Taking a Look at the Traditional Fashion Magazine Featuring Interviews with Two Editors in Chief

Its without a doubt that the traditional fashion magazine has changed a lot since its creation. The first magazine that incorporated fashion into it was the Le Mercure Galant in 1672 in France which Louis XIV utilized as a way to push his cultural agenda. The first magazine entirely devoted to fashion was Le Cabinet des Modes, which launched in 1785 in France and was published every fifteen days to provide readers with updates on what to wear and why. Moving into the North American side of fashion journalism Harper's Bazaar launched as a monthly publication in 1867. Vogue followed right behind first launching in 1892 and in 1909 was purchased by Conde Nast. With these publications coming out of France initially it was not long until other countries started to follow and quickly fashion journalism started to take off.

Within the past twenty years with technological and societal changes these publications have had to make major moves to keep up. A lot of these major fashion magazines have had to pivot within the creation of the internet and social media. They've gone from producing a publication every month or so, to producing content constantly online in addition to print. These once traditional fashion magazines like Vogue are owned by Conde Nast, a global mass media company which in turn makes the magazines more so media companies as well.

Quite possibly the most well known fashion magazine, Vogue has been able to shift their content in a variety of different directions while still producing monthly print editions. In 1995 Vogue produced their first online issue and in 2000 they began their vogue.com website. The website is constantly producing content related to the magazine, runway, fashion, beauty, shopping, celebrities, lifestyle, and more.

They've also branched out into other media channels and social media. Their Vogue Youtube channel is consistently producing content like Kendall Jenner's skincare routine, 73 questions with celebrities, and much more. They have also branched out into the podcast space with VOGUE Stories, In VOGUE: The 1990s, and The Future of Fashion. Their Instagram has 31 million followers where they produce Instagram TV videos, reels, posts, and stories constantly. They've also dipped their toes into TikTok by creating an account, but they do not currently have any content on the app. Taking a step back and examining Vogue's growth they have really gone from a fashion magazine to a major brand and media company.

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Today's post also features interviews with two Editors in Chief to gain better insights into the industry today and more of a global perspective. First we'll be talking to Eric Wilson, the Editor in Chief of Tatler Hong Kong and Editorial Director of Tatler Asia. Tatler is a magazine focused on fashion, lifestyle, and coverage of high society published by Conde Nast Publications. Before his move to Hong Kong he was the Editor at Large and Fashion News Director for six years at InStyle and prior to that he was a Reporter at New York Times for nine years. Having worked in fashion media in North America and Asia he provides great insights into the differences in working and serving two geographic markets and where fashion media is headed next.

How would you describe your roles as Editorial Director of Tatler Asia and Editor in Chief of Tatler Hong Kong? "My role as editorial director of Tatler Asia is largely defined by upholding consistent editorial standards and improving the quality of Tatler products throughout the eight markets where we publish editions in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand), as well as producing all regional content that appears in each of the editions, plus talent management and training. My role as editor in chief of Tatler Hong Kong is to manage our flagship title in Asia, overseeing all editorial content included in the Hong Kong edition and responsibility for setting and executing its vision."

What is a typical work day like for you in these roles? "My days are typically divided into parts: I begin and end each day by editing various features, discussing changes with the writers and any follow-ups required. I often spend late mornings and lunches meeting key figures in Hong Kong to look for potential story ideas, and afternoons are dedicated to staff management, tracking production issues and dealing with any human resources issues. But many days are spent on projects designed to improve overall quality, such as presenting editorial guidelines or combatting commercial pressures on editorial content, or just putting out fires, of which there are many."

What fashion media do you consume regularly? "The New York Times, SCMP, CNN, New York Post, Washington Post, New York magazine, WWD, Business of Fashion."

Do you feel like it's an important part of your job to keep up with fashion media and where’s moving- like Instagram reels, tiktok, etc?the "Yes and no. There is a lot of bad content in fashion media and I try to limit how much time I spend contemplating what other media are doing because I don’t want to follow or feel the need to match them, or worse, be influenced by them. But I do pay attention to new platforms, and stay abreast of them by assigning each platform to an individual on my staff to report back best practices and learnings. I don’t have the time to feed that beast and also put out a magazine every month. I do believe the addictive nature of many of these platforms is detrimental to the objective of honest storytelling, and also just psychologically draining. I’d rather have fun doing the job I love. "

In your career in the fashion industry how have you seen fashion media change? And how have those changes affected the way you approach your career? "I’ve seen a lot of conflict created by the shift to digital, much of it necessary. Social media broke down the barriers to publishing and elevated many, many critical and previously unheard voices, but it also amplified the loudest ones, including many whose behavior was unfettered by responsible reporting or even common decency, which leads us to the very polarized and partisan state of media today. In terms of fashion media, that has made room for more diversity and quick action to rectify some longstanding issues that mainstream media failed to address, even through critical reporting, such as the exclusion of minorities from key design roles and the willful whitewashing of runways. But it has also created a sense of trial by internet, with little room for nuance or objective debate."

What do you find to be the key differences working in fashion media in different portions of the world? "In Asia, there is far less resistance to commercial content among both consumers and media brands, which is particularly frustrating for someone like me who comes from a very church and state background, but it is also frustrating for the many young people working in media here who become disillusioned by the influence of advertisers on editorial content. The fashion media here is not respected, nor do individual voices emerge, for the reason that content is so greatly influenced by advertisers that it all looks like the same nonsense, and no one reads it or cares."

Where do you see the future of print fashion magazines? "Print fashion magazines will shrink in numbers to a few strong titles that prioritize their own ability to wield power over their responsibility to inform, but they will publish with less frequency and largely shift to less rigorously reported content that is devoted to promoting the sense of “fashion” as an intellectually or aesthetically driven code of superiority, because that is what they believe, that being fashionable is a mark of achievement. Fashion magazines will become hagiographic temples to the most esteemed, richest and elitist (or anti-anti-elitist) of designers. They will be very beautiful things, but they will be unreadable and irrelevant to anyone with an ability for critical thinking. "

Where do you see the future of Tatler moving? "My vision for Tatler Asia is to combine the sensibility of a luxury lifestyle media brand with intelligent analysis of pop culture, global politics and current events, with the strong focus on the community of a city magazine. It’s not that complicated—just serious, interesting, fun, and, most of all, honest journalism, because there is absolutely a void of that kind of voice that is not corrupted by commercial content in media here. We’ve already seen an incredible response in our markets, and expect to further that mission as the recovery takes hold throughout Asia."

Where do you see the future of fashion media moving? "I really don’t know. I’ve believed for a long time that the fashion industry is overdue for a reckoning to address its promotion of inequalities, its commercial and environmental irresponsibilities, its generally inhumane practices and its negative impact on society. Until that happens, I think fashion media is pretty pointless, just a race to keep up with whatever regurgitation of narrative an advertiser is hawking that day. And it deserves whatever misery it gets."

Next I'll be featuring an interview with Iolo Lewis Edwards, the Editor in Chief of High Fashion Talk(HFT). HFT is not your traditional print magazine. When they saw that fashion media was heading towards social media and more of an online presence they were able to capitalize on this and create a community based approach. They produce content and facilitate conversations on their Facebook page, Instagram, print magazines or ‘zines’, Youtube channel, their website, and in a Facebook group. With a global community of over 200k people clearly their approach is working well.

How would you describe your role as Editor in Chief at HFT?

"I chose the title because it fits in with expectations of the fashion industry and the access that it gives to you when you use that title. There are a lot of what I do which are actually more directorial/managerial in dealing with the business and management. A lot of my management style comes from when I worked at local government and involved coaching the team to bring out their expertise, which I try to do with our team of 30, though it’s a lot for just myself to do."

How would you describe HFT to someone outside of the industry?

"HFT is essentially facilitating the conversation in the best way possible by providing the material, providing a space, and giving the opportunity for people to express their opinion and contribute to the conversation.

There is also the other side of things where we do the things that a magazine does but all social first, putting the content where people digitally “hang out” instead of depending on click-throughs. We also have the back office functions of a magazine where we give consultation to businesses using our in-depth knowledge and understanding of the audience/customer/community."

What have been some of your most exciting moments working in the fashion industry, specifically in fashion media?

"There’s nothing like those chance happenings like going to the Louis Vuitton show on a chance meeting, going backstage at Ann Demeulemeester after the show, but also more recent professional achievements like interviewing Kim Jones, going to Rick Owens’ house to shoot Michele. There are some more professional ones like working with Cozette McCreery and Mandi Lennard who were icons to me as I started getting into the industry."

Do you find that part of the success of HFT is due to it being more than a magazine? (The facebook group community, Youtube, etc)

"Definitely, people really want that sense of community and even something that goes beyond the one-to-many format of magazines and even youtube media. We are doing something that is many-to-many which is hard to manage and takes a lot of work, as well as being very risky, but the impact of something being accepted and appreciated in the group is much bigger than an instagram post that gets likes or even a youtube video. Even though people lament the death of print magazines, I think the general consensus is that it was inefficient and in many cases ineffective."

How important is it for fashion magazines and media companies to create communities?

"It takes a lot of work to host a community, so it’s very hard for something to exist without a company or something like that pushing it. In some ways we are a subset of a greater high fashion community that does exist and has existed, but without HFT it is either very cliquey and exclusive, or it is very a lot of people at each other’s necks. I think what we have achieved with hft is a civil and constructive place."

Where do you see the future of HFT?

"I want HFT to underline everything that happens within the industry and the way people consume fashion. I want to be able to enable and facilitate creatives with good ideas and talent to realise their work. I also want to devolve the way fashion is consumed from the platforms and magazines that currently monopolise the industry, giving the brands more agency to create, and also making it more of a meritocracy."

Where do you see fashion media moving next?

"Tiktok is a very interesting platform which is evolving; it is at the moment all jokes mostly, but it will soon become more serious, there are some already doing it. Clubhouse is also very interesting, but I’m sure other platforms will take the idea soon. YouTube is still every evolving in a balance between professional content and raw content. I think there is still a huge way for content to move further and further into social.

I also think that the real life element of fashion is what is important, whether that results in a cover or a video or whatever. I think the artificial framing of that as a cover, or editorial may break down and in the future it will be more about creating an image which is mind blowing and creates waves. It doesn’t even have to be an image, people are really interested in how fashion contributes to all art and culture, probably more so than fashion on it’s own."

Where do you see the future of print fashion magazines?

"I think a print magazine is an important product or piece of work and I think it’s moving more in that way with publication, and moving away from it’s function as a vessel for ads or a regular circular for news. This function also means that anyone could essentially make a magazine, and we are already seeing brands and artists create their own one-off issues or zines, in a similar way i-D did a Rihanna issue that revolved around her."