As a fashion glossy, you are of course indebted to describe new trends and the latest fashion collections, you would think. But that is not necessary. ELLE launches the big fashion number, without the latest fashion collections.
A fashion issue is traditionally full of runway photos, catwalk models and reports from the fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan. ELLE is doing things differently this spring. The editorial team produced the big fashion issue of March in collaboration with a Guest Creative Director† Duran Lantink† In 2022, ELLE will work with varying Guest Creative Directors where every fashion season a well-known name from the creative industry joins ELLE and thinks along with the fashion team about the fashion series and important fashion stories.
nothing new
ELLE’s big fashion number in collaboration with Duran Lantink has the theme Nothing New. Without paying attention to the latest collections, ELLE dives into classics, vintage pieces, basic collections and the archive of major fashion brands. Not because the editors are against buying new stuff, but because they want to inspire their readers and the fashion world to think even more consciously about clothing.
Sustainability and upcycling
Editor-in-chief of ELLE, Anke de Jong, explains why the editors chose to collaborate with Duran Lantink. “Years ago, Duran impressed me as a designer with his vision of sustainability and upcycling. He was soon nominated for one of the most prestigious fashion prizes in the world: the LVMH prize (won by Virgil Abloh and Marine Serre, among others). At that time, I met him at a dinner in Milan during Fashion Week. His cheerfulness and energy were infectious and his ideas brilliant. When I became editor-in-chief of ELLE last summer, I started making plans about how we can distinguish ourselves, surprise the reader, be more relevant and contribute to a better world. By entering into collaborations with various creative masterminds, I hope to bring something innovative. I interviewed Duran for a podcast during Amsterdam Fashion Week and casually asked if he would like to be guest creative director of a magazine – he jumped up and immediately said yes. It was arranged within one minute.”
Everything in fashion returns
The theme of this fashion issue is: buy nothing new. That is very much in Lantink’s philosophy as a designer. Is there no new fashion at all in the ELLE fashion special? De Jong: “The theme is ‘Nothing new’, and we mean that with a wink, with which we want to indicate that everything from fashion always comes back. We ask our readers to get started with current trends but to do so with items they already have in their closet or to invest in classics that are timeless, that you can wear for years and combine according to the new trends. We do show new items; these are mainly the classics that will never go on sale and items that we think you will enjoy for years to come. Much of the fashion in this issue is vintage, by the way. We show the big trends based on catwalk images from the past, very nice to see all that. In terms of beauty series, we have relocated a series from 2001, we are now seeing all those beauty trends again. So there too, nothing new, everything comes back.”
Make readers think
What does Anke de Jong think of this theme? Could the fashion world, as one of the biggest polluters in the world, use some sustainability? “We all have to take our responsibility to do something about this pollution, I hope this issue will make our readers think even more. Not to buy anything more, but to buy more consciously. And we also do our best at ELLE ourselves, from this song we will focus for example on pre-orders, so we know how many numbers to print before we go to the printer. In this way we hope that we can reduce the number of returns and that less has to be destroyed. For the time being, you can also buy ELLE in the store, but perhaps one day you can only order ELLE in advance.”