>> McKinsey is in its second-to-last week of its three-month examination of the workings of Conde Nast, and the New York Observer reports that in the last few days, Conde executives, under the direction of McKinsey, asked a number of magazines — of which Teen Vogue is believed to be among — to cut their budget next year by roughly 25 percent. It's unclear if Vogue or W will be similarly instructed.
According to sources, top brass is not being specific about how the cuts should be made, but potential options could be diminishing expenses, doing away with freelance, reducing magazine frequency, or layoffs. Conde CEO Chuck Townsend told the Observer a few weeks ago: “I can boil what I say to editors and publishers down to the simplest statement in the world and that is: You, not me, you have a responsibility to run this business in a responsible way. It’s your responsibility. I want to see your proposal of how you’re going to do it.”
Harper's Bazaar
Teen Vogue Said to Be Making 25 Percent Budget Cuts, Some Editors Already Moving On
David Bailey Joins Katie Grand, Peter Lindbergh in Reaction Against Airbrushing
>> Last year, there was a huge push for more diversity in fashion, culminating in the publication of Vogue Italia's all-black July 2008 issue. Unfortunately, attention on that issue has waned this year, even though there is still much work to be done; now, the issue du jour seems to be what has become a common practice among fashion magazines: heavy retouching.
Katie Grand, who while at POP was a huge proponent of the "super glossy" look, has since reigned in her reliance on Photoshop. Of her first issue of LOVE, which came out in February, Katie told Interview, "It's not so retouched. I just wanted to take pictures of iconic people without redrawing them." And she's continuing the tradition for her second issue, out Sept. 1 — she had Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott (whose aesthetic generally lends itself to a good bit of retouching) photograph cover girl Coco Sumner as she walked in off the street, no hair or makeup. The Times UK wrote of that decision: "She is shrewdly tapping into the new spirit of the times — heavily airbrushed celebrities seem gauche and embarrassing during a recession."
Peter Lindbergh Goes Light on Retouching Again, This Time with Supermodels for Harper's Bazaar
>> Peter Lindbergh seems to be quite taken with this no-makeup, minimal-to-no retouching concept: In April, he captured Eva Herzigova, Ines de la Fressange, and a slew of European actresses without makeup or retouching for French Elle. A month after, he told the New York Times that he was tired of subjects in fashion magazines looking like overly-Photoshopped “objects from Mars": “My feeling is that for years now it has taken a much too big part in how women are being visually defined today. Heartless retouching should not be the chosen tool to represent women in the beginning of this century.”
Lindbergh continues to lead the charge against excessive retouching, this time by capturing supermodels Amber Valletta, Nadja Auermann, Helena Christensen, Shalom Harlow, Claudia Schiffer, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford, and Kristen McMenamy without makeup or excessive retouching for Harper's Bazaar's September 2009 issue.
Karl Lagerfeld Plays Coco Chanel in Interview for Harper's Bazaar, Calls Self "Idiot"
>> Harper's Bazaar loves its gimmicks, and in honor of Coco Avant Chanel premiering Sept. 25 stateside, the magazine asked Karl Lagerfeld to channel Coco Chanel and give her "opinions" of the world of today, from Botox to Karl himself for their September 2009 issue. A preview of "Coco's" answers, below.
Harper's Bazaar: What's the new Chanel classic?
Karl Lagerfeld as Coco Chanel: As apparently my old jacket is still around, done by this idiot Karl, I have to help him find a new idea.
HB: What's on your iPod?
KL as CC: The Kills. They suit my character.
September Issues: UK Fashion Mags Stick to Models (Save Elle), While US Mags Go with Actresses
>> The biggest issues of the year — for September — are trickling in, so who was chosen to be a big newsstand seller for each major fashion book? Both Harper's Bazaar UK and Vogue UK chose models — Natalia Vodianova by Paola Kudacki and Kate Moss by Mario Testino, respectively — while Harper's Bazaar and Vogue went with actresses — Leighton Meester by Terry Richardson and Charlize Theron (the latter of which is not yet out). American Vogue's choice of an actress is no surprise — in upcoming documentary The September Issue, the magazine's creative director Grace Coddington credits Anna Wintour with foreseeing the power of using celebrities on covers before anyone else — but the model/celebrity divide between the two countries is striking.
Meanwhile at Elle, both UK and US versions chose actresses: the former Lindsay Lohan by Rankin, the latter Jennifer Aniston (a well-known strong newsstand seller) by Alexei Hay.
>> New York Post Maintains Hearst Is In Talks to Take Over Elle —Despite the fact that Elle owner Lagardere released a statement denying the New York Post's report earlier this week that Lagardere was exploring a deal with Harper's Bazaar publisher Hearst to take over the US operations of Elle, the New York Post responded today, stating that it "stands by its story." [NY Post]
Hearst To Take Over Elle?
>> Rumors are flying after the New York Post reported via an anonymous source this morning that Hachette Filipacchi owner Lagardere is in talks with Harper's Bazaar publisher Hearst about taking over the US operations of Elle. The source stated that if a deal went through, a joint venture or long-term licensing agreement would be made, similar to the deal Lagardere and Hearst have made for Marie Claire, and would only apply to the American version of Elle.
The Post estimates that Elle is valued around $200 million, whereas Hearst's profits hovered around $225 million last year and are expected to fall lower this year.
September 2009 Ad Numbers: Everyone Plunges, Vogue Still on Top, W May Be in Trouble
>> The expected thirty percent decrease was optimistic for some fashion magazines, it turns out, particularly those in Conde Nast's fold. Yesterday, Conde CEO Charles Townsend sent out a memo acknowledging the hire of consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to analyze its business strategy — and no wonder: with the loss of the ad-filled September Fashion Rocks supplement, Vogue fell to 427 ad pages in September, down 36 percent from last year; Teen Vogue tumbled to 136 pages, down 31 percent; and W may be in serious trouble — it lost the most ad pages out of any Conde magazine, down 53 percent to 185 ad pages.
For comparison's sake, Elle will carry 21 fewer pages in September at 327 total, and Harper's Bazaar is estimated to run between 275 and 285 pages, or about 25 percent fewer pages. It is worth noting that Vogue still tops in total number of ad pages.
>> Vogue Is Still Top When It Comes to Luxury Ads —Despite Elle surpassing Vogue for the first time ever in overall ad numbers and an anticipated drop in the September 2009 ad pages, Vogue is continuing to focus its efforts on luxury advertisers. As a result, its share of luxury ad pages have increased from 65 to 70 percent in the past year, surpassing fashion titles like Elle (whose luxury ads have decreased from 61 to 56 percent), InStyle (down from 52 to 44 percent) and Harper's Bazaar, according to a Vogue spokeswoman.
>> THE MODELIZER —Gisele Bundchen is one of the last models able to hold a major magazine cover on her own, according to Anna Wintour, but even she may be losing her touch. Her May 2009 Vanity Fair cover was the lowest-selling for the magazine in nearly two years, and her April 2009 Harper's Bazaar cover was the lowest-selling for the magazine since November 2008. When Gisele was on the September 2007 Vanity Fair cover (left), it was the third-biggest seller that year. Vanity Fair's spokeswoman's suggestion for the change? "It might be that she's losing her looks." [NY Observer]
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