MAGAZINES

[Steeltrap]

Essence is making some changes. From WWD.com:

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SISTER SISTER: A year after Angela Burt-Murray returned to Essence to be editor in chief, her September issue, fronted by Beyoncé in glittery Giorgio Armani, is the first sign of the magazine repositioning itself with a major increase in fashion and beauty coverage.

Burt-Murray knows firsthand the struggles of previous attempts to capture the fashion magazine market for women of color: she worked at the now-defunct Honey, and was at Time Inc. when it put the pricy Essence sibling Suede on an indefinite "hiatus" in 2005, after only three issues. She and her new fashion director, Agnes Cammock, steadfastly deny Essence's newfound fashion focus is a way to capture some of Suede's buzz and potential fashion advertising without the price-tag — despite the fact that Cammock was Suede's fashion director. "We haven't really taken a look at the things that Suede had taken a look at," said Burt-Murray. "It doesn't have anything to do with Suede."

Despite the protests, some of the haute/hip-hop sensibility Cammock displayed in Suede is already evident in Essence's September front of the book and fashion well, though not so much as to alienate the traditionally older Essence reader.

Cammock said the fashion coverage, beginning in this issue, will compare with Marie Claire and Glamour's high-low mix of bargains up front and upscaling in the well. "That's the way women of color have been dressing for years," she said.

A New York Fashion Week gala with Sean "Diddy" Combs (who, perhaps not coincidentally, is named a top 10 best-dressed black man in the September Essence) and Iman will kick off the magazine's first significant foray into fashion, as well as the Museum of the City of New York's "Black Style Now" exhibit.

All glitz aside, Essence's new top staffers point out the magazine can still fill a vacuum in reaching black women, be it in covering beauty products or a different approach to body image. "We're probably the only women's magazine that can put a fuller woman on the cover and not have it be a detriment to the newsstand," said Burt-Murray, who said the three covers of full-figured comedienne Mo'Nique, most recently in July, have been top sellers. Overall, Essence's newsstand sales were up 7.8 percent on the newsstand in the first half of this year to 259,423, according to figures filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
— Irin Carmon

The bolded part is interesting, simply because we are more likely to accept larger women. There is no way in crispy hot hell that a Vogue could put Camryn Manheim on a cover without backlash, and Anna Wintour would die a thousand deaths before that would happen.

[lovelyivy84]

Wonderful idea- especially the beauty focus! The real reason I buy Essence is because it's the ONLY place that has good beauty tips for black women. I would probably buy it more often if they expanded that coverage.

I dont really care for the expanded fashion coverage though- just the hair and makeup please.

[Marie]

Originally Posted by Steeltrap

The bolded part is interesting, simply because we are more likely to accept larger women. There is no way in crispy hot hell that a Vogue could put Camryn Manheim on a cover without backlash, and Anna Wintour would die a thousand deaths before that would happen.

True, plus I think that we perceive Essence differently. I know that I think of it more as a lifestyle magazine than a fashion magazine. I don't really compare it to Vouge or Marie Claire. As such, I hope that this new fashion focus doesn't take away from the other valuable content that Essence has to offer.

[WenD08]

i'm w/Marie on this. Essence addresses us as Black women in all areas-emotionally, physically, mentally, financially, etc. i'd rather it not turn into the Black Marie Claire. i love clothes and for that fashion mag "fix", i've got that covered.
besides, i hope it's not trying to be like Suede since it failed an all

[rho4life]

i don't want essence to change TOOO much. It sits comfortably next to my glamour and cosmo and my Aurora and Consumer Reports. I read a dif mag based on what sort of info i'm looking for that day.

[So blessed!]

Only problem with Essence is that I wish there was more of it! It seems shorter to me than Marie Claire or Glamour, though I get so much more positivity from it... my wish is that I could savor it over a couple of days like I do with my Oprah magazine.