Damien Woolnough was the founding editor of Vogue.com.au
Glamour officially died in Australia on Tuesday, with one ruthless swing of the axe by Bauer Media. Advertising revenue and travel restrictions were blamed for the decision to stop printing leading fashion publications Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and In Style, along with Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Good Health, OK and NW but the execution was carried out with such brutality that the already traumatised media industry was left shocked once again.
I worked on the launch of Elle Australia alongside editor Justine Cullen as her deputy and found my magazine footing at In Style, running the features section with then editor Nicky Briger. I have also written for Harper’s Bazaar and Men’s Health, so these closures hit home with astonishing force.
There is the immediate loss of talented people, accomplished art directors, fashion editors, sales executives and journalists but the lingering hurt comes from the way a once thriving and vital industry has been treated like a veteran Melbourne Cup winner and publicly shot between the eyes after a few failed starts.
In the same way that Australian movies, television shows and plays have been a way to see and hear our stories on screen and stage, these magazines were a gently retouched reflection of the way we wanted to live, dress, party, exercise and excel. Now we are left clutching our smart phones looking at people from around the globe dancing on TikTok or testing the limits of their yoga pant for booty shots.
At the very least In Style gave us Australian stars to dream about. In between the countless Jennifer Aniston editions, I worked on two Cate Blanchett cover stories, photo shoots with The Veronicas, helped a wobbly Sam Worthington into his pants for a pre-Avatar portfolio and gatecrashed the set of Love My Way with Claudia Karvan and Asher Keddie. These magazines helped create an Australian star system and took the labels on our local red carpet from Lowes to Zimmermann.
At Bauer’s Park St headquarters inherited from ACP, Harper’s Bazaar gave us Sydney-filtered style, while also providing healthy competition for the seemingly invincible Vogue brand. The magazine was an avenue for Australian stars and models that celebrated local designers, placing Carla Zampatti and Dion Lee alongside Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein.
Now these fashion labels are left to compete for the already crowded pages of Vogue and a battling Marie Claire, while continuing to navigate the increasingly murky waters of influencer engagement. That’s not to say that reputable influencers aren’t left in the lurch by the loss of these titles. Savvy digital divas such as Nicole Warne, Margaret Zhang and beauty entrepreneur Elle Ferguson were able to solidify their credibility by appearing on the covers of Elle, In Style and the long gone Shop Til You Drop. Today they are left looking for Australian outlets to distinguish them from countless WAGs.
It wasn’t just the content of these magazines that offered inspiration, with the editors becoming some of the country’s highest profile female role models. The public has been able to chart the careers of Ita Buttrose and Lisa Wilkinson but for some readers, former Harper’s Bazaar editors Lee Tulloch, the impeccable Karin Upton Baker, Alison Veness, lone male Jamie Huckbody (for a minute), Edwina McCann, Kellie Hush and Eugenie Kelly were role models too, offering an inspiring and intelligent view of life in this country.
One of many accusations thrown at Bauer Media, along with its blatant disrespect for the Australian tradition of publishing, inability to deliver a cohesive digital strategy and struggle to understand the demands of luxury consumers and advertisers, is the way that it disempowered the star editors across their many titles. Rather than run the risk of facing up to an Australian Anna Wintour, some magazine editors were regularly made to feel as disposable as the contestants on Bachelor
In Paradise. Anyone who has brushed tailored shoulders with these women knows that listening to them, rather than speaking over them, would have been a step in the right direction.
Saying goodbye to these magazines, we are also farewelling some ridiculousness. When I worked at Vogue we were never to be seen talking to the competition from Harper’s Bazaar at events or Australian Fashion Week. We would stare at each other blankly from either side of the runway at an Alex Perry extravaganza, even if we all knew each others cocktail orders from regular private drinking sessions at Will & Toby’s bar.
But rather than be nostalgic for past days of publishing I am mourning the future that could have been achieved by capitalising on the distinct personalities of these magazine titles through their websites and social media. I am mourning the loss of magical photo essays, incredible articles and a uniquely Australian approach to aspiration. The problem is that without some of these magazines I am not entirely sure of what black suit to wear.
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