The Daily Front Row

february 14–15, 2015

je suis

lindsey

je suis

suzy

je suis

daily et vous?

alex gonzalez lisa armstrong sebastian faena pilar Guzmán chris mitchell dirk standen troy young dorian grinspan plus!

Editors in crisis and!

missing miss horyn

? a i d e m C’est

C I H C

New York - Los Angeles - Miami - Montreal - Toronto

Hottest Reborn Magazine ADWEEK HOT LIST

CELEBRATING ITS 50TH ANNIVERSAR Y

CELEBRATING ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATING ITS 15TH ANNIVERSARY

Hottest Magazine in Digital AD AGE A–LIST

CAR AND DRIVER|COSMOPOLITAN|COUNTRY LIVING|DR. OZ THE GOOD LIFE|ELLE|ELLE DECOR|ESQUIRE |FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE|GOOD HOUSEKEEPING|HARPER’S BAZAAR|HGTV MAGAZINE|HOUSE BEAUTIFUL MARIE CLAIRE|O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE|POPULAR MECHANICS|REDBOOK|ROAD & TRACK|SEVENTEEN|TOWN&COUNTRY|VERANDA|WOMAN’S DAY|ICROSSING|PLUS 25 DIGITAL BUSINESSES AND GROWING

HMD3684_TheDailySpreadADInsertion_UnboundAD7_prod.indd 1-2

Source: GfK/MRI Spring 2014 (includes HGTV prototype)

Magazine of the Year & Hottest Design ADWEEK HOT LIST #8 ON AD AGE A–LIST

#5 ON AD AGE A–LIST

Hottest Teen Magazine & Hottest Magazine on Social Media AD AGE A–LIST

More titles named to Adweek’s Hot List than any other publisher.

Print, Digital & Social accolades from Ad Age’s A-List.

And milestone anniversaries for Cosmopolitan, ELLE & O, The Oprah Magazine.

All are a tribute to our brands’ commitment to innovation, evolution and being where their readers are, in real time, 24/7.

2/2/15 2:19 PM

2 BROKE GIRLS STAR BETH BEHRS AT THE GEORGE V FOUR SEASONS HOTEL, PARIS. PHOTO: PATRICK DEMARCHELIER JACKET: NEW YORK VINTAGE SKIRT AND BOOTS: ALBRIGHT FASHION LIBRARY NECKLACE AND PURSE: DAVID ROY CUFF: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

LIGHTS. GLAMOUR. ACTION.

HOT TALENT. EXOTIC LOCATIONS. EXQUISITE STYLE. AN INSIDER’S LOOK AT THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT.

FOR ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES OR MEDIA KITS: PUBLISHER MICHAEL RIZZI (MICHAEL.RIZZI@CBS.COM) FOR EDITORIAL INQUIRIES: EDITOR IN CHIEF JEREMY MURPHY (JEREMY.MURPHY@CBS.COM)

THE

» CBS MAGAZINE

SAUCY TALK!

With DONNA LAGANI Stuart Vevers

COACH

your daily dose SCENE

☛ Impressive! Stuart Vevers kicked off the week on a high note with a shearling-heavy Coach collection shown by the top models du moment at a gallery space in Chelsea. Chéri, you get better every season… ☛

THINGS TO DISCUSS!

MEXICAN MOMENT! With Vogue Mexico editor Kelly Talamas

You have an exotic background.

I was born in Miami. I have a CubanAmerican mother, and my dad is American with a Middle Eastern background. I speak Spanish and English, and French is in the works. I love Cuban food, but I don’t cook. I’m the youngest in my family, so I was spoiled and everyone cooked for me.

You live in Mexico City, which is so red-haute right this second.

It’s a must-see for everyone around the world, because it has everything—art, history, astronomy, shopping, and fashion. It is such a vibrant city that is changing by leaps and bounds every minute.

NEW GIG ALERT!

Congrats are in order for Rebecca Minkoff.

The designer has just been named essie’s new global color designer, a major gig that will ensure that her unique flair for color ends up on the chicest tips everywhere.

“As this is my seventh season partnering with essie for NYFW, I’ve fallen even more in love with nails and have gotten such an interesting perspective,” says Minkoff. “Being part of the color process is so exciting to me.”

Can’t wait for her creations!

RETOUCHED By an angel!

What if Carolina Herrera and DVF switched looks?

An always gorgeous Mrs. H!

A chicly blonde DVF!

1. Monica Lewinsky’s appearance at the Rachel Comey show/dinner.

2. Rats at Vogue. Still?!

3. The abysmal reviews of Fifty Shades. Anyone else need new V-Day plans?

4. Monica Lewinsky’s upcoming TED talk.

5. Barneys’ new print magazine. Discuss!

Meet the SVP/Publishing Director and Chief Revenue Officer for Cosmopolitan, Cosmo for Latinas, and Seventeen.

Greatest date ever: My husband and I once hiked up Angels Landing in Zion National Park on New Year’s Eve. We felt like we were on top of the world!

Worst relationship advice: “Boys will be boys.” Being male is no excuse for bad behavior!

Lacy underpinnings of choice: La Perla. It’s luxurious, sexy, and elegant— everything great underwear should be.

Funniest V-Day moment: I was woken up to breakfast in bed from my husband and son with a surprise gift of the most beautiful Van Cleef diamond earrings. The following Valentine’s Day, my husband and son delivered breakfast in bed again. As my son placed the tray, he declared, “Oh no, Dad, we forgot the diamonds this year!” The omelet was delicious, though.

Go-to sex advice source: Joanna Coles.

Who else?

Hollywood hunk of choice: I once met Bradley Cooper at our annual Cosmo Fun Fearless Male Awards, and I was instantly mesmerized by his piercing blue eyes and his wonderful calm, confident, warm demeanor. The next day, he sent me flowers and a handwritten note. He’s a class act!

INDEPENDENT SPIRITS! With Kerry Diamond

What’s new with Cherry Bombe?

We shot our next cover last week, which was a lot of fun. We just announced our next Cherry Bombe Jubilee conference on March 29—we barely caught our breath after the first one, and now there’s another one! Also, a lot of people have reached out to us about collaborations, so we’ve got a few of those in the works. We’re doing some nonprint product extensions.

Where are you selling these days?

This is a little nerdy, but we took over our own distribution! We were working with a big distributor, but when you’re not an advertising-based magazine, it doesn’t make sense to have your distributor treat you like every other kind of magazine out there. So we have a few international distributors now, and a distributor on the Pacific Northwest. I won’t lie—it’s kind of been challenging.

Considered upping your circ?

Not yet. We literally are about a week away from selling out our first issue, so we still have back issues! We do 10,000 copies of each issue, and that still makes sense—

it’s not for the mass market at $20 an issue.

Who do you want in Cherry Bombe next?

Gwyneth Paltrow and Nigella Lawson!

Also, we want to do special issues on Paris, London, and California.

Any interest in doing something during NYFW? Sure, we won’t rule out anything!

Also, we’re talking with our friends at Billy Reid about doing a few things down South, where we have lots of readers but have never done an event.

Let’s talk about your gig as EIC at Yahoo Food.

It was completely out of left field—it’s all Joe Zee and Bobbi Brown’s fault!

How are you juggling Yahoo Food, Cherry Bombe, and your restos?

Well, my New Year’s resolution is to be more organized. It’s going pretty well—it helps that my boyfriend [Rob Newton] is a very organized, neat chef, so I have a really good role model. And I’m trying to get up earlier; I’m a big sleeper.

I hit the snooze button several times. I also pared down my wardrobe, so I don’t have as many decisions to make in the morning.

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FEELING BOOKISH, PART ONE!

z Bu z Fix

With Ariel Foxman at Lisa Perry

Reintroducing The Beekman!

How will you be spending your free time?

I’ve been drafted into a book club.

How were you drafted?

I got an e-mail a few days after the new year started that said, “We’re starting a book club, and you’re in it.”

What’s the book?

Well, we just finished Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and next, we’re onto The Honest Truth About Dishonesty by Dan Ariely.

I’ll be reading it on my tablet. You’ll know the truth, but everyone else will think I’m looking at proofs.

ATTENTION, DOWNTOWN DENIZENS:

INTRODUCING THE BEEKMAN!

HEARD

“To be very frank, I’m not interested in doing a show again…. It’s not a good way to represent what I do. There are other ways to communicate.”—Reed Krakoff at his store opening. ☛ “Driving Miss Daisy. That would be a weird collection, even though I respect the message.”—Lucio Castro, on the film one should never base a collection on, at his presentation. ☛ “We’ve evolved from baseball hats.”—Gents designer Josh Reed at his presentation. ☛ “It’s not really fashion bulls**t.

It’s just what I like.”—Alan Eckstein at the Timo Weiland presentation.

You’ve long walked by the stunning 10-story landmarked building at 5 Beekman Street and said, “I want to live there!”

Coming this fall, that will be a distinct possibility. The property is being completely reimagined into both The Beekman Residences, a 51-story condo tower with interiors by Thomas Juul-Hansen, and The Beekman, a Thompson Hotel with interiors designed by Martin Brudnizki. Things to discuss: THE FOOD: The property will feature restaurants from both Tom Colicchio and Keith McNally.

Colicchio’s Craft Hospitality Group is the food and beverage partner for The Living Room, a venue within The Beekman Atrium, which will provide room service for both hotel guests and residents.

THE AMENITIES: The Residences are outfitted with access to a private dining room (avec chef’s table), a media room, rooftop terrace, and fitness center.

Residents will also have access to the hotel’s concierge services, so if in-home spa treatments and personal training sessions are your thing— not to mention catering services—then consider your needs handled.

THE HISTORY: The Beekman, built between 1881 and 1883, is steeped in it—not only did it host the NYC premiere of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but it was also home to the Park Theater, created by John Jacob Astor and John Beekman.

THE ATRIUM: Designed by architect James M. Farnworth in Queen Anne style, the

pyramidal atrium with its soaring skylight has long been one of downtown New York’s most opulent sites.

In 1998, 5 Beekman Street’s façade was landmarked by the city of New York.

In the market? Check in with Fredrik Eklund and John Gomes at Douglas Elliman.

TheBeekman.com

DKNY Spring 2015

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FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

FEELING BOOKISH, PART 2!

With Lucy Yeomans Congrats on Porter’s first anniversary! What are you proudest of?

Surviving! Working on a global launch has been equally exciting and challenging. I’m definitely proudest of all the incredible women from around the world who have played a part in Porter’s story so far. Also, I have never before worked on a magazine with such an engaged and interesting audience.

The biggest challenge?

Starting with a blank flatplan was fairly scary—I had never worked on a launch before—but also knowing that we needed the editorial to resonate with a global audience. Stories have to be curated and crafted in a different way than at a country-specific title. Then, there was the not-so-small matter of how to make the magazine fully shoppable via the digital edition and mobile app!

What else are you reading these days?

Over Christmas, and I might add just before Juergen Teller’s Céline campaign came out, I had a major Joan Didion phase while on vacation, reading all the books and essays of hers I hadn’t yet read.

Magazine-wise, my new obsession is The Atlantic. b f an y c . com ( 3 ) ; gett y image s ( 3 ) ; p atrickmcmu l l an . com ; courte s y

z Bu z Fix

CFDA Incubator/ Target PARTY

PLAYING FAVORITES!

Jens Grede, Karlie Kloss, and Erik Torstensson

With Steven Kolb

If your house were on fire and you had to save one accessory, what would it be?

Well, I have an apartment and a house. I hope both of them aren’t on fire! But I have a beautiful tie clip that Monique Péan made for me out of woolly mammoth, so that would be it.

It was reported that NYFW made more money for New York City that the Super Bowl last year. Reaction?

Maybe the NFL was surprised by it, but I work in fashion, so I wasn’t surprised at all.

And not only did it make more money than the Super Bowl, but it also made more money than the U.S. Open as well. That’s pretty astonishing! I don’t think we all realize that fashion has that kind of contribuKara designer tion to our lives.

Sarah Law It’s really a money business.

FRAME DENIM

High waists for Spring ’15

RETAIL REPORT! With Suzanne Timmins, SVP Fashion Director, Hudson’s Bay and Lord & Taylor

Sang A Im-Propp and Sarah Easley

What’s the last thing you bought?

Incredible earrings by A Peace Treaty.

Which section in the store is the most dangerous for you, purchase-wise?

I always stop by the Birdcage; there’s always something new that I simply must have. And don’t get me started on our footwear floor!

What exactly is Birdcage?

It’s a highly curated shop within Lord & Taylor.

The product offering continues to evolve and change from season to season. This spring, our customers will experience new labels, such as jewelry from Lele Sadoughi, bags from Sensi, eyewear from Le Specs, and stationery from Garance Doré, among other fabulous finds.

We’ve also heard some buzz about Brand Assembly…

It was created by Hillary France and Alex Repola to help young designers launch and grow successful brands. We partnered with Brand Assembly last fall to launch a concept shop that features a rotating assortment of emerging and advanced contemporary designers.

How do you stay energized during NYFW? Stay fueled, stay hydrated, and most importantly, stay calm! To do that, I try to swim every morning. The exercise and solitude allow me to relax and clear my head.

THE DAILY WONDERS…

What was your best or worst Valentine’s Day ever?

Lisa Perry: “I honestly don’t

have one, but I have to say, I am a lover of those conversation candy hearts.”

Ariel Foxman: “It was with my now-husband, Brandon, and we went back to Locanda Verde at the Greenwich Hotel, where we had our first date. We sat at the same exact table, which felt very special.”

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

Maureen ChoI, Glamour senior beauty editor: “My husband knows that an indulgent—read, expensive—spa treatment is the way to my heart, so for our first Valentine’s Day together five years ago, he surprised me with a three-hour facial-massage combo at the Mandarin Oriental. I was so blissed out that I fell asleep and never made it to our dinner reservation!”

Hilary Rhoda: “My best Valentine’s Day was probably last year

when my fiancé and I cooked at home. It was very chill.”

Martha HUNT: “One time I played a really mean joke on my boyfriend and told him I had a shoot with Ryan Gosling on Valentine’s Day for a nude art project. He was really mad!”

Katrina Bowden: “My perfect Valentine’s Day is going somewhere with my husband to someplace we love and drinking lots of wine.” bf a nyc . c o m ( 1 1 ) ; a l l o t h e rs c o u r t e sy

the

front row Editor in Chief, CEO

Brandusa Niro Guillaume Bruneau Creative Director Peter Davis Group Executive Editor

Eddie Roche Deputy Editor

Managing Editor Tangie Silva Editor at Large Ashley Baker Features Editor Alexandra Ilyashov Fashion News Editor Paige Reddinger Writer/Reporter Dena Silver Art Director Teresa Platt Contributing Photographer Giorgio Niro Contributing Photo Editor Jessica Athanasiou-Piork Contributing Copy Editor Joseph Manghise Imaging Director George Maier President, Publisher Paul Turcotte Account Directors Mark Tevis, Chloe Worden Trade Publications Director Mindy Dorf Outside offices: Advertising Sales & Special Projects Haralux, Lottie Oakley Los Angeles Gypset & Associates, Dayna Zegarelli Contributing Marketing Director Stephen McCarthy Publishing Coordinator Piero Bellizzi Digital Director Daniel Chivu Manufacturing Operations Michael Esposito, Amy Taylor

To advertise, call (212) 467-5785 Or e-mail: turcotte@dailyfrontrow.com getty images the official photo agency of The daily front row

The Daily Front Row is a Daily Front Row Inc. publication. Copyright 2015. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. Requests for reprints must be submitted in writing to: The Daily, Attn: Tangie Silva, 135 West 50th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10020.

On the cover: Lindsey Wixson in Jean Paul Gaultier Spring ’15 photographed by Greg Kessler.

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NEW Vision

ELEVATING

elle

He’s an industry veteran who has lent his golden touch to a wide array of glossies, from L’Uomo Vogue to Marie Claire. Now, Alex Gonzalez is tackling the world’s biggest fashion magazine as its new creative director, just in time for Elle’s 30th anniversary.

BY PETER DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY GIORGIO NIRO

Does the March issue feel like it’s 100 percent Alex?

I wouldn’t say that, but this is the one where the final evolution of about six months’ worth of work has landed. A magazine is always evolving. I’m very selfcritical, but I am proud of the issue. The market will be the final judge.

Any favorite stories in the issue?

Michael Thompson is always an absolute pleasure, so working with him on the Katy Perry story was amazing. Lori Goldstein is another great collaborator. Liz Collins has two incredible stories in the issue, as well. We took her to Jamaica.

Jamaica is so close to Cuba. You’re Cuban. How do all the Cuban developments make you feel?

I’m cautiously optimistic. My dad was a diplomat, so I’m all for diplomacy. It’s about time! It’s the next step for the people of Cuba, but I remember growing up in the early years of Communism, so there’s a bit of baggage.

When did you leave Cuba?

In 1969. I’m a “persona non grata.”

Once you leave that way, you’re never really welcome back, in theory.

There are tons of chic Cubans like Ruben and Isabel Toledo.

I know the Toledos and Narciso Rodriguez really well. There are quite a few Cubans out and about.

Have you started Elle’s huge September issue?

In concept, we’re putting out feelers and germinating ideas. It’s all a work in progress, but it’s around the corner.

Why not put a model on the cover?

Don’t you love models on the covers of magazines?

I love the fact that models are all about glorifying fashion, whereas celebrities are their own people, even though I have historically seen them through a fashion lens. In many ways, they are their own brand, so we have to be very respectful of that. Having said that, I love the challenge: How do you diplomatically seduce them, FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

convince them, and involve them in the process? In the case of Katy Perry, we did something a bit more unexpected. Our Rihanna cover was a dream collaboration because we convinced her to strip down—none of the razzledazzle, none of the performance—and she’s beyond exquisite. We shot her in couture, and that was enough. And it was a process to convince her—she felt somewhat naked. The persona, supposedly, was gone, but then she loved the pictures.

You’re a diplomat, like your dad.

That’s absolutely true.

You’ve worked on so many great magazines like Flare, W, and L’Uomo Vogue, which we are obsessed with.

I have a long, long history in publishing. My first gig as a full-fledged creative director was at German Vogue, and then I ended up working with Manner Vogue, which was their version of GQ. I did that for several years, then I came back to GQ in New York to work for Art Cooper. I then artdirected Mirabella, which is also Robbie Myers’ alma mater. Then I was asked by Franca Sozzani and Jonathan Newhouse to help them relaunch L’Uomo Vogue in Milan. Every art director has an editorial project that launches them, and that was my launching pad.

You worked with Steven Meisel a lot.

I did, but I also worked a lot with Bruce Weber and Steven Klein. You know, L’Uomo Vogue was an unusual project. It wasn’t a magazine that needed to sell on the newsstand—it was a magazine that needed to surprise the industry.

We could take tremendous chances around the confines of what is appropriate for men’s fashion. I just saw Gucci’s men’s show, and it reminded me of the work that I used to do there with Paul Sinclair.

You pushed the envelope at L’Uomo Vogue.

It was the surprise factor—we had an idea that we could bend the male aesthetic a little bit.

Everybody else was doing this hypermasculine thing, and we went completely the opposite way. Working with Paul was an absolute

NEW Vision dream, and we offered some of these photographers a new way to shoot these subjects. They were essentially high-fashion photographers with not a great interest in menswear, per se, but they got into it.

When you moved to New York, you started an ad agency, A/R New York, with your husband, Raul Martinez. You guys really rocked it.

We did that for many years. We’ve had a very successful run with the agency, and we still do. We did campaigns for Dolce, Valentino, and Versace for over a decade. We worked for Ferragamo, and did the Escada campaigns with Meisel...the list is long.

We’ve had a great run. We did sell the agency to Publicis Paris, but we are the founding members and we are still involved. I love branding and advertising, and I’m very proud of the work the agency has done there, but I always did love editorial projects. When I was asked

“

If you work really hard during the day, there has to be a time when you disconnect.”

to launch Flare, I jumped at the chance. I was with them for only a year and a half, but it was an incredible ride.

Do you ever sleep?

I actually do sleep, and I have young children and I’m very devoted to them. I actually took a three-year sabbatical between all this, for my kids.

So what’s your secret to getting sleep?

Please tell us!

I think once you’re home, you’re home. I’m famous for answering e-mails in five minutes, but there is time for homework and dinner. After we put the kids to bed, we do what we need to do. I’m very, very old-school, and I do believe that if you work really hard during the day, there has to be a time when you disconnect. I mean, what we do is not rocket science.

Your covers at W were so artsy and cool.

I love the work I did with Stefano Tonchi during that time. One of the most memorable projects we did was a multiple cover shoot with Kate Moss—good Kate, bad Kate. We also repositioned Kristen Stewart. She wasn’t necessarily considered a fashion It girl, but the amazing cover story we did with Edward Enninful and Mert and Marcus was unbelievable fun.

How do you see your role at Elle as it turns 30?

Historically, what I’ve done with magazines thus far has been to come in and work very intimately with the editor in chief and, in some cases, FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

the publisher to help reposition a brand. With Elle, it’s a different matter. I really do see my role here as a long-standing one. I want to continue to help Robbie evolve the book. There’s a fine balance of being respectful to the heritage of the brand but moving the book forward. Fashion, by definition, is about tomorrow, and yet I’m sitting in a brand that has tremendous heritage. That’s what makes a book like this so terribly exciting. Robbie provides great editorial content, so it’s a fashion book with gravitas.

We heard you were offered the creative director job at Glamour.

I don’t think I was ever offered Glamour.

You’re being modest and polite, which is very chic. Your husband Raul [Martinez] works at Condé Nast and you’re at Hearst. Is there competition?

Magazine wars?

There is incredible sensitivity to church and state, particularly now that children are in our lives. We do not speak about work at home, and the work reflects that. What I do is very different from what he does.

You’re a total diplomat! But fashion publishing is still a cutthroat world.

It’s a competitive environment, and

“

There’s a fine balance of being respectful to the heritage of the brand but moving the book forward.”

the upper echelon of publishing has to be. It’s even more competitive these days.

What makes a shoot really work?

Layering. I’m not terribly thrilled about the idea of one girl, one dress, and one studio. There should be more going on. And a shoot should reflect what is happening on the streets, particularly with a magazine like Elle.

We hear you’re a good cook.

I’m fairly competent in the kitchen, thanks to my time in Milan. I would go to my friends’ houses and be the foreigner in the kitchen with a glass of wine.

What’s your best dish?

I make a mean spaghetti alle vongole.

Perhaps I’ll have you over someday! ins e ts : c o u rt e sy

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YOUNG Phenom

FAENA IN FOCUS

Sebastian Faena’s career is something like a fairy tale. He got his break as a teenager when he met Mario Testino on the streets of Soho. Soon enough, he was shooting Linda Evangelista, collaborating with Carine Roitfeld…and even making his first feature film at age 23. Over Japanese food at EN, he expounded on his charmed life.

BY PAIGE REDDINGER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH BORDUIN You grew up in Buenos Aires. Who were your fashion influences?

Were you nervous?

Everything that led me to taking pictures and being where I am today is so I had just done my big film in Argentina, so I was totally fearless. I wanted strange and weird. When I was young, I was always fascinated by Steven my shoots to be incredible, but the role of a photographer was not something Meisel, Steven Klein, and Mario Testino.

I was scared to lose. I really learned a lot working for V. It was like my playHow did you learn about them? ground, and I made many mistakes.

From an early age, my family had magazines with women like Linda [EvanEventually, you went to work for Testino. How did that evolve? gelista] on the covers. Even in high school I knew who We became very good friends, and he wanted me Carine [Roitfeld] was, because I was a fan. Oh, I would to become a creative director for him, so I went to go out to clubs with a copy of Harper’s Bazaar in my London. Because of Mario, I met Carine [Roitfeld], hands! I liked the eccentricity of it.

Stephen [Gan], Tom Pecheux, and all the people I Was your family interested in fashion? work with today.

Yes. My parents, sister, and brother were all related to Where did you first meet Carine? fashion somehow. My father owned the biggest wool fabOn a shoot with Mario in Rome. I left the set to play ric textile manufacturer in the country, so I would travel with some stray dogs, and Carine came after me. I had with him and go to the factories and have naps on the just met her the day before, and she asked, “What’s the pieces of fabric. It was all inside me from the beginning. problem? Do you think you are better than everybody Did you always want to be a photographer? else?” I said, “No, I just prefer to be with the dogs.” I Never. It wasn’t my thing, but I was happy doing it and love dogs, you know? She said, “You prefer to be with was good at it early on. I wanted to make films. the dogs rather than with me?” and I said, “Well, yes.”

What was your first film?

That’s how we became friends. We still have the same It was called La Mujer Rota. I was doing photography in dynamic. We love to bother each other. We’re both New York City at the time, but I didn’t think it was going Virgos—we were born only a few days apart. When we to make me happy, so I made the film and it was like work together, we are like 5- or 6-year-olds playing. living in this bubble world for three or four years. Mario We are so free when it comes to the creative process.

Lindsey Wixson on the cover [Testino] saw it and he became the executive producer, How do you maintain your creative freedom when of CR Fashion Book helping me with post-production. It was released in 20 or working on campaigns?

30 theaters around South America. The movie was not a People now make decisions commanded by fear and success, because it was so strange. It was very beautiful, try to be safe in order to keep their jobs. This leads to but I was very young and not thinking about the audience. something not very inspired. We have to be fearless.

Where did you meet Testino?

Most of the time I work with clients who work with an On the streets of Soho, when I was a student at Columbia agency I like.

University. We started talking because we are both South Example, please!

American. He asked me if he could see my pictures, and With David [Lipman], it’s always great, because he’s a eventually, I showed him my portfolio. It was basically just dreamer and he’s crazy, and he’s a very special characgirls from my high school dressed in their mothers’ clothter who wants the best for everybody. He doesn’t care ing. After school, I would love to go over to my girlfriends’ whether he is going to get this client again or not, he’s houses and dress them up and take pictures, or go around just thinking about how to make an incredible image. It’s town and create stories or scenarios. I didn’t know it at rare to find people like that. He gave me big campaigns the time, but I was creating fashion spreads. After lookafter I had only been working for a short time. I did some ing at my work, Testino said, “There is something here.”

David Yurman campaigns, and then Georg Jensen and He talked to Alix Browne, who was an editor at V at the DVF. Most recently, we worked on the John Hardy camtime, and they gave me an assignment right away. paign with Cara Delevingne.

Who was your subject?

What’s it like to work with Cara?

Linda Evangelista. The story was inspired by the I love Cara. Honestly, if it works, I kind of fall in love with film Eyes of Laura Mars. Stephen [Gan] really took a them for the day. I become them at the same time. It’s a very V magazine, issue 78 chance on me. intense, memorable, amazing experience, so you get very FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

“

I’ve rarely done things that are not crazy. I would get bored otherwise.”

YOUNG Phenom

Premier issue of CR featuring Julie Ingleby

close to the person you’re shooting without even realizing.

What’s the craziest shoot you’ve ever done?

When I shot Celine Dion for V. It was styled by Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele. She was one of the most fun subjects I have ever shot and in my head, before that, she was everything but that. But I’ve rarely done things that are not crazy.

I would get bored otherwise.

When was the first time you worked with Carlyne?

We shot “Footballers Wives” for V. It was hard for me to convince her to come to a football field, but she did. In the beginning, we wanted a very sexy woman. Carlyne calls this type of woman a “bourgeoise salope.” I’ve also shot a French prostitute and a human Barbie for V with Carlyne. Some of these were so outrageous they would be on the covers of Argentinian newspapers, and my mother would call me. We both like to provoke, and we like controversy. We’re not doctors or lawyers. It’s supposed to be fun. Carlyne always defies you and challenges you about whether what you are doing is coming from inside of you.

More details about the human Barbie [Valeria Lukyanova], please.

She didn’t speak any English. She’s Ukrainian.

Faena’s first film She was with her husband, who was just a regular guy. He wasn’t like a human Barbie man. I didn’t get the best vibe from her, but maybe there was a language barrier.

Do you have a muse?

Gigi [Hadid], for sure, because I started taking pictures of her in the beginning. But Carine is a muse, Carlyne is a muse, Dree Hemingway, Cara Delevingne, Carolyn Murphy, Kate Upton…Dree is almost like Tinkerbell, and Kate Upton is like Jayne Mansfield. Gigi is the girl you would dream to fall in love with when you are in high school and she would not pay any attention to you because she was too beautiful to look your way.

You were one of the first to work with Kate Upton. How did that come about?

Ivan Bart called me about Kate, and we did the first fashion spread with her.

He saw it in her before anybody, and then I saw it too. Ivan has been so important to my career by giving me incredible girls and having faith in me.

What would people be surprised to know about you?

I like to be isolated and alone in nature with animals. I look for every opportunity to do that in my life. That’s when I feel the closest to myself and the closest to God. Do you have any pets?

My entire life, I’ve had the most incredible dog called Luisa. She looks a bit like a young Marisa Berenson, but something even more sublime. It’s very clear that she would be my dog, because she’s the only one possible.

What’s next?

My goal this year is to make a movie. I have a fictional story in mind. There are a lot of people I have shot over the years that I would love to be in it, because I like the way they look, the way they walk, or how they talk. It wouldn’t be a fashion film, though.

What are your favorite films?

I was a film geek since I was very young. I would stay home all night to watch movies. [Michelangelo] Antonioni first.

Red Desert is my favorite film. I also love Zabriskie Point, La Notte, L’Avventura, and L’Eclisse. All of those define my taste today. Also, I love Truffaut, Pasolini, and Fellini, of course. Visconti’s Death in Venice is another favorite film. I read the book as well. I would read a lot when I was a teenager. I read a lot of Nietzsche.

How have you grown since you started your career?

In the beginning, even though I was only twentysomething, my life was quite extravagant. Now I feel I have grown more into myself. I’m simple. I see my job as no different from that of a carpenter, a plumber, or a hooker.

Linda Evangelista for V magazine, issue 52

Gigi Hadid for CR

“Nun Head” for Pop

“Nun Head” for Pop

A L L P H O T O S c o u r tes y

POWER Duo

iT TAKES

two

Pilar Guzman, Condé Nast Traveler’s turnaround artist of an EIC, and husband Chris Mitchell, Vanity Fair’s newly minted VP and publisher, have hopscotched from Condé title to title—never in tandem—for more than a decade. We popped by their Park Slope brownstone to learn how they kill it in the glossy grind (without killing each other).

BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO

How did you meet?

Pilar: We both went to Berkeley but didn’t know each other there. Mutual friends introduced us when we were in New York in our twenties.

Chris: We met 19 years ago as of last month.

Were you both in publishing when you met?

Chris: No, I’d just left Condé Nast to go to a little startup called Wired, and Pilar was working at a visual-effects company transitioning into being an interactive agency.

She was leaving her job to travel the world.

Pilar: I went to Vietnam and wrote the first Fodor’s guide since before the war. We were newly together, and I left for three or four months.

When did you first end up at the company concurrently?

Chris: I was the publisher of Details when it was owned by Fairchild, and since I was on the executive committee, I caught wind that they wanted to start this parenting magazine. Entirely separately from me, they found Pilar at Real Simple and started wooing her for the job. I never brought up the fact that we were married.

Was that by design?

Chris: A little bit. I didn’t want Pilar to have any special favors—or be disqualified— because she was married to me. We don’t want our relationship to propel either of our careers. But it’s nice to work at the same company. It has its funny little advantages.

What kinds of advantages?

Pilar: We get to go to the Christmas party together!

We run into each other in the building sometimes, and occasionally we’ll sneak out for lunch together.

Chris: A few times, we’ve been in the same cities for work and stayed together on a business trip. It’s great when your personal life touches your work life.

Do you give each other advice?

Chris: There’s a division of church and state, and Pilar’s given me some religion, and I’ve given her some government. We each understand, intimately, the challenges the other side faces. Over the years, Pilar has said, “My publisher wants me to do this.” Half the time I’ll tell her not to stand on ceremony, and the other half, I’ve said, “No, you shouldn’t bow to that pressure.” I ask Pilar things all the time. She’s sincere and genuine, and she’s my inspiration for how I carry myself in business.

Do you often talk shop at home?

Pilar: Sometimes we’re in the mood for it, sometimes we’re not. I really want to be present when I get home; our time with the kids is so limited.

Chris: If we were both publishers or editors, it would be a boring, endless conversation!

Did you help Pilar prep for her Traveler interview since you’d done a stint there?

Chris: I knew the brand’s real strengths, and also what could be improved upon. It gave perspective when Pilar was talking to Condé Nast about what could be done to the brand.

Would you ever want to run a glossy together?

Chris: When Pilar was the editor at Cookie, and I was nearly done with my run at Details, I proposed the idea of us working together. Ultimately, [Condé Nast] saved our marriage by deciding it would be too close for comfort; too tricky.

Is it ever challenging to work at the same place?

Chris: It was a painful time for Pilar when Cookie closed, and it was tough for me to be at the company that closed the magazine my wife was so close to. You run the risk of the business and personal becoming too personal. But it’s like how having a sibling gives you a better perspective on your parents: We have a siblingFA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

like relationship toward our bosses at Condé Nast, so we can understand the company better.

What do your kids think of your gigs?

Chris: They have no idea what I do. They ask me, “Why can’t you stay home? You just talk on the phone all day!”

Pilar: They think I just work on the computer all the time.

Which magazines do your sons read?

Chris: They’re on screens all the time. There aren’t many magazines devoted to children! As a business, we’re probably not doing the best job nurturing the next generation of readers. They have a joint subscription to this European soccer magazine that’s so shockingly expensive, it should be the model for all of us.

Our older son, who’s 11 years old, has lately become interested in architecture and interiors.

Do they read VF and Traveler?

Chris: Vanity Fair is a little over their heads, but maybe when they turn 13…

Pilar: Will looks at Traveler, but they’re not quite in the demographic just yet.

Congrats on being named AdAge’s EIC of the Year, Pilar. What does that mean?

Chris: Job security. [Laughs] Pilar: It feels good for a minute, and then I think, “Oh, God, I have so much work to do!” But we accomplished a lot in such a short period of time. We changed the magazine’s direction. It was a gamble, and it’s paid off.

What’s new at Traveler lately?

Pilar: We relaunched the website, and it’s been getting a good response. Now, we’re doubling down on video—it’s a whole new medium to play in and master. With travel, it’s endless—people are most inspired and given to storytelling when they travel, so video is a perfect format for that.

And how have the first six months of VF been?

Chris: Graydon [Carter] is easily the best partner I’ve ever worked with, and certainly the most inspiring. He’s like a duck on the water—he makes it look so easy, but he’s truly the hardest-working man in the media business. He cultivates real friendships with so many people in so many different worlds.

He’s my publishing hero.

Was VF on your bucket list of mastheads to be on?

Chris: I’ve been with Condé Nast for 20 years, more or less. I’ve always made a point not to direct my fate. I’ve found it better to put my head down and do my job, and then the phone tends to ring every one to five years. I loved GQ, and there were only one or two brands I’d hoped to work with after. But to wish it is to jinx it.

Will this be your first time at the VF Oscar party?

Chris: It’ll be my first time at Oscar week, ever. Pilar will be off in Tanzania on a safari then, so she won’t be with me. We tend to divide and conquer. Our jobs might be slightly more in the spotlight, but any two working parents have the difficult task of juggling.

What are you wearing to the Oscar bash?

Chris: I have quite a few tuxedos, and when I got the job, a friend joked that I’ll finally be able to make use of them. I’d love to wear Tom Ford.

Thoughts on Condé’s new digs?

Chris: The building is beautiful and inspiring. I take the subway—people are surprised to hear that. In this new building, you have to be an active subway rider to get to and from Midtown. There are probably lots of publishers used to having a black car idling who are spending a lot more time in traffic.

the newlywed game CONDÉ POWER COUPLE EDITIOn CHRIS ON PILAR! Favorite brunch dish: “A Bloody Mary and poached eggs over greens.”

[Pilar’s answer: “Huevos rancheros.”]

Favorite color: “Navy blue.”

[Pilar’s answer: “Navy blue.”]

First pet: “Gosh, I don’t think she ever had a pet!” [Pilar’s answer: “A hamster.”]

Ideal Saturday afternoon: “Reading in front of the fire.” [Pilar’s answer: “A cooking project or going out for lunch, going for a run, hanging with my family.”]

Least favorite part of traveling: “The airport.” [Pilar’s answer: “Unpacking.”]

PILAR ON CHRIS! Favorite app: “Nike running app.” [Chris’ answer: “Instagram, followed by eBay.”] Hollywood guy crush: “Graydon.”

[Chris’ answer: “Robert Redford.”]

Favorite book: “Crossing to Safety or The Secret History.” [Chris’ answer: “Crossing to Safety.”]

Go-to cocktail: “Gin Martini, up.”

[Chris’ answer: “Bombay martini.”]

Pilar and Chris in the '90s

QUICK Click

TOTAL Slideshow

Dirk Standen’s decade-long tenure at style.com happened by accident, but it’s been a lengthy stint that has rarely proven boring. Standen talked us through the site’s defunct seven-issue print mag, being an early arbiter of street style shots, and his new boss lady (hint: her name rhymes with Shmana Lintour).

BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO How did you end up at style.com?

The short answer is serendipity. The long answer? I’m a part of that post-punk generation that read magazines like The Face and i-D in England and Interview when Andy Warhol was there and the original Details in New York. There was an amazing convergence of fashion, art, music, and nightlife that awakened my sense of style. But fashion was never really the plan. I went to film school at Columbia, and when I was there they invented this thing called the Internet. My first job out of college was at Sidewalk.com, which was Microsoft’s city guides site. I worked there and at a couple of Internet startups, and I did freelance writing for The New York Observer, GQ, Details, and Tatler in England.

What was your first Condé Nast accomplishment?

I helped put together men.style.com. I guess I didn’t screw up too badly, because a year after that they made me editor in chief of men.style.com and style.com. That was 10 years ago. Style.com was about four years old at that point.

What were your early days at style.com like?

On a busy day, we’d do eight reviews and they’d go up midday 24 hours after the show, and everyone was like, “Wow, I can’t believe you put them up so quickly!” If that happened today, people would go crazy and be like, “What the hell are you playing at?” Now, on a busy day, we do 30 reviews. We used to do one or two stories a day when I started; now, we do 30 stories a day in addition to the reviews. Originally it was just shows, parties, and some shopping pieces; now there’s street style, fashion news, and in-depth interviews with designers.

What’s stayed consistent?

We’ve always stayed true to fashion as obsession. A lot of our competitors see fashion as a subsection of celebrity, or lifestyle, or women’s interests. For us, it’s the main event.

When did you feel like style.com was a success?

At the beginning, some designers didn’t want to be on our site.

They worried their clothes would get copied. There was definitely a shift five or six years ago—we started hearing, “Please, can we have our show on your site?” instead.

You were an early champion of street style photography.

I kept telling my team we needed someone as good as Scott Schuman. Eventually someone said, “Why don’t we ask Scott?”

So we did. At the time it was unheard of for a “mainstream” site to work with a blogger. The rest is street style history.

Is the street style moment over?

I keep thinking it’s peaked, and I know there’s a backlash, but the numbers just grow every season. Tommy Ton does most of our street style photography, and he has such a unique eye. We’ve been trying to branch out and look at different scenes, like our successful college campuses series.

Was the seven-issue run of Style.com/Print what you wanted it to be?

The magazine happened when we became part of Fairchild, which has a history and expertise in making magazines. It made a lot of sense to extend the brand into print. The first issue had a lot of energy, but it definitely took until the fourth issue to really hit our stride. I’m pleased with what we did. There are still stories I’m very proud of, I guess.

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

Like what?

We were one of the first to put Cara [Delevingne] on the cover.

We did a 20-page shoot on Hood by Air—I don’t think many other U.S. magazines would do that. We did an amazing shoot with Alasdair McLellan at Christopher Kane’s high school. By the end, I think it was the third-best fashion magazine in the world. But if you’re not gonna be No. 1, then…

Wow, third-best magazine in the world? After which titles?

Well, I have my own list, but I'll keep that to myself.

How did it do on newsstands?

Our magazine was a European, indie, niche model. It was less about the newsstand and more about an obsessive group of subscribers. It went out to about 100,000 people; there were only 25,000 copies on newsstands. It was definitely a different model from most Condé Nast magazines—it made more sense within the Fairchild framework.

Were you disappointed when it got axed in December?

It was a lot of fun, but a huge amount of work, with basically the same team that does the website. We wondered if it was better to put energy into the digital part of style.com, and so far, that’s really been paying off.

There have been management shifts since you left the Fairchild umbrella.

Yeah, look, Anna Wintour is now my boss, and she’s been incredibly supportive and really interested in helping style.com grow. I think it’s good to have Anna in your corner.

Do you chat frequently?

We have regular conversations. Right now, she’s interested in the overall strategic vision. But she oversees 20 brands; she’s interested in us as much as in everyone else.

What was your relationship like with Anna before she became your boss?

We’ve always gotten on very well. Style.com was Vogue’s online hub several years ago, so obviously I knew Anna professionally from then.

Let’s discuss last year’s digital redesign.

It had been five or six years since the previous redesign, which is forever on the Internet. It was overdue. The way information was presented to users was very static, and these days people view online as an endless, seamless scroll of content. Our team’s dedication is incredible, and “fashion first” has always been a style. com mantra. So we try to get shows online as soon as possible— it’s a lot of tech work and human perspiration.

Thoughts on the fashion reviewing landscape these days?

Reviews are not as important as they used to be, but more people are probably reading them now than ever before. Digital media makes it more accessible, and there’s a generation that’s grown up viewing fashion as entertainment.

Do you read all the critics?

I read a few critics nowadays; a few years ago I used to read everyone. But there are obviously people I pay attention to, like Cathy Horyn. Her voice was very missed last season, and she keeps us on our toes.

What’s it like being a guy in fashion…who doesn’t work for a men’s book?

“People used to wake up and read the Bible. Now they wake up and go to style.com.

I’m not a computer guy, I don’t have an e-mail address, but style.com is one of the reasons I felt I had to learn to use the iPad. Dirk is a really special, different man.

He’s down-to-earth. And he’s very loyal—if you called him, he’d call you back. Sometimes I think he is such an outsider, but that gives him a better perspective; it’s such a huge advantage. The interviews he’s done with me have been so profound, deep, and intelligent.”

—Alber Elbaz “Dirk is a trailblazer.

He has a great eye for new trends and emerging talent, and he has created the gold-standard for fashion journalism in the digital age with his work on style.com.”

—Riccardo Tisci “Dirk has always been innovative in his approach and technical skill, and the content on style.com is forever changing and inspiring. His approach has inspired so many other websites around the world.”

—Christopher Kane

“

I don’t think anyone can afford to feel ahead of the game in the digital space.

Everyone is playing catch-up all the time.”

Standen at Tijuana Picnic on the Lower East Side

I’m not as alone as you might think! There’s Fabien [Baron] at Interview, Olivier [Zahm] at Purple, Jefferson [Hack] at Dazed & Confused, Joerg [Koch] at O32C… I have a different perspective.

It’s less, “Oh, I love look 19 from this particular show.” As a man, I can see the overall mood of a collection, and the way that fashion is moving.

Do you get jazzed at all about men’s fashion?

I’ll probably get in trouble for saying this, because I loved going to men’s shows when I was at men.style.com, but there isn’t the same energy on the men’s side. Everybody says it’s so collegial, pleasant, and not as high-stakes compared to the women’s shows and that there isn’t as much pressure. But that’s what I don’t like about the men’s shows; they don’t feel as exciting. Interesting things in men’s fashion tend to come from streetwear, not the runways.

Could you ever see yourself editing a men’s publication again?

After what I just said, I’ve probably cut myself out of the running. [Laughs] Absolutely.

Who are your fashion buddies?

In fashion, some people belong to the day and others belong to the night—I guess I dip into both worlds. At parties, I’ll see buddies like Paul Sevigny and Olivier Zahm. I adore Carla Sozzani, and I love Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele.

How numbers obsessed are you?

Obviously, I check the numbers every day. Now you can track how stories are doing on a minuteby-minute basis. I try not to get too obsessed, but I’m always looking at the numbers. Style.com has an incredible level of engagement—people spend an average of 13 minutes on the site. But if the numbers go down one day, it puts me in a bad mood.

Do you ever fully unplug?

Let’s just say my wife hasn’t destroyed my devices on vacation yet, but she’s come close a few times! I need to get better at switching it off, like everyone. You can guarantee the moment you go on vacation, something will blow up.

Is your son interested in fashion?

He’s 18 and he wears things like Supreme, APC, and Carhartt; he spends time in vintage stores.

But he claims he’s not interested in fashion!

What do you think about the future of print?

That’s a loaded question for someone who works for a company with such an illustrious history in print! The future is digital, so any media publishing company’s main offerings will eventually have to be digital.

Do you feel ahead of the game?

Style.com was really lucky to be in the right place at the right time, but so many new ways of presenting content spring up all the time. I don’t think anyone can afford to feel ahead of the game in the digital space. Everyone is playing catch-up all the time.

What does your closet look like?

It’s fairly minimal: a lot of navy jackets and dark denim jeans. It’s like how architects who build supermodern buildings all seem to live in prewar buildings themselves.

You’ve spent 10 years in this role. That’s awhile!

Fashion is dynamic and the Internet is dynamic, which is a very seductive combination. If I were just doing fashion at a magazine I might be bored. If I worked on boring subject matter at an Internet startup, even if it was insanely popular, I’d kind of be bored there, too. b fanyc . c o m ( 2 ) ; G E T T Y I M A G E S

TECH Support

Digitally Remastered

The future of online media might mystify most media executives, but Troy Young, president of digital at Hearst Magazines, has it all figured out. Since joining in May 2013 from Say Media, the techy Canuck has shaken up the status quo: tripling traffic (at Cosmo), 86ing oldschool office floor plans, and much more.

BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

What was your vision when you arrived at Hearst?

I wanted to build consumers’ intimacy with our brands on the digital platform.

There’s always an interplay between distribution and content, and right now there’s intense change on the distribution side. If you like change, that’s really exciting.

What kinds of hires and management shuffles are you doing?

We streamlined all the editorial teams to report to Kate Lewis. She spent a long time in the print world, she understands great content, she’s a really fast thinker, and she spent a long time in talent acquisition in Condé Nast, so she knows talent. We also created a central news team that does the fastest stuff around, so we don’t have to write the same stories nine times on our sites. We try to be as ambitious as we can.

We have traffic goals across all of our publications. And Hearst wouldn’t be Hearst without ambitious financial goals. Also, we changed the environment.

So we’ve heard.

We made people sit together, on several floors, and we also created a separate newsroom space next door to the Hearst Tower, Club Cosmo. I wanted to strongly connect technology, product, design, editorial, audience development, and sales.

The editorial teams needed space to do news things, so in many cases, we pulled them off the print floors. The pace is so different.

What kind of boss are you?

A work in progress. I’m really, really hard on myself. I get deeply satisfied watching people achieve things. Sometimes I’m really impatient and a little erratic, but I’m just a passionate person. So I put a lot of pressure on people.

You seem to have staffed up a lot.

We had to raise the next generation of amazing editors. We needed modern media hacker types who live and die by data, understand social distribution, and live in the moment. I’m always looking for insightful, passionate, and impatient people. You know them when you meet them. They’re unicorns.

What else has changed?

I kind of outlawed offices; they’re now collaboration rooms. Nobody gets an office at any level, including me. We have to detach status from space. Historically, an office was aligned with achievement. That’s not useful.

Has anyone been mad about that?

People just don’t care anymore. But it’s not that way everywhere in the building.

Why have online teams for mags like ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar sit together?

That’s very unconventional, because historically they’re very competitive! By putting them together, they’re playing by the same rules, and I hope they collaborate more.

Besides staffing, how have you changed how things are done digitally?

First, we got the basics right. We’re a large media company, but brand startups were doing things better than us. We’d spend 18 months re-creating one site; we had to simplify! So we built everything off a common platform. We started with Cosmo— it’s large, it’s in so many countries, and it fits the Internet well, because it’s funny, sexy, and targets a millennial female. We got the platform right, tripled Cosmo’s audience from eight or nine million uniques when Amy Odell started to 30 million uniques last month. Now we’re applying those learnings across all our brands.

Harper’s Bazaar has gone from under a million to over 3 million in ComScore, and ELLE has grown a tremendous amount, too. Our mantra is “months to moment.”

Comment?

Monthly magazines are a monthly, reflective, curatorial creation process. Weeklies are more responsive to what’s going on in the world, while daily newspapers might have 100 stories a day—all meeting up on a young woman’s phone. If you want to be relevant, you have to get really good at digital. You have to compete around news and combine long and short. There’s a different rhythm required; we evolved the talent we had, and freed them of monthly cycle thinking.

You’re big on sharing content among Hearst sites, too.

Lots of publications curate content. But inside this company, in the morning, Cosmo U.K. is hours ahead and they’ve already reported on global culture—and I can see all of the data. The Houston Chronicle might report on a woman who has a $2 million closet in her home—it’s an interesting local story, but it also works for Cosmo and Bazaar. We ought to be opportunistic about it. It’s just obvious!

Got any advice for publishing houses not yet on Hearst’s level digitally?

This isn’t about strategy—it’s about execution. How do you blend traditional magazine or newspaper culture with a modern, product technology-driven platform culture? How do you change the nature of journalists so they thrive in a modern environment? Those are executional issues. My advice? Figure that out.

A L L P H O T O S co u r t e sy

PHOTO BY CLINT SPAULDING FOR PATRICKMCMULLAN.COM DESIGN BY ERENE SEMANDERES AT MARC JACOBS SPRING 2015 SHOW FEATURING BAO BAO HANDBAG BY ISSEY MIYAKE

LONDON Calling The Telegraph was hit with a massive round of layoffs this past October. How were you affected?

We lost a few people from the team, which was awful.

I think it was a classic case of what happens at many publications—the online and print teams grew in parallel. What we’ve done is completely integrate both, so we’re all writing across all platforms. There were some really talented people who were getting stuck in the nooks and crannies of the nether regions of the magazines. Now everyone is very visible, and we’re sitting closer to each other too, so we have conversations hourly. It’s very fruitful. It really wasn’t fun after the firings, but now it’s sort of turned a corner.

Jane Bruton just joined the paper. What will she add?

She’s coming on as the director of lifestyle and deputy editor. And while she’s not specifically coming to fashion, she’ll bring enormous depth and verve to the features. I love the fact that someone who knows how the fashion industry works is going to have such a senior job at the paper. That’s pretty unusual. I have not heard a single bad word about Jane. Everybody thinks she’s not only a really nice person, and ballsy, but she’s good at what she does.

How would you describe the Telegraph’s fashion voice?

We have quite a broad voice, because we’re a big team of 12 people. We produce content across digital, the daily paper, Telegraph Magazine, The Sunday Telegraph, our Sunday magazine called Stella, the Telegraph Luxury, as well as extra fashion supplements.

We joke about it because sometimes when we’re doing the Oscars or the BAFTAs, the online team will select their hits and misses and then the print team will do it, and we’re almost diametrically opposite in our choices.

Does your tone change when you’re writing for print versus online?

When I write for online, I try to write for someone who has quite an informed take on fashion. But when I’m writing for the news pages in the paper, I think of a very general reader; a businessman or woman who might not read fashion copy. Because I don’t come from a particularly fashion background, I’m constantly amused and perplexed by this business, and I can come at it from a reader’s point of view. I try to keep one foot in and one foot out of the fashion hole.

As fashion director, what do you cover?

I write several columns a week for the paper; they’re

all different. One might be business led, one might be a profile on a big designer, and another one might be a serious state-of-the-fashion-nation piece. I also have a luxury column where I’m writing for people who love nothing more than a crocodile handbag that costs 30,000 pounds.

But there are other pages I do for readers who are much more budgetconscious.

Which London designers do you deem talented these days?

I’m really keen to see how Marques’Almeida progresses. I’m also really fascinated by Christopher Kane’s evolution, because it’s new for London to have designers who can turn themselves into proper businesses. With the backing of Kering, he really could do something global.

Erdem’s show is a must-see on the calendar, and I absolutely love what Simone Rocha is doing.

What bores you?

The degree of control that some brands have. They all talk about freedom of the press and how much they love it when you’re being quite critical of another brand. But if you do it about them, they hate it, and some of them ban you. If they continue to try and suppress that, no fashion writer is going to have any credibility and the industry as a whole is going to lose credibility.

Have you ever been banned from a show before?

Yeah, sure.

By whom?

I would prefer not to disclose, because certain bans are ongoing, but I’m happy to say I’ve been banned.

I think it’s a badge of honor, quite frankly. I think it would be depressing if you never got banned, because it means you were just writing press releases.

Do you ever feel guilty of being critical?

No, that’s my job. I’m never destructively critical, and I never make a cheap point. You have to be really aware

The Telegraph’s

Strong Arm Lisa Armstrong serves as the resounding voice of reason over the London fashion realm, which she surveys from her perch as fashion director at The Daily Telegraph. So does she like what she’s seeing?

BY DENA SILVER

of the blood, sweat, and tears that go into shows.

How did you approach critiquing John Galliano’s debut at Maison Margiela?

That was a really difficult show to cover, because it just doesn’t make sense for a newspaper to go in and start trilling about bias cutting and chiffon without putting the whole ordeal into context. It was hard because one wanted to be very fair. Looking back at the reviews that the Brits wrote, I feel that we were a bit soft on him, because we were trying so hard to be fair.

What are you looking forward to seeing from the Fall collections?

I’m hopeful for this year, because I feel that last season’s Winter collections were quite dull.

Why does the U.S. keep importing British editors?

I don’t know, but I love it, because it’s great for the British. I think it’s partly because there are a lot of Brits in positions of power, like Glenda [Bailey], Anna [Wintour], and Joanna [Coles].

There’s another journalist named Lisa Armstrong who writes about humanitarian issues. Do you ever get e-mails intended for her?

I think she might even be a Pulitzer Prize winner, but it’s quite nice to have someone doing humanitarian pieces in my name. There’s also a makeup artist in the U.K. who’s married to a very famous TV presenter whose name is Lisa Armstrong. I sometimes get letters intended for her, asking for makeup advice. And years ago, when I was in New York, there was another fashion editor named Lisa Armstrong. It’s such a common name!

A L L P H O T O S c ou r t e s y

stART-up culture

The New

Order

At the ripe old age of 22, Dorian Grinspan created his biannual fashion and art magazine, Out of Order.

Now that he’s graduated from Yale, the Paris-born EIC hangs out at Sant Ambroeus in Soho and pals around with Carine Roitfeld, Larry Clark, and Marina Abramovic. Isn’t it time you met? BY PETER DAVIS PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO A lot of people would say you’re cuckoo to start a print magazine these days.

It didn’t start as a business—it was more of a passion project. There was no pressure when I started, so no one was expecting anything. Then it built up into this thing that took on a life of its own. Now it’s a challenge, because I have to make it an actual business.

Because of your age, did people take you seriously at first?

There are more pros than cons. The cons would be that you have no experience, and people don’t know you, so it takes longer to get in touch with PRs—you have to build relationships from the ground up. The pros are that I didn’t have any baggage.

Out of Order—or OOO, as the cool kids call it—has major ads. We heard you sell them yourself?

I used to hate it, but I kind of enjoy it more. At the end of the day, it’s as important as working with the artists, because that’s what’s going to pay the bills. Once you come to terms with it, it’s exciting because you have to find new ways to sell your product. You figure out the best ways for two brands to synergize, and that’s really exciting. For example, we did a collaboration with Prabal Gurung where he asked him to curate a series of photos and textiles from Nepal.

How do you convince artists like Larry Clark to contribute?

Every artist we’ve had on the cover, I’ve cold-e-mailed. I do that on a daily basis.

We give artists the opportunity for freedom—to do whatever they want with as many pages as they need. That’s very rare in the publishing world. Our third cover featured a naked Marina Abramovic. Matthew Barney put a huge dick in gold leaf on a double spread. We’ve done a bunch of weird stuff that people wouldn’t typically publish, but people expect that of us, and our advertisers won’t be hurt by it. If they advertise in the book, it’s because they know what the book is about.

You interned for the legend that is Carine Roitfeld when she launched CR Fashion Book. Chic!

It was before the second issue, while I was at Yale. I had never interned in my life, and I had never worked in fashion. I had heard about Carine wanting to start a new magazine, and it was super exciting to be part of a project from the ground up. I was only there for three months. She is quite a character and really nice.

She really respects the people she works with. The circumstances in which we met were kind of funny: I was at her amfAR party in Cannes. I had never met her before, so I went up and said, “Hi, I’m your new intern.” She was kind of taken aback, but she thought it was funny. So when I got to the office, she was like, “Oh, you’re the drunk guy who came up to me.”

You must have been a smarty-pants to get into Yale. What did you study?

I was a good student. I didn’t have many friends in middle school, which was sort of an awkward phase for me, so I would spend a lot of time studying. Thank God I did, because when I got to senior year I wasn’t doing much of that anymore! I studied history at Yale, and majored in American studies. My thesis was about Larry Clark.

And you were born in Paris?

I lived there until I was 18 and went to Yale. I started OOO in 2012, but it had many iterations before it became what it is today. I gave copies of the first issue to Colette and Opening Ceremony to give out for free. The second issue is the one where Larry Clark came in, and we got a lot of press around it.

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

“

It didn’t start as a business—it was more of a passion project.”

You hang out with all the cool people all around the globe. Is your family in fashion or publishing?

My dad is a lawyer. My godmother is the editor in chief of Numéro, Babette [Dijan]. When I’m in Paris, we go to shows together, so that’s really nice.

You live in New York now. Do you miss Paris?

New York is much more home than Paris now. I go to L.A. a lot too, and I love it there, but I don’t know if I could live there.

Did you want to be a magazine editor when you were a kid?

I actually wanted to be an actor—I did so much theater—but my parents wouldn’t let me. They said I had to study. Like any kid, I wanted to be a fireman at one point. I really loved tornadoes, and I wanted to be a tornado chaser for a while.

But if I didn’t start a magazine, I would have probably ended up in investment banking or something boring like that, making a lot more money.

Stick with magazines. Would you ever sell OOO if Condé Nast or Hearst came knocking?

I’ve thought about it, but I don’t think so. I don’t know if I could work for another magazine, either. With OOO, I am pretty much involved with everything. I have final word on all the photographers, stylists, writers, and artists. I do whatever I want, and we have a great amount of fun. all ph o t o s C O U R T E S Y

SHERRI HILL

JOB Report

Talent

Decoders Trying to wedge your way into Midtown’s toniest glossies? You’ve probably courted Time Inc.’s Bucky Keady and Hearst’s Eliot Kaplan.

Here’s the full download on what kicks your résumé to the top of the pile and what will kick you out of the running.

BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

BUCKY KEADY, TIME INC.’S VP OF TALENT MANAGEMENT What’s your backstory?

I did HR at Smith Barney for six and a half years. Fashion has always been kind of my thing—I was noncorporate but still appropriate. One random day, I got a call from a headhunter who said, “There’s an opening in HR at Condé Nast, and I heard you dress well.” I took an interview and was offered a job the same day. I was at Condé Nast for five years, took five years off to have children, went back for five years, then Time Inc. came calling.

What’s your recruitment strategy?

Since we broke away from Time Warner and went public seven months ago, our approach to talent has changed dramatically. We’re going from a traditional media company to launching new businesses that don’t necessarily have hard content components, like tech or e-commerce plays. We look for talent in more nontraditional places than we have in the past.

How so?

We’re totally reinventing our technology team, so we go to Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo, and startups. I now use social media constantly to look for talent. I’ve made four hires off of Instagram. They found me!

Also, if I see people doing really cool stuff on Instagram—often beauty and fashion stylists—I’ll call them. I recently ran across an amazing catalog, and then checked out who styled it and who laid it out.

How many interviews are usually on your docket?

Three or four a day. My team focuses on junior and mid-level hires, and I focus on executives. I don’t just hire for editorial, I do sales, marketing, technology…

How do you just know that you absolutely have to hire someone?

When it doesn’t feel like an interview! When it’s a fluid conversation.

Once I’ve checked that they have the necessary tools, I look for a cultural fit and chemistry fit.

What shows you a candidate will jive with Time Inc.’s culture?

They should be very scrappy, entrepreneurial, extremely smart, and driven to take chances. We don’t want people who say, “Gee, I miss the old Time Inc. I heard you used to do it this way…” If I had an ejector button on that chair, that’s when I’d hit eject.

Is it difficult to bring people to the company during this transitional time?

Definitely, but I’ve been doing this long enough that very few people say no to an interview. You’ll read in the media that Time Inc. laid off so many people. But there’s reorganization, acquisition, new businesses—that’s where lots of really intense hiring is going on. I get asked, “How solid is the company? I’m hearing this; how accurate is that?” Sometimes I’ll offer up that information, in a positive way— because there’s nothing negative to tell right now—if the candidate is a really strong possibility.

Let’s discuss résumés.

Well, I hate B.S. résumés, where somebody goes into too much detail.

I’m all about short, sweet, bullet points: what were the revenues, how many people did you work with, what did you accomplish.

Which roles are the hardest to fill?

Editors in chief! They’re now mini-CEOs, involved in acquisitions, brand extensions, e-commerce plays. Also, senior designers are hard to come by. There are amazing creative directors out there, but I worry that there aren’t enough bubbling up from the junior level.

Do you have a running list of dream hires?

Yes, but I can’t reveal that or I’d have to kill you! [Laughs] Are you kidding? I’m always setting new goals for myself.

How long are your interviews?

For more senior-level positions, it could be an hour, an hour and a half; I’ve even done two-hour interviews. It might be several long interviews. My best hires are the people I’ve kept in touch with for years and then call when something juicy comes along.

How do you feel about late interviewees?

Not cool. If there’s a subway problem, everyone understands, but there really is not an acceptable [time] window. I tell my kids to leave the house a half-hour earlier, even if it means sitting in the coffee shop across the street.

Which titles are hardest to hire for?

Fashion titles. You have to have the full package. You’re out socializing and representing a brand, so there’s a big PR play. But don’t forget, I cut my teeth on Vogue!

ELIOT KAPLAN, HEARST’S VP OF TALENT ACQUISITION Tell us about your pre-recruiting days.

I was editor in chief of Philadelphia for seven or eight years, and I was the No. 2 editor at GQ under Art Cooper for eight years before that. I also worked at Family Weekly and USA Weekend, and I got my master’s in journalism at Northwestern.

How did you end up in talent acquisition?

As an editor, I realized how hard and time-consuming it is to find people. What do editors do? They call up their editor friends and say, “Who do you know? Who’s available? Who’s good?” I realized I could make a living doing that full-time.

What’s your interview load like?

Over my 16 years here, I’ve done about 5,500 interviews.

You mostly recruit for high-level positions, right?

I’m doing the top-tier, six-figure kind of jobs. Other recruiters work with me on more junior jobs. A separate group does digital jobs.

Any crazy ways you’ve made a hire?

My beach house got hit by lightning so I called a house inspector— his secretary saw Hearst Magazines come up, and she said, “My God! My son’s girlfriend is looking for a job at Hearst.” I interviewed her, and she became Kate White’s assistant.

So you actually look at résumés submitted online?

Yeah, but it may be quickly.

How long are your interviews?

Half an hour, usually. I’m probably a little on the quick side. My interviews have been described as one-third first date, one-third shrink session, one-third deposition.

Do you ever receive gifts from interviewees?

I’ll get an occasional bottle of wine or flowers when I hire someone, but I don’t like gifts from candidates.

How about the thank-you note in print versus e-mailed?

Either is okay with me, but some editors want a snail-mailed thank-you card with perfect handwriting. We have one editor here who thinks they’re the dumbest things in the world, since we communicate by e-mail so much today. It is important for a thankyou note, especially at a junior level, to advance the conversation a bit. It could be something like, “I thought more about what you asked me” or “Here’s another clip.” You’ve got me for three more seconds—take advantage of it.

Do all candidates have to go through you before the hiring editor?

No, my job is to fill the job—if they can fill it without me, great. If an editor wants me to see a candidate, I’m happy to.

How often do you do informational interviews?

I hate that term! You’re interviewing for a job, whether you know it or not.

What kinds of roles are trickiest to fill?

Good art directors are so hard to find. I was looking for eight art directors for different magazines six months ago. I was going a little bit insane! It took a while, but we solved it.

What kinds of quirky résumés and clips have you seen?

People from Australia tend to have four-page résumés with their picture and birthday on it, which struck me as unusual at first!

But your résumé should tell a story. What are you trying to say in the three seconds I look at this thing? I want to see logical career progression, or at least some kind of explanation for detours.

Is Hearst big on promoting internally?

We move people from one magazine to another a lot. We can keep them here longer if they move from title to title. I take an active role in doing that. Years ago, some editors were squirrelly about it, but now they know they lose and they gain.

What are the best questions you get in interviews?

Asking how their success will be measured; why this job has been open so long; why is this job turned over; what the career path is at a particular magazine.

What else peeves you in an interview?

It’s a very bad sign when people can’t answer one thing they liked in the newest issue. I’m shocked that there are still people who can’t fake their way through that question.

Which Hearst title could you see yourself editing?

I don’t want to be an editor at any magazine—I’ve done that already!

That’s a very, very hard job, and I’m very happy doing what I do.

“

My interviews have been described as one-third first date, one-third shrink session, onethird deposition.”

CHIC Historique

Lacoste’s

Leading Man Swooning over Lacoste’s stylish collections? It’s Felipe Oliveira Baptista’s fault! His uncanny ability to tap into the brand’s rich heritage and reinvent it has brought the chic sportif French label to new heights. Plus! Did you know he keeps an alligator skeleton at home? For good luck! BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV

You joined Lacoste five years ago?

Yes, and it’s been quite a journey. Joining a brand that’s so iconic and making it relevant for today is such a challenge.

The brand is expanding and becoming more urban. It’s about clothing you can wear on a daily basis for an easy, active lifestyle.

What’s on tap for Fall 2015?

It’s winter tennis-inspired: big cable knits and 1930s long coats mixed with a 1970s tennis feel and a bit of The Royal Tenenbaums. We’ve looked at tennis [in collections] before, but funnily enough, it was always for the summer season.

There’s an iconic color story, plus the technical, innovative features we’ve been developing for a few years: bonded garments and reversible pieces, for example.

How have you toyed around with Lacoste’s signature piqué polo?

We’ve done silk, nylon-cotton, leather bonded with jersey, and wool jersey piqué blends in past seasons— we’ve done lots of variations. When a brand owns such an iconic piece of clothing, it’s my job to keep it, but to always innovate. That’s what René Lacoste was all about.

Lacoste feels incredibly French, down to the casting. You’re not French, though…

Well, I’ve lived in France for 15 years, and my wife is French, so that helps! [Laughs] I’m deep in the culture. When I joined Lacoste in 2010, it was something I already knew from front to back.

Lacoste is very French, but it’s very European, too.

Are there any collabs in the pipeline?

We’re working on two very exciting collaborations, but they’re not official yet. It’s such a fascinating dialogue to work with creative people who aren’t in fashion. One project will be out in July, and the other project is for 2016. One of the collaborations is all about innovation in materials. It’s quite interesting.

Do you get involved with Lacoste’s ad campaigns?

I work closely with the marketing team and advertising agency.

I have input about the choice of photographer and models, and I’m on most of the shoots. It’s a nice part of the process—like the last chapter when building a collection. It’s a really rich exchange.

Did you wear lots of Lacoste before becoming creative director?

I did! I had a few polos, and now I have many more. I got my first Lacoste polo when I was 8 years old. It’s definitely something I grew up with. It was familiar and emotional to pick up a job like this.

Do your kids don alligator-emblazoned threads?

Yes, they do! They’re very attached to the brand.

How widely are your runway collections distributed in Lacoste stores?

The runway collection is in a small selection of our stores—60 to 100 shops worldwide—and at a slightly higher price point. There’s more innovation in the choice of materials and construction in the runway pieces; it works as a sort of lab for the rest of our line.

What are some highlights of your Lacoste collections so far?

I liked my first collection [at Lacoste] very much—the excitement of doing things for the first time and seeing the response. The 80th anniversary collection [Spring 2013], with mini-racquet prints, was quite fun. Spring 2015 was one of my favorites as well.

Why did you halt your eponymous collection last year?

I put my line on hold after doing it for 10 years. It was a great project. It was actually very exciting to do both [Lacoste and a namesake line] at the same time. They’d feed off each other because of their differences. But it was becoming complicated to do both, so

I decided to give it a rest for a while. I’d definitely do something again or in another form. There are lots of things I’d like to explore that I haven’t done before.

Do you want to dabble in couture again at some point?

Yes, for sure. With couture, it’s all about craftsmanship—anything is possible!

Lacoste has such deep tennis roots. Do you hit the courts?

Ha, no! Not at all. I’ve played a little bit but just as a joke among friends. I get lucky enough to see the French Open live; I always see the semi-finals and finals. I’ve gone through all of Lacoste’s archives, and I’ve looked at the history and evolution of tennis clothing— as a case study, not a sport that I play.

Athleisure is so haute these days; Lacoste has always been doing that, non?

It’s a great time for the brand! Never before has there been such a fusion among sports, fashion, and luxury.

Do you go back to your native turf of Portugal much?

All the time! It’s just a two-hour flight from Paris. I go four or five times a year for long weekends. I have lots of friends and family there, and it’s important for my kids to know the

“

When a brand owns such an iconic piece of clothing, it’s my job to keep it, but to always innovate.”

language. My friends from high school are mostly doing artistic things now, but they’re mainly architects and artists—I don’t know many people in fashion in Lisbon. I kind of like that when I’m there, I can forget about fashion.

What are your haunts when you’re in town for NYFW? I always stay at the Bowery Hotel, and I try to check out whatever exhibitions are going on at museums as well as galleries in Chelsea. I also do a bit of shopping at secondhand stores. I like to come a few days before we start working on the show to do a bit of research—for the next season. My research always starts in New York, actually.

How do you unwind après-show?

I like to get a massage near my hotel, and I try to have a few hours of no people and no noise at all.

Given Lacoste’s signature embroidered gator, how do you feel about the reptiles?

I used to be quite afraid of them as a kid, but I’ve grown fond of them over time. The day before I started working at Lacoste, I bought a skeleton of an alligator’s head as a lucky charm!

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY

marketing watch

The

Image Innovator Susan Duffy, the CMO of Stuart Weitzman, has spent almost four years taking the storied shoe brand’s image from comfortable, wellmade classics to chic must-haves that stylish women of every generation covet.

BY PAIGE REDDINGER

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

Did you always know that you wanted to be in marketing?

Actually, growing up I wanted to be a pediatrician.

Talk about a total change!

What was your first job in the industry?

I was working for Revlon on a brand called Formula II cosmetics that no longer exists. I went to Smith College, and I was hired by a woman there who had also graduated from Smith, but I failed the writing test initially. In those days, you had to be able to type 55 words a minute and I think I could only type 50.

But I have to thank her, because she had the vision to hire me regardless.

You spent 17 years at Chanel. How does that experience inform what you do now?

Chanel is really known for its consistency across all channels, and they are completely focused on highend luxury. I like to say that I went to the University of Chanel because of that experience. Everything you do, every single day is about consistency and a message. There are no degrees of separation in the core messaging, and that’s really what I’m bringing to Stuart Weitzman.

What enticed you to work at Stuart Weitzman?

This is a dream job. I actually hit the trifecta: I get to work with Stuart and our CEO Wayne Kulkin, who has been with Stuart for 24 years, and thirdly, I now have an incredible wardrobe of shoes. But what’s inspiring on a day-to-day basis is that this company is still very much entrepreneurial in its approach to doing business. It’s a 29-yearyoung business, and Stuart has been profitable every single one of those years, except during the recession in 2008.

What was your initial goal as CMO? Ultimately, the goal was to be a coveted brand appealing to the next generation, so we needed a communications strategy that could live globally and across all touch points. It was about moving the perception of the company from that of being a great shoemaker and vendor to an international and desired name in the luxury retail marketplace.

When I came on, Stuart Weitzman had a history of quality products with functionality and craftsmanship so he had a unique story, but at that point he wasn’t a brand that had bragging rights. Stuart Weitzman, the man and the brand, was known as a shoemaker and a wholesale vendor. As a starting point, that was really great, because he was commercially successful and profitable. There was opportunity to elevate the brand image and how people perceive the brand.

How did you manage to infuse the brand with a younger, trendier appeal?

In terms of the marketplace, we live in a white space.

We like to call it entry price point to luxury. What Stuart has done so brilliantly is to combine function and fashion. It goes back to our core DNA. The shoe, in Stuart’s opinion, must feel as good as it looks and look as good as it feels. There are very few people who can do this, and Stuart is brilliant this way. He literally touches every single style that we produce.

Ultimately, our goal is to make every woman smile, and you won’t be smiling if your feet hurt.

Why did you bring in Mario Testino to work on the campaign?

We needed a distinctive visual vocabulary that was multigenerational in its appeal. We began our brand journey with Mario Testino because he’s a renowned portrait photographer, and ever since the brand’s

first shoot with him in 2011, he has articulated that Stuart Weitzman is the first thing you put on in the morning and the last thing you take off at night.

Did the brand notice immediate results?

We did, and it wasn’t that we set out to necessarily just target solely a younger audience; we wanted to open up the point of access to them. But after the first several seasons, we saw immediate changes worldwide in the perception of the brand. Even landlords in retail that wouldn’t have welcomed a Stuart Weitzman retail store were now knocking at our door.

Gisele is the face of your Spring campaign. How does she embody the Stuart Weitzman woman?

When you look at the Spring campaign, you look into Gisele’s eyes and say, “Wow, she’s gorgeous!” but then you say, “I want to buy those shoes.” It’s really about the relationship she has with her shoes.

The campaign always captures a woman’s sexiness in a natural and classic, timeless way. Gisele is the perfect Stuart Weitzman woman, because she’s sexy, confident, effortless, and inherently glam.

“

I’ve really learned to trust my gut and take educated risks, because that’s how Stuart has run the company.”

She’s a sophisticated tomboy and a multitasking mom—she’s the quintessential girl next door who has basically married the prom king. We’ve entered the age of “Giselegance.” She’s not just the new face of the campaign, she’s also the new legs of the campaign.

What kind of woman are you marketing to?

I like to say we’re the most democratic of brands, because we have something for everyone. We have 600 styles a season. There is a multigenerational aspect of the brand—no matter what your age, you will feel good and proud to wear our shoes.

For example, Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, and Kylie Jenner have all worn us in the same week.

When has social media been most effective for you?

One recent example was when Gisele wore our Lowland boots to the Super Bowl. That photograph went everywhere, and we saw a huge increase in sales. We actually don’t have an agreement that we pay her to wear the shoes—she is only paid to appear in our campaigns. She just likes those shoes and wore them. It’s always fabulous when that happens.

What are the biggest challenges you face?

It’s the sheer number of channels that we are communicating in, the number countries we are doing business in, all the different cultures we have to be sensitive to, and the fact that we are all working 24/7 these days. It’s increasingly important to be part of the conversation in every single sphere.

Do you believe in traditional focus groups?

We certainly don’t make decisions in a vacuum, but that being said, we don’t use traditional market testing or paid market research. At the end of the day, I believe that it’s about more of an intuitive perspective on the business, and I always go with my gut approach. We have a unique focus group in general, though, because we are able to observe wholesale trends and we have editors in and out every single day. We also work with celebrity stylists on a worldwide basis, so we’re able to see what’s trending and ultimately make an informed decision.

Factoring in social media, are events increasingly important to brands?

The “Rock Roll Ride” video we launched during Paris Fashion Week was a proud moment for us as a company, because here we had Stuart Weitzman, an American designer, who literally had the best showing of Paris Fashion Week. We had a stellar group of “It” girls—Miranda Kerr, Ciara, Cara Delevingne, Dylan Penn, and Poppy Delevingne, who starred in the video directed by Julia Restoin Roitfeld.

It really spoke volumes about where the brand has come in just three short years.

You recently won Footwear News’ CMO of the Year Award. How did it feel?

I picked up the honor on behalf of Stuart and our incredible team. I have the best in the business here. I grew up playing a lot of team sports. In high school, I was voted Best Female Athlete, and I actually feel that really comes into play when successfully navigating an entrepreneurial company and being able to move the needle forward. We are team Stuart.

What have you learned from Stuart?

I’ve really learned to trust my gut and take educated risks, because that’s how Stuart has run the company.

When I was interviewing with Stuart, I was really struck by his passion and his dedication to the business.

Do you have a favorite pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes?

That’s like choosing a favorite child! This season, I’m really loving the Hijack and the Highland. But oddly enough, I still love running barefoot on the beach. a l l p hotos co u r t e sy

ICON Moment

max appeal

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Hervé Léger, so what better time to catch up with Max Azria, designer, chairman, and CEO of the BCBG MaxAzria Group, who brought the brand to worldwide fame?

Congratulations on celebrating the 30th anniversary of Hervé Léger. What inspired you to buy the brand?

Successful businesses are those that think on a global scale. In terms of the fashion industry, Europe has always been one of the leading markets. With the acquisition of Hervé Léger in 1998, I laid the foundation for the creation of a base in Europe as well as the United States. I was able to create a new synergy between these powerful markets.

What have been some of the highlights since you’ve started working with the brand?

I have an amazing life— this journey has been an BCBG MaxAzria incredible experience, and I Spring 2015 have enjoyed every minute.

Our first Hervé Léger show in February 2008 was incredible.

Lubov [Azria] and I were not sure if we were going to be able to pull it off; working on a couture brand for the first time, following eight years in development, was an incredible challenge. And I will never forget dressing Beyoncé for her “Beyoncé Experience” tour or Emily Blunt for the Golden Globes.

What are your day-to-day activities in the company?

I start my day around 7 a.m. I spend the morning working with Europe, then New York. By 10, I am working with my teams in L.A. I oversee all aspects of the company as the CEO. It’s a big job.

How closely do you and Lubov work together?

I think globally, and Lubov is very detailoriented. I understand the importance of the work she does, and I have so much respect for her.

What’s been the secret to the success of your marriage?

Lubov and I work together with a tremendous level of respect, gratitude, and

fa s h i o n w e e k d a i l y. c o m

“

The reason why I originally chose to live and base my company in L.A. was for the synergy of cinema, music, and fashion that I love.” love. We are each other’s biggest supporters.

Why is your business based in Los Angeles?

The reason why I originally chose to live and base my company in L.A. was for the synergy of cinema, music, and fashion that I love so much. At the center of L.A.’s influence is obviously the celebrity dynamic, which has become so much more important in today’s world. The weather was also an important factor for me. While I grew up in Paris, I was actually born in Tunisia, so the sunny weather reminds me of my youth.

You always have a celeb-packed front row. Why is the Hollywood connection important ?

Paris was the birthplace of Hervé Léger, but the recent resurgence in popularity of the collection originated in Hollywood. They have helped redefine our brand and serve as constant inspiration for our collections, so we want them to see it firsthand coming down the runway.

How does it feel to have BCBG continually kick off NYFW? It’s an honor to kick off the season. I think it has become a tradition that the fashion industry looks forward to.

How do you feel about the shows leaving Lincoln Center?

Change is always good. I’m excited to see where the tents will go next season.

How did it feel to receive our Anniversary Tribute honor at the Fashion Los Angeles Awards?

It was an honor to be included with great talent like Christian Louboutin and Jeremy Scott and to be recognized for our achievements. It was exciting to be a part of it. Our anniversary is a time to reflect on our great accomplishments and celebrate the global brand we built.

LA VIDA LUBOV

As the brand’s chief creative officer, Lubov Azria is instrumental to the look and feel of both BCBG MaxAzria and Hervé Léger.

What was the biggest challenge in rethinking Hervé Léger?

Keeping it authentic. We tried to work with Hervé Léger himself, but that didn’t work out. We hired two other designers to follow in his footsteps, but that didn’t work out, either.

We brought the line back to Los Angeles, and I worked with technicians for about two years to figure out how to make it right. Even today, it takes between three and six months to make one Hervé Léger dress. It’s a true labor of

by Max Azria Spring 2015 love.

What were you like at 30?

Very overwhelmed. I was married with three kids and three stepkids and a full-time job.

I was a mess.

Things are better now?

Yes! I learned how to meditate. f i r st v i e w; c o u r t e sy

#BIZ WITH

STYLE “We prepare our students by constantly adapting our program to meet the needs of employers.

From omni-channel retailing to social media marketing to global product lifecycle management, they’re ready.”

Joshua Williams Chair, Fashion Department

Call 800-446-5400 ext. BFF, visit BerkeleyCollege.edu/Fashion or email info@BerkeleyCollege.edu

Find us @BerkeleyCollege and #BizWithStyle

Berkeley College reserves the right to add, discontinue, or modify its programs and policies at any time.

Modifications subsequent to the original publication of this information may not be reflected here. For the most up-to-date information, please visit BerkeleyCollege.edu. For more information about Berkeley College graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed programs, and other important disclosures, please visit BerkeleyCollege.edu/disclosures.

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DAILY Investigation

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FEATURES EDITOR, LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

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“I really don’t deal with it. Once, an advertiser bought an ad and wanted an [edit] page attached to it. But that was the only demand; the subject and content were up to us, and there was no prior approval or anything dirty like that. So we might not have normally produced the content, but the content we produced had 100 percent editorial integrity—like, no referencing of the product. All of that stuff goes through a pretty rigorous screen because we don’t want to jeopardize ASME nomination status.”

ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR, GENERAL INTEREST WEBSITE “I’ve never dealt with native advertising at all. My former employer [a large publishing house] is so behind that they only started talking about native advertising after I left last year, and my current company has an entirely separate division for it.”

Editors In Crisis: Native Advertising NATION! It’s everywhere, chicettes, but what does it even mean? Before hyperventilating over all this fuss about native advertising, we turned to vous to get the full scoop on what it is and how it’s driving you mad (or not). BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV

DIGITAL EDITOR, MASS-MARKET CONSUMER GLOSSY

SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR, SPECIAL INTEREST MAGAZINE

?

Can you define this stress-inducing thing for us?

Native advertising—or branded content, or sponsored content, whatever you want to call it—is an experiment on the part of advertisers to get face time with consumers. It’s storytelling, but it’s not news: The story is about a brand, rather than a person or

an event.

Are you surprised by how much native advertising you spot these days?

It definitely seems like in the past few months a lot of news organizations that I wouldn’t have expected are running brand content stories. But that’s also how the media machine works: Everyone’s trying to figure out how to stay relevant and make money, so trends catch on quick.

Is the rise of native advertising the death of “real” journalism?

It’s just not a big deal, as long as publications continue to be clear about what’s branded and sponsored. Magazines and newspapers have run ads forever! Right now, it’s just a stab at a new format. Plus, as someone who’s written a few freelance [native advertising] stories, I can comfortably say that any reporting or research I’ve done is just as trustworthy as the work I do for my day job as a reporter and writer.

How are your fellow editor pals handling the demands of native advertising?

In general, there’s some trepidation about how it will work going forward, especially with Condé Nast’s new [“23 Stories of Condé Nast” branded content] program.

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

“In my experience, native advertising is content that has been agreed upon with an advertiser but looks just like any other content we would publish on the site. It’s usually a package of some kind—service guides, things like that. Or it’s something that looks like edit but is really just copy that’s been delivered by the advertiser, and in that case we clearly label it as sponsored content. I haven’t had too much experience with it. But I have created content for native advertising. I’ve assigned and edited stories that were tailored to ideas that an advertiser came up with, and it’s kind of a hassle because there are so many cooks in the kitchen. The advertiser has one idea, the person on the ad side of the publication has another, and then there’s the editor and the writer—and you usually end up with some kind of watered-down, pretty lame story that no one’s too thrilled with but that works for the advertiser. I accept it as a necessary evil because, let’s be honest, we don’t work for free! But it seems counterintuitive. Editors and writers have a much better idea of what their publication’s readers want rather than, say, insert brand here.

So why isn’t the brand buying against story ideas that the magazine/site presents to the brand, rather than just shoving crappy content down the pipeline? I don’t know. It feels like there should be a better system for it.”

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EXECUTIVE EDITOR, LIFESTYLE WEBSITE Native advertising: Discuss!

It’s always been an integral part of our moneymaking structure. It’s basically a way to fund big projects that we’re unable to fund ourselves. The first entry point for me is always, “What do you wish to do next year? What’s your passion project?”

What happens next?

I send a list of huge ideas, our [ad team] sells against those, and then if we have some sort of funding, we’ll do the idea.

For me it’s a way to do the stories I already wanted to do—because someone else is paying for it. The tricky part, of course, comes if there are approvals, guidelines, or things I can’t talk about in the story as a result.

Can that be frustrating?

If anyone else is involved in a story other than you, it’s always going to be frustrating! [Laughs] But you’re often changing things that actually don’t impact the story’s quality. It can still be annoying sometimes, but the piece doesn’t get affected.

So how does it work for you, exactly?

We have a huge team of people working on “native editorial,” advertorials in-house, so it doesn’t fully fall on the editors to do a lot of these stories. Our advertorial team all comes from editorial originally.

It’s not always the same division of labor: Sometimes the integration of advertisements is really heavy [in a story], and sometimes it’s really light.

Do you ever worry that readers can easily spot stuff that’s not straight edit on your site?

I mean, we make it very obvious when we want readers to know. We’re not writing advertisements—we’re doing editorial that’s tied in [to an ad] in some way. The language with which we present that information is always gentler than “This was paid for by,” you know? Also, we would never align an advertiser with a story that has nothing to do with the advertiser. That would be jarring for our readers.

Are you surprised that this has been part of your gig?

I feel pretty good about it! This has happened in less honest ways in publishing, so I always assumed that this would be a part of my job. We’re doing it in a more honest way—and we’re actually getting money for it, which is nice.

How much of your publication’s content involves native advertising?

Less than 10 percent.

Any tips for disgruntled editors?

If it feels annoying, or like a bad fit, or that you’re just trying to make it work, there is something wrong with your sales team. They’re selling something that doesn’t belong in whatever publication you’re working for. When you feel like, “Oh, this is something I would’ve already done!”—that’s when it’s working. Don’t automatically think it’s just a pain in the neck; it’s an opportunity in a lot of cases.

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FASHION NEWS EDITOR, FASHION MAGAZINE

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“When someone from the ad side asks me to help develop a project, I’m happy to oblige—seriously. I appreciate the clarity of the situation. They sell it, I conceptualize and put it together, and provided that the approvals process isn’t psycho, everybody’s happy.

What’s more frustrating is being told to give an advertiser some editorial in a particular issue when it doesn’t make sense for either party. It’s so transparent and shortsighted—why can’t we collaborate on a long-term partnership and come up with a really great program, rather than some meaningless blurb in print? At this point, I think I’d be better off just working for a brand. At least then, I know what my job is. Because working in magazines these days, you have to wonder—do I work mostly for my readers or mostly for my advertisers? One thing is for sure— we rarely have meetings to talk about readers.”

EDITOR IN CHIEF, CULTURE MAGAZINE

Let’s talk about native advertising.

I’ve been super involved with native advertising before we were calling it native advertising! In the digital space, there’s always been a lot of gray area: You create environments that appeal to sponsors. We’ve always been a little more precious about what goes onto the printed page though. In the past few years I’ve become more and more involved with creating advertorials and supplements. My current magazine has never been a commercial product, so we don’t have a lot of that conversation. I’ve actually always enjoyed working on native advertising projects.

You’ve enjoyed it?

It presents a different kind of creative challenge: You’re working with a brand, they have a very special, specific initiative, and you’re tasked with accommodating that. Now, we’re creating editorial packages with advertising support and involvement. I feel like a freak about [enjoying] it—but having come from a digital background, it’s a conversation I’ve had from the beginning. I enjoy working with a certain set of obstacles. It’s like passing a bad store window and thinking, “If I had to wear something in this awful window, what would it be?” How can you make it work? How can I get my audience to engage with the thing that, to me, feels completely transparent, but maybe isn’t?

What’s the downside?

There’s a lot of compromise involved with creating native advertising. There can be a lot of eye-rolling. It’s not necessarily the easiest thing, but I’ve always kind of found it to be a nice break from creating editorial.

Got any advice for native advertising novices?

It’s really about staying true to your audience—that’s why it’s advertorial, not straight advertising. You should create something that’s on-brand and somehow relevant or valuable to your audience while still meeting the sponsor’s needs.

Plus, editors are marketers, and we always have been. We are choosing covers that we know will perform well on newsstands. We are creating and promoting stories that we know will drive traffic to our websites.

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DIGITAL DIRECTOR, MEN’S MAGAZINE

“Native advertising has become so much more prominent now than when I first started working in magazines five years ago, both in terms of digital and print content. As I gained experience and landed more senior positions, I had even more of the native advertising responsibility—burden?—piled on top of normal responsibilities, like running a website, writing articles, and managing a team. For me, the most annoying thing about it is the short deadlines and the fact that you have absolutely no say over the matter. On many occasions I’ve had to stop working on my normal stories in order to complete a deadline for the client ASAP, oftentimes a deadline I was unaware of until just a few hours before it’s due. It’s especially frustrating when, no matter how ‘native’ the ad tries to be, it still stands out in the midst of the rest of your team’s work. Readers aren’t stupid, and they can usually tell what’s an ad and what’s not, even if it’s not explicitly stated. It will be interesting to see whether or not publications can incorporate native ads without losing reader trust and brand integrity all together.”

The Fed-Up Factor

5 4 3 2 1

5: I’m applying for jobs in advertising.

Know anyone at Publicis?

4: The only reason I’m still here is because I have student loans.

3: I can’t remember the good days, so this stuff only marginally annoys me.

2: My mom said I should develop this skill set.

1: I’m thrilled to have a job.

shutterstock

Cathy in The Daily: So many memories!

CHIC Reflections

CATHY, YOU ARE MISSED! Although Cathy Horyn has oodles of far-flung fans, few adore her (quirks and all!) more than her dear Daily.

When the legendary Timesitrix resigned from her critic duties in 2014, the fashion world reacted with a mix of horror and relief. When her byline began to reappear, we studied her words even more intently than before. Here’s hoping that as Horyn blogs for The Cut, she infuses it with the same elegantly sassy prose that made her a star…

JORTS FOREVER! September 12, 2013 Cathy brought back one of her favorite fashion tropes for the Marc Jacobs show.

CATHY ON GIORGIO: AN ABBREVIATED HISTORY

Out of her thousands of pieces for the Times, Horyn has frequently reserved some of her most incisive words for Mr. Armani. A few unforgettable moments: “A sexy Emporio show from Giorgio Armani? For what seems like an eternity of insipidly cute, or just plain lame, collections for his secondary label, Mr. Armani sent out a wonderfully with-it collection on Saturday…”

—March 5, 2001

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

“Giorgio Armani is about the same age as Mr. Lagerfeld, but he doesn’t have the Lagerfeld curiosity and feeling for the times. He tried today, to a storm of ‘Bolero,’ to push his style forward…. Most women do not wear lacy tights or ivory fishnets with hot pants, if they wear hot pants at all.”—March 4, 2003

“If Ms. Prada managed to steer clear of the summertime clichés, Mr. Armani plowed right into them….

The models wore deliriously frozen smiles and much bronzer, and swung braided purses with silver handles in the shape of dolphins. The collection sparkled with female luster, but subtlety seemed to have been flung overboard.”

—October 3, 2003

CATHY’S PEARLS OF WEIRDOM THAT WAS THEN:

THIS IS NOW:

Pre-recession, Horyn’s prose in the Times was at its most merciless. No wonder it resulted in a series of bans from some of Fashion Week’s most coveted front rows.

In the past year, as Cathy has immersed herself in the freelance life, her pieces for T are reading—dare we say it?—almost positive. Is it wrong to say that we miss her old ways?

“This weekend, Valentino has enough things planned for his 45th anniversary, in Rome, that it’s a wonder he hasn’t asked that the city be called Valentinoville.”

“It’s tough to improve on perfection, but that’s precisely what Hermès has done with the new hyper-pared-down Birkin Sellier 40.”—February 2, 2015

—July 5, 2007

“So why write about Slimane now? Here’s why: If you accept that fashion reflects the times— and I do—then you have to concede that in this respect Slimane has been impressive, even prescient. His Saint Laurent collections perfectly capture the mood and values of the present.”

“You’re probably wondering about Hedi Slimane’s show for Dior, which was last night. Join the club: So was everybody…. For half a second, after the finale, I wondered if people were going to clap. They seemed sort of stunned and sad. But they clapped, though not much, when Slimane came out.”

—January 31, 2007

“I must say that the food at Chanel is better than Dior.”—July 4, 2007

—August 18, 2014

SHE COVERS A SPA! “No booze or caffeine.

I would occupy a small, cell-like room—to be sure, one with a view of the lake—and I would submit to a routine that included hot liver compresses and enemas. After 10 days, I would not only emerge thinner (this seemed a certainty), but energized from all that discipline.”—November 12, 2014

SARTORIAL CATHY: A STYLISH EVOLUTION

THE STRIPED SCARF/BEANIE SEASON February 8, 2007 This ensemble was worn religiously during the Fall ’07 shows.

Must have been a frosty year!

“With Giorgio Armani's fashionhistory-making days behind him, he seems more and more a man of the people. He presented his latest Emporio Armani collection in his mall-like shop on the Via Manzoni. He might as well have hung out a sign that said, ‘I sell clothes.’ ” —September 28, 2005

THE LBD ERA December 1, 2010 A golden age! When Cathy took the little black dress and made it her own, the fashion gods were smiling.

ENTER THE JORTS September 7, 2008 Please, a moment of silence for the fashion choice that launched a thousand conversations.

“Giorgio Armani has never made a convincing stab at haute couture, the major leagues of fashion. His clothes always seem stiff and out of touch.”—July 8, 2007 “You’ve got to admire Giorgio Armani. Being rich and successful, he’s in a position to do exactly as he pleases. He is free to suggest that women

LOOKING LADYLIKE December 10, 2012 Cathy tries out an elegant coat/sheath combo at the PAL’s 2012 Women of the Year luncheon. Anna would approve.

wear small jackets with silk pirate pants knotted at the knees, a style he repeated throughout his show on Monday, even creating a tank dress with legs. For him, this is fashion.”

—September 26, 2007 “In a letter to my editor earlier this month, [Giorgio Armani] cites my ‘unnecessarily sarcastic comments’ about his friends and family in a review of his

last couture show and notes that I have ‘rarely found positive remarks’ to make about his ready-to-wear collections, and then surmises that I have ‘an embedded preconception.’ He concludes: ‘Going forward therefore, I see no real merit in inviting Cathy Horyn to my women’s shows.’ ”—March 13, 2008

gett y images ( 2 ) ; patri c k m c m u l l a n . c om ( 5 ) ; F I R S T V I E W ( 3 )

VOX Populi

ASK THE NEWSSTAND GUY! Would it really be our Media Issue without some quality chit-chat with our old pal Manish Golchha from 37th Street’s Magazine Café? Who’s selling? Who’s too skinny?

Who should have been cast as Christian Grey? Our man-at-the-’stand expert has all the answers. BY EDDIE ROCHE PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEFANIA CURTO Nice to see you! What are you wearing today?

A Calvin Klein sweater, Louis Vuitton belt, and Cole Haan shoes.

Chic. How’s business?

Better than ever! V is doing awesome.

We’re almost sold out. The covers are always racy. W and Interview are also doing awesome. We also just launched a new Magazine Café app. We want to make it easy for our customers to order from around the world.

Which price point is working for you?

Interview is $10, and with that quality and content, it’s a decent price. We sell a ton.

Have you been invited down to the new Condé Nast HQ yet?

No, but we do send a lot of subscriptions down there. We send Vogue UK, Vogue Paris, Elle UK, and Harper’s Bazaar UK. Whatever they fancy!

Any big sellers of late?

As you know, sex always sells, and Kim Kardashian broke the Internet. That cover of Paper was phenomenal. Who doesn’t like Kim? I don’t want to marry her, but I’d like to flirt with her. She’s pretty hot.

FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M

Is it that butt?

She has a good body overall. Good assets!

Did you take a copy home for yourself?

Yeah! It was a good shoot.

The March issue of Glamour has the stars of Fifty Shades of Grey on the cover.

It’s doing well. If you ask me, the casting in that movie was wrong. They should have cast Daniel Craig.

Would you have made a good Christian Grey?

Why not? I don’t think I’ll see the movie unless the reviews are good.

You’re still selling the September issue of Vogue in February. What’s that about?

It’s still selling. We over ordered, but we didn’t mind keeping the copies, because it makes the customers happy. A lot of people missed it and still want to get it.

Harper’s Bazaar’s cover line is “507 hot looks to love.” Do you ever fact check that number?

I don’t have that much time on my hands!

I wish I did. Bazaar is a pretty stable seller. They don’t go for controversial

covers. They go for classy.

How’s Lucky doing?

For $3.99, it’s almost like an US Weekly in terms of thickness.

There’s not enough content. It’s only 96 pages. I want it to do well. I like these magazines, and I want them to be on our shelves.

Recognize any faces on the March issue of Vanity Fair?

Isn’t that Hilary Swank?

Amy Adams! Nice try.

Channing Tatum is awesome.

Everything he does turns to gold.

What are you doing with Porter?

We are doing online promotions with them. In such a small amount of time, they’ve done pretty well to establish themselves.

You have copies of Charlie Hebdo. How did that happen?

When it came out, we had at least 1,500 people call us or stop by the store looking for it.

I persuaded my distributor to get these copies and they finally

decided to do it. I was on the phone with him every day for 15 days—my customers wanted it. It sells for $10.

You could have charged $20.

No, no. I know there were people selling them on eBay for $500, but we wouldn’t do that. That’s immoral. We got them too late so we’ve probably sold 75–80 copies, which isn’t close to what we would have sold if we had them earlier.

People are so fickle.

Those are your words.

What else is doing well?

Cherry Bombe! Have you seen it? It’s from Brooklyn, and it’s about food and culture. Nice paper quality. It’s a new age kind of publication. Adam Lambert on the cover of Classic Rock with members of Queen is also doing well, because they have a huge concert coming up in England. We’ve sold about 500 copies. We work with the Adam Lambert fan club.

Tell us more!

Someone posted about us on one of his fan pages about five or six years ago and since then, the numbers have been increasing every time a big issue comes out. A lot of our business comes from Adam Lambert fans.

Good to know! Where are the dirty magazines?

In the back of the store. We don’t sell too many dirty magazines, believe it or not. Not a big audience for Buttman.

Do you have shoplifters?

We used to—we were very ignorant.

Then we caught a couple of people, and after that, we became very vigilant. As soon as they come in, we spot them because they are usually wearing a baseball cap or something to hide their face.

What does a shoplifter steal?

Weeklies. They can steal an US Weekly and sell it anywhere for a buck. They also steal porno magazines, but mostly for selfconsumption.

You’re still loving what you do!

Absolutely! We’re adding new ways for customers to reach us. Today, we carry the most magazines that we’ve ever carried.

You’re proof that the magazine industry is alive and well.

Yup. We’re thriving!

Last question: Why no Reese’s Pieces?

We sell out of them all the time! I need to talk to my candy guy. But Snickers is still our best seller.

Satisfying, right?

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