By Calynn M. Lawrence
@fairytalefacesbycalynn
Many people picture the life of a fashion editor as something very glamorous and easy. They think that it is filled with nothing but walking around an office in designer heels and watching runway shows. Well, it’s not the reality.
Talking with two seperate editor’s we see what it’s really like.
Editor A:
“I have no set schedule. I wish a 9 to 5 was in my job description but it isn’t. Although I love what I do, I can not help but remember the days of knowing that I would be home by a certain time. With being the boss comes a lot of responsibility. The fate of my publication rests on my shoulders.
I usually rise about 5 AM to get to my office by 7 AM. Once I get there, I greet the interns and my employees and I run into my office for a quick second of mental preparation. After that, it’s meetings with potential advertisers, partners and fashion models that want to be in the publication. Obviously, you can not say yes to everybody so it takes a while to sift through which ones are the best suit. Some times,it will be such a close tie that I have to consult other professionals to get an outside opinion.
Once, my niece wanted to be in the magazine as a model and I had to choose between her and another girl. Sadly, my niece was not picked. I loved her the same but you have to do what’s right for the publication. Allowing loved ones to guilt trip you into publishing them is a one way ticket to decline. It’s things like that to make the job more difficult because you have to hurt a lot of feelings. But, if that’s what it costs to compose a successful issue then you need to do that. Anyone who thinks a fashion editor isn’t tough is crazy”
Editor B:
“I don’t like to be called a ‘fashion editor.’ In theory that is the job title. But, I feel like the term fashion editor only shows a small portion of what someone like me does. I don’t just sit around proofreading articles. I have to build the entire magazine from the ground up. Everything related to the magazine comes from my own planning. For example, I will send out a memo to the writer for what theme I think will be good for the next issue. From there, I will decide who will take what direction and how. Then, I must round up the photographers and convey the same plan that they need to execute, except I need it to translate visually through their images as opposed to literary through the writer’s words. That is a huge task in itself.
After that, it’s off to my office to make tens of calls and emails to vendors and companies and fashion models. If you want to know how long that takes, imagine having to reply to 50+ emails a day, and make about 20 calls just in the morning. You can surely understand why many of my shifts are actually often doubles. I feel like anybody looking for a job as a ‘fashion editor’ needs to be ready. We take on a lot but its all worth it when that lovely issue is done.”
