Alexandra Shulman Editor-in-Chief at British Vogue to exit role
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London - Alexandra Shulman is set to step down from her role as Editor-in-chief of British Vogue after 25 years. She will officially leave the fashion magazine in June and aims to create a future which is separate from the publication.
"I have edited British Vogue for 25 years almost to the day, and to have steered it during our spectacular centenary has been one of the greatest privileges,” said Shulman in a statement on her exit. “During that time I have worked with an unparalleled collection of talent both inside and outside the magazine and have been lucky enough to see both Vogue and the British fashion industry expand and flourish.”
Alexandra Shulman to leave British Vogue
Shulman, who holds the longest tenure for any editor in British Vogue’s 100 year history, added that she found it difficult to find a “rational reason” to leave the role, but realised that she was eager to “experience a different life and look forward to a future separate to Vogue.”
"My career at Condé Nast has been everything I could have wished of it and my heartfelt thanks go to Nicholas Coleridge and Jonathan Newhouse for giving me so many opportunities, trusting me to take care of the precious cargo that is Vogue and allowing me the freedom to do the job exactly how I wanted,” she added.
Shulman was first appointed Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue in 1992, joining the team at the fashion magazine from men’s wear publication QG. She first began her career as a journalist working for Tatler before writing for numerous publications, including The Sunday Telegraph and GQ. Under her leadership Bogue has seen its monthly readership increase to over a million.
Although Shulman successor has yet to be announced, her exit comes as the publications parent company Condé Nast continues to shake up its upper management teams in both the US and the UK. It follows on from news that Nicholas Coleridge, president of Condé Nast International and managing director of Condé Nast Britain, would be stepping down from his role overseeing the daily operations of the company to take up the role of chairman.
"Alex has been the longest-serving and most successful Editor of Vogue in its 100-year history. She has edited the title for a quarter of its existence, through its period of highest-ever circulation, and its simultaneous transformation into a global digital brand,” commented Coleridge. “She has been the towering figure of the British fashion press throughout her tenure: a superb journalist and Editor, who understands and exemplifies every quality. Imaginative, hard-working, perceptive and a brilliant leader, Alex is also a valued friend to so many of us. It is impossible to sufficiently express the contribution she has made to Vogue, to Condé Nast and to the British fashion industry.”
Shulman’s impending departure may not come as such a shock to industry insiders, as last October the Editor-in-Chief published the book ‘Inside Vogue: A Diary of My 100th Year,’ which was seen by many as a pre-emptive move to underline her legacy at Vogue, and lead to speculation that she was planning to leave the publication.
Photo: Alexandra Shulman, courtesy of Pure London