In Vogue: The Editor's Eye

Last week in New York (of course), Vogue premièred their documentary collaboration with HBO, In Vogue: The Editor's Eye. For the life of me I cannot find where to view it here in Australia, if anyone has a clue, holla at me!

In lieu of actually watching the film - which was launched to commemorate 120 years of the world's most famous fashion magazine - I have taken to watching every clip I can find on YouTube and reading every single review I can get my hands on.

Most go something like this:

'Brilliant to watch, very interesting. Genius minds at work. Fantasy, drama, creativity. What do Fashion Editors do exactly? Nothing and everything. The French stylist is nuts. BUT. This is clearly a puff piece. A film on Vogue, by Vogue. Tooting your own horn much? Vogue is a commercial business. Regular people can't afford those clothes! BUUUT then again this is Vogue, the best fashion magazine ever published so I guess it's justified.'

Amen,sister (or brother).

Obviously Vogue is packed full of ridiculously expensive pieces, most I will probably never be able to afford. But I don't care. I still love the magazine because I love looking at the imagery surrounding the clothes, created by the women featured in the film. It's beautiful and it would take a certain mind to make the fantasy come to life and then to jump off a page.

I don't care if it's 'self-indulgent' as one review called it. I work in fashion and lifestyle PR, I know how this industry works. So when I can finally figure out where to watch In Vogue: The Editor's Eye, I will probably love it.

*Image care of Vogue. 

Industry Profile: Natalie Massenet

Often when I read about people in fashion I'm blown away by how hard they have worked to become so successful. I find it so inspiring to discover that most industry icons come from humble beginnings - it makes them seem more real.

One women I really enjoy is Natalie Massenet, Founder and Executive Chairman of net-a-porter.com.

Born in LA in May of 1965, Massenet is the daughter of an American Journalist and a Chanel model. After spending her early years living in Paris and Madrid, Massenet moved back to LA aged 11 to live with her father after her parents divorced, where she attended a private school her father could only just afford to send her to.

A Journalist herself, Massenet began her career in fashion at Women's Wear Daily where she was a Fashion Editor. Later she worked for Tatler in London where she came up with the idea for net-a-porter.com.

"I couldn't believe you could be sitting in your apartment in London and be clicking on a Victorian jacket in Wisconsin, and that someone in Wisconsin could send it to you!", she told British Vogue. 

Net-a-Porter was launched in June of 2000 from Massenet's Chelsea apartment where she and 15 staff members waited in bedrooms packed full of designer fashion. (Can you imagine what they must have felt when the first sale came through? I'd be doing my happy dance and popping the bubbly.)

It was the first online store to sell luxury clothes for women - revolutionary, considering women before this had only ever purchased clothing they had seen and felt in person.

Net-a-Porter didn't turn a profit until 2004 when Massenet accepted the 'Best Shop' award at the British Fashion Awards. Later that same year the online store also won the UK Fashion Export Award for Best E-Tailer.

In 2010 Massenet sold the company for £350 million to Swiss luxury goods conglomerate Richemont.

Massenet remains the Executive Chairman at net-a-porter.com where she manages over 600 staff world wide. The website attracts more than two million hits a month with an average spend of £500.

Thank YOU Natalie Massenet for making the shopping experience for people like me who don't enjoy shopping in-store more enjoyable. I love clothes shopping online. You are the reason fashion is so accessible. 

*Image courtesy of UK Glamour Online