Nina Garcia gets top job at US Elle

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Sep 12, 2017

This year’s merry-go-round of editor-in-chief changes at some of the world’s major glossies is continuing with Nina Garcia on Tuesday being named as the next editor of Elle magazine in the US.

Media giant Hearst said Garcia, who has been creative director of its Marie Claire title since 2012, would take over one of the most coveted jobs in fashion publishing on September 18.

She replaces long-serving editor-in-chief Robbie Myers who on Monday announced her departure to her staff after 17 years at the helm of the magazine.

Garcia, 52, worked at Elle earlier this century and said in a statement about her appointment: ”Elle is close to my heart, and this is a very special homecoming. This is Elle’s moment to be out in front, inspiring and informing readers in every area. Fashion and beauty are at Elle’s core, as are culture, politics, health and new media. I'm excited to work with this incredibly talented team to set the pace for women who are moving as fast as the times we live in."

Garcia has the right mix of journalistic experience and high profile celebrity courtesy of her position as a long-serving judge on Project Runway. She has also written four best-selling books about fashion, including The Style Strategy and The Little Black Book of Style, and has a large social media following.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

These extra-curricular activities will continue with the world of an editor-in-chief of a consumer glossy today being about so much more than simply editing a magazine. She joins at a challenging time for high-end magazines with online publishing offering opportunities, but publishers having to overcome major hurdles too, one of the biggest of which is building multimedia brands. Today’s magazines are monthly print editions as always, but also 24/7 online channels, social media brands, video forums, events organisers and more.

Garcia has worked in key tastemaker roles in the US media for many years. She has held her current post at Marie Claire since 2012 and prior to that was its fashion director from 2008. As mentioned, her new role won't be her first time at Elle as she was fashion director there from 2000 to 2008.

"Nina embodies all the qualities of a modern editor-in-chief," Hearst Magazines president David Carey said. "She's an important authority in fashion, respected by her peers for her personal style, her ability to spot talent and her deep relationships across the industry.”

Meanwhile, Joanna Coles, the former Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief who is Hearst’s equally-high-profile chief content officer, said Garcia represents the “ultimate Elle woman”. She added that “her life is incredibly full, she's curious about everything and she's passionate about fashion, beauty, technology, art, travel, the environment, women’s issues and the ways that they all intersect."