[Magazines]: New Editor for ELLE South Africa (+ A Note on Content and Representation)

The September 2014 issue of ELLE magazine was the final edition produced with Jackie Burger at the helm.
For as long as I have been reading ELLE seriously, I have enjoyed seeing the changes in the content and layout of the magazine under the supervision of the always sophisticated Ms Burger.
Also noteworthy were her editor’s page photos, which invariably featured her trademark bold lip, cropped ‘do and interesting interpretation of the trends of the moment.

Ed’s Letter pictures from April, July, August and September 2014

The magazine has a focus on fashion and beauty, just like other magazines in the market. What keeps me buying ELLE even when the trends are too outlandish for me and I can’t afford any of the new lipsticks, is the quality of writing. Contributors produce work that leaves an impression in features about relationships, finding happiness and cultivating a sense of well-being, shopping wisely in the fad-heavy market, travelling the world and even what movies to watch next.

I look at ELLE as a guide for my young adult years, as I try to find out what my style is, what I stand for and what type of woman I am going to be in this world.

With that being said, I would still like to see more representation when it comes to the featured cover stars. I have been quite disappointed in this regard this year, as the covers have been international celebrities (with the partial exception of Candice Swanepoel and Charlize Theron, who are originally from South Africa) and no women of colour.
This is something that could become a problem – and at Marie Claire this year there have already been complaints from readers that the magazine is lacking in the  representation department. ELLE, for its part, does balance the cover out with features which include black writers, models, and musicians (in the culture pages).

In this regard, Emilie Gambade‘s first issue as editor of ELLE was quite refreshing. There is an 11-page fashion spread featuring Kaone Kario, a well-known model from Botswana whose face and work has become quite familiar to audiences in South Africa and abroad after her victory in the M-Net/Nokia Face of Africa competition in 2005.

Senior fashion editor Tarryn Oppel and photographer Damon Fourie worked with Kaone to interpret the painterly print trend that will be in stories this season. My favourite picture is the one featuring the metallic green skirt by Nicholas Coutts, and the neckpiece by Belinda-Lee Ludek. I am hoping to find a department store equivalent of the blue and white Aldo Rise block heels on the right-hand side of the same page. (Maybe Woolworths is the place to go…)

Kaone also made an appearance in Maybe Corpaci’s “Contemporary Colour” beauty feature:

The October issue had a travel feature focused on attractions in Seoul, South Korea. It makes me really want to visit the area – though I wouldn’t go as “a woman alone” like Holly Meadows did.

I haven’t been through the October issue from cover to cover yet (because of the internet and exams – but mostly the internet), but the parts that I have seen assured me that Ms Gambade will do just fine as the new leader of the ELLE Belle pack. In fact, the November issue has already received a glowing review from one Aisha Baker.

Endnote: UCT’s Media Studies Honours programme has a six-week internship option, so I’m hoping I will be at ELLE in 2016, finally doing what I’ve always wanted to do.