[Magazines]: The Final Print Edition of COMPANY

Luckily, because Company is an award-winning fashion and lifestyle magazines for young adults, it is not being shut down completely. The press release said that the November edition will be the first all-digital issue of Company.

Company is my gateway to the trends and news from the UK, and this gives me a bit of a preview of what will be on the to do/ to wear/ to see list in South African magazines a few months later, so it’s good to know that it won’t be disappearing altogether. I have mixed feelings about having to go through the trouble of downloading iTunes, setting up an account, and making EFT payments to an overseas account just to read a fashion magazine… :

I’ll keep my eyes on their website, and on their Instagram account, but it is unlikely that I will be buying it again. (On the other hand, that’s R80 saved, which means I could potentially afford two other local magazines every other month…)

The last print issue of Company was as impressive as always. Victoria White‘s editor’s letters always seemed to have a little something missing, but the features and the fun layout (laden with social media lingo, bright colours and bold fonts) made up for this. 

Modern Family‘s Sarah Hyland gives us attitude and a helluva smoulder on the cover – and I love it.

The editor’s letter reminded me of one of Oprah’s “What I Know for Sure” segments, with its list of truths about how sometimes in the life “loss” or “the end” is the most positive thing that could happen at that moment. (I might also be reading too much into it, because I’m caught up in giving this last issue the ceremony it deserves…)

As always, the fashion features showed editors and popular bloggers interpreting the trends of the moment. I particularly enjoy this blogger-heavy element of Company, as it introduces me to some new trendsetters and tastemakers that I wouldn’t otherwise had come across. Seeing what’s popular in the UK also gives me some perspective about South Africa’s fashion trends and social landscape.

For example: the snakeskin heeled sandal in the bottom right is now available at Mr Price (I’m still not in the habit of calling it “MRP Fashion”, by the way).

Jameela Jamil‘s columns are also a favourite of mine, so I’m keen to see whether she will still be contributing to those now that the format of the magazine has changed. This issue had features on the youth and their feelings about government and voting in the UK, as well as the staple careers feature which details the success of a trailblazing young woman in fashion, media and various other fields (this month it was Julia Korol).

Since I first started following Company in 2012, I have noticed that they are very serious about giving creative young women with plans of making it big in the media industry (and related fields) the opportunity to showcase their talents.
They ran a programme similar to the 17 Academy, called Company Grads, that allowed a small group of young women to intern at the magazine for a short period. This year, there was Company on Film, an initiative that gave 7 film graduates the opportunity to produce fashion films for the magazine’s website.

I am not a regular visitor to the Company site, unless I see an intriguing link on Twitter or Instagram. Lately, the Twitter updates have been links to old articles, and there has been a lot of repetition in the tweets. (Instagram is a better bet for up-to-the-minute Company HQ updates).
Since my experience of the magazine’s social media interaction is disappointing, I am worried that I will no longer be able to get the benefit of the monthly “what’s on?” feature:

Notable this issue: new movies (Gone Girl, Palo Alto), new music from Jessie Ware, Lindsay Lohan on stage at the Playhouse Theatre and a fun new cookbook from Lene Knudsen.

So. That was the best of the last print edition of Company. I suppose if I really wanted a substitute international magazine to buy, I would go for Seventeen – CNA started carrying the US version back in July and I nearly hyperventilated when I saw it. But that would just be about the nostalgia and not really for the content (which I grew out of two or three years ago, anyway).

I think I’ll just stick with ELLE for now.