Linda Wells, a few floors away.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

After four years at the helm of W, Stefano Tonchi’s editorial prowess and influence is larger than ever. Dominating the competition in the realm of fearless fashion photography, and infusing the magazine’s worldview with a tantalizing take on Hollywood and the art world, Tonchi’s crown jewel has never shined brighter.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

In 2014, the establishment’s leading rabble-rouser held sway over the closets of the cognoscenti (via CR Fashion Book) and the fashion-mad masses (via Harper’s Bazaar) like never before. She’s always game to reminisce about her salade days with Tom Ford, but it’s her obsession with the future that’s cemented her reign.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

Indie glossy trailblazer and visionary stylist Katie Grand-long the go-to gal for Miuccia and Marc-changed the way a fashion book could look as editrix for Dazed & Confused, The Face and POP. But in 2008, her impact on major runways and singular ability to launch a trend won her publishing’s brass ring: her very own Condé title, LOVE. Since then, it’s been the boundary-pushing biannual to watch.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

Flip through any top glossy these days and you’re bound to encounter the magic of the industry’s most prolific photographic duo, Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Since their slow-burn courtship at art school in Holland, they’ve made iconic fashion imagery their business, and it’s booming.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

In the perpetual race for ad pages, ELLE publisher, chief revenue officer, and SVP Kevin O’Malley leads the pack. Shortly after closing the heftiest issue in Hearst history, with pages up a whopping five percent, the Esquire alum took a breather to reflect on his immersion in the women’s market after eight years in men’s, why tech is his top priority, and what he’s like as a boss.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

Since arriving at the glossy last January, executive beauty director Ying Chu has pumped up Glamour’s coverage of all things coif and pout-related. To wit: the launch of Lipstick.com, the mag’s new beauty vertical, the debut of Glam Belleza Latina, and more gorgeous print pages in Glamour proper.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, September 2014.

What’s it take to lure an acid-penned New York Times reporter into the gossamer folds of InStyle? Ask front row scoop-slinger Eric Wilson, whose October defection to fashion’s mass-fest megabuck was the biggest head scratcher of the season. Or was it?

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2014.

The most-talked about launch of the season isn’t coming out of Heart or Condé, it’s Porter, mega e-tailer Net-a-Porter’s expensive plunge into offline edit. The mag also marks ex-Harper’s Bazaar UK editrix Lucy Yeomans’ return to print.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2014.

When Town & Country’s fashion approach needed a chic-over, they called in stylist extraordinaire Nicoletta Santoro, an Italian genius who’s spent the past decade spring up spreads for Vogue China and other top Condé international titles. Can she whip this Hearst glossy into shape? Consider us intrigued.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2014.

Fresh off a stint helming Martha Stewart Living; redesign-loving editrix Pilar Guzman is back at her old Cookie stomping grounds, and tasked with pumping out a shiny new iteration of Condé Nast Traveler. All aboard!

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2014.

Four years after leaving Lucky, magalog pioneer Kim France is working off her couch, playing by her own rules, and dabbling in digital with Girls of A Certain Age. She has no time for your silly glossy games.

Originally published in The Daily Front Row magazine, February 2014.