I can't wait to get a copy of Fantastic Man offshoot, The Gentlewoman. Intelligent, refined, it's all the things I'd like to be. I love the fantasy and "better self" aspect of magazines, and thinking of how my reading taste has evolved as I get older, and shift from wanting to emulate what I read in the pages of Dolly to well, this one.
Anyhow. I read a wonderful interview with the editor, Penny Martin on Ponystep this morning.
On women: Personally I find it really easy to fall in love with women who aren’t constructs, women who are trying really hard. These are the women that break my heart. Passive, cool women, women that dropped from the sky perfect - they don’t interest me particularly.
On covergirl Phoebe Philo: Phoebe’s quite a serious woman, she wants to be taken seriously, but then she will drop her guard, come out with some vulgarity and howl with laughter. Those moments seem really precious. I love this contrast, the professionalism and seriousness, and then just, ‘Hah hah!’ I think that this is much more consistent with women’s characters than the bon viveur, raconteur figure of Fantastic Man.
On their fashion pages: It’s a modern aesthetic, and it’s about maturity, not in the sense of being old, but in terms of graphic contours, silhouettes and fabrics. I love the sort of fashion photography that allows you to be sartorially precise. We are not talking about a mood or a lifestyle, but a garment. The story of a buttonhole - I love that kind of thing!
