The Vogue Factor: The Inside Story of Fashion's Most Illustrious Magazine (26 page)

I took my place in the queue as we all waited nervously to have our name called. I heard “Kirstie Clements,
Vogue Australia
,” and I emerged into the light to see a flight of dauntingly steep stairs leading to a stage, and the stony face of Anna Wintour waiting at the top, surrounded by hundreds of Japanese shoppers looking down on us all, cheering and waving. Anna launched into a speech by shouting “Hello Tokyo!” and I thought, maybe I should write a book. You couldn’t make this stuff up. One minute you are in a drab office in downtown Sydney being pummeled from every direction and asked to cut costs, reduce staff, increase circulation, improve marketing, innovate artistically, stop the use of skinny models, send an anti-fur message, maintain modern morality, solve the problem of how to monetize new media, meet every client request, and work out what the weather might be next Thursday; the next you are on an international stage being cheered like a contestant in a fashion
X Factor
.

By early 2012 there had been another change of management, and Sandra Hook was no longer the CEO of what was now called NewsLifeMedia rather than News Magazines, a new name to better reflect the digital areas we were moving into. We all waited with some trepidation to discover who her replacement would be and the usual jostling for power began in the middle management ranks.

It’s an unfortunate side effect when a company is in transition that you really see people’s true colors, as they try to make tactical allegiances through blind panic. Given that this would be yet another boss for me, I was cautiously optimistic. Naively, I anticipated the new
arrival would perhaps appreciate my insights and knowledge of the market. I thought I could add value. I knew full well
vogue.com.au
was looking tired and did not reflect the brand, and we were waiting for funds to be approved for a redesign. We had created and launched our first app to promote the December 2011 issue which was well-received, and there were plans in the pipeline for a second. But I wasn’t able to see these plans come to fruition. There were forces at work that would soon see me unceremoniously dumped from my position, and almost the entire
Vogue Australia
editorial team summarily dismissed shortly afterwards.

Being a
Vogue
editor is precarious, as it’s a job everybody desires to have, and most people are convinced they could do better. I recall one of my seven CEOs saying to me rather nastily: “Oh, you are back from Paris again, are you? God, there would be thousands of people lined up around the block who would want your job.”

“Yes, there are, I’m well aware of that,” I replied. “I guess the question is: can they do it?”

It seems no editor of
Vogue
ever chooses to leave of their own accord, so I’m not taking it personally. It was a business decision, intended to make a statement about change. I’m sure some of the other powerful editors will break this unpleasant tradition of being suddenly fired, such as Anna Wintour, Franca Sozzani and Alex Shulman, but when you work for a magazine that is under license with a constant stream of new managers, your luck, as it were, is eventually going to run out.

However, I do not put my career down to luck. I was mentored, guided and supported by numerous wonderful colleagues. The
motivating force for me was never money, or personal glory or fame—quite the opposite. I loathe social climbers. I didn’t like the spotlight, and I’d run miles to avoid a red carpet photo. That seems so prehistoric in this new era of Instagramming your breakfast tray. Being gossiped about and sniped at by the media was wearisome and could be hurtful, but I learned to cope. I’ve never Googled myself. That’s a definite highway to hell.

A day or so after I was fired, as if losing my livelihood and a career that I loved was not enough, the media section of
The Australian
decided it would be amusing to ridicule me, and the staff, suggesting all we talked about was nail polish and even questioning how we got a magazine out the door every month for thirteen years. That ugly misogyny really upset me. The
Vogue
team were complete professionals; we prided ourselves on that. The reason I was there all along was for the reader. I absolutely loved making a magazine, and I loved working with my team to try and improve and evolve the product every month. I was harder on myself than anybody else would be if I made a mistake, and when you’re the editor of
Vogue
, your slipups are very public. But throughout it all I was fortunate to share the ups and downs with the most dedicated editorial team, freelancers and clients.

Traditional publishing is under enormous pressure at present, with declining revenues and readership, and decisions are being made, understandably, to radically cut editorial staff and costs and do anything to please the advertiser. But for me, this is perilous. I still believe in the magic.

Despite all the changes I see in the industry I think that now, more than ever, it is important that your work has integrity. The mediums have changed and will change again, but honest, intelligent content is
still key. In a publishing environment where revenue streams and profit margins are unclear and content costs are being slashed, the beautiful execution of interesting and original ideas remains crucial whether in print or online. It is what you are selling.

I like to hope that career success comes from wanting to do a great job, not just making short-sighted decisions in order to keep your job. I’m sure that path always exists, and it’s the one I’m going to take.

I would firstly like to thank my publisher at MUP, Sally Heath, who contacted me the day that followed my exit from
Vogue
, and who provided quiet and calm counsel throughout the writing of this book. Also thanks to Lorelei Vashti for the final edit and her encouraging words. I’d also like to thank Penelope White and Terri King at MUP for their editorial and marketing advice. For the author photography I would like to thank photographer Max Doyle, Naomi Smith for styling, Bruce Packer for hair and Linda Jeffreys for makeup.

I was fortunate to work alongside so many wonderful colleagues throughout my twenty-five years in the business who have provided inspiration, intellect and humor, all of which helped to make some sense of the madness that is the world of fashion publishing. Heartfelt thanks to Robyn Holt, Nancy Pilcher, Grant Pearce, Tory Collison, Charla Carter, Sally Bell, Karin Upton Baker, Eric Matthews, Stephen Scoble, Sandra Hook, Georgette Johnson, Paul Meany, Leigh Ann Pow, Kimberley Walsh, Naomi Smith, Natasha Inchley, Damien Woolnough, Meg Gray, Ilona Hamer, Megha Kapoor, Genevra Leek, David Clark, Alex Spring, Jo Constable, Robert Rosen and a long list of incredible talents who worked at
Vogue
during my tenure and from whom I in turn was privileged to learn from.

There were others in the industry who, via our professional relationships, have become invaluable friends and confidantes: Ian Clark, Anthony Kendall, Lisa Ephson, Tim Blanks, Shemi Alovic, Mary Chiew, Sally Pitt, Napoleon Perdis, Julie Otter, Michelle Wivell, Bruce Packer, Natalie Middleton, Tracy Baker and Sener Besim.

To my much loved and dear friends in the “Coven”: Janet Muggivan, Deborah Thomas and Lee Tulloch—we are definitely keeping each other sane. And to Jenny Power, Pascall Fox and Tim Herbert, I appreciate that you know full well my past sartorial mistakes and have been able to move past them.

To Stephen Fitzgerald, thank you for your incredible generosity for firstly sweeping me off to Paris for inspiration, and then for providing me with two fireplaces, Sebastian, and a cosy retreat which allowed me to write all winter. Also thanks to Nicholas Cole for his advice.

To my family: my mother Gloria for your rock solid belief in me, Mourad for your unquestioning love and support during all my whims and my constant periods of absence, and to my gorgeous sons Joseph and Sam, for becoming even more amazing as you get older.

KIRSTIE CLEMENTS
began working at
Vogue Australia
in 1985, rising to editor in chief in 1999, a position she held until 2012. She has been a columnist for the
Sunday Telegraph
and a guest on
Australia’s Next Top Model
. She lives in Sydney, Australia.