Bella Hadid Dashes Into Condé Nast's Future by Alex Webb for Vogue US June 2021

Supermodel Bella Hadid dashes through New York’s Moynihan Train Hall [IG] America’s busiest transit hub, lensed by master Magnum photographer Alex Webb [IG]. Tonne Goodman styles Bella in ‘Let’s Get Lost’ for the June 2021 issue of Vogue US./ Hair by Jimmy Paul; makeup by Dick Page

If you’re in the crowd studying where Condé Nast is going, ‘Let’s Get Lost’ is part of a larger ‘buy’ feature Summer Travel Is Calling! Shop Stylish Luggage and More for the Ride. AOC likes the hi-low mix of products that include a $70 pair of Zappos sneakers and a $2,950 Horizon soft duggle 55 from Louis Vuitton. The mix is non-elitist, which is good considering the range of incomes among Vogue readers.

Condé Nast Goes Truly Global

The new Vogue Scandinavia — part of a licensing agreement between Condé Nast and Four North — will be the first global edition of the magazine to sell exclusively from its digital flagship store. Having a physical location from which to sell products, sell (and publish on demand) the print issue, create pop-ups for young designers or sustainable designers are part of the new, global Vogue. The effort brings Vogue out of its rarified high, hot air and into a more visible brand presence among its clients and readers.

The challenge will be keeping the top luxury brands from running the place, but this is all good from AOC’s pov. We’re reading cries from the critics posing as nameless influencers, many as retro as Trumpers in their wails of “why can’t we just go back to having great fashion magazines”.

Given the cash Condé Nast is bleeding, and the clear reality that “the times are changing”, the company deserves a wide range of latitude in its path to recovery.

If the European Union can speak for Europe, it’s a bit ridiculous to assume that every Vogue in Britain, France, Italy, Germany, etc. needs its own staffs and EIC — when we’re all globalists. AOC is an extreme example, but we read all the international editions with the translator.

Personally I LOVE the fact that Malala is on the new cover of British Vogue, and AOC loves Edward Enninful. We just read surreptitiously the online critics and roll our eyes over the retrograde Condé Nast angst out there in fashionland. Change is usually not easy.

We repeat: give Condé Nast a long runway. Things will go wrong; a hunch won’t pay off. They will push something too far. The company has moved out of their comfort zone under severe financial distress. Many of us do our best thinking in those moments, so go for it Condé Nast . There’s plenty of time to criticize later.