Mags: InStyle's new look

The 290-page November issue of InStyle (Pacific Magazines) represents the 'in full bloom' issue for new editor Kerrie McCallum, formerly of Shop Til You Drop (ACP). Accordingly, the magazine has been renovated to McCallum's taste (like Nicole Kidman's face?!). Which is timely, given the anticipated launch of News Magazines' Glamour in January 2009 and stablemate Marie Claire's recent redesign and downsizing/compacting.

Coincidentally, Pacific-friendly advertiser Domayne has come on board with its 'Bonus Beach Chic Magazine' catalogue, as it has with this month's Marie Claire. Target has also sponsored a 36-page perforated 'InStyle Shopping Guide', as it did with its Marie Claire October issue supplement. Clearly someone is doing a good job of looking after those key advertising accounts (and given their general stylistic synchronisity, I think such things can add value to a publication).

The new look includes redesigned pages as well as content organised under new section headings ('The Look', 'Your Look' and 'Shop It'). The magazine also boasts a new columnist in the New York Times' Horacio Silva and headshots of staff on pages (thanks to reality TV and the likes of Nina Garcia, editors are fast becoming celebrities in their own right, while readers are able to put faces to the editorial, making magazines more personable and personality driven). But, as McCallum tells Sally Jackson of The Australian, the key editorial change is less focus on the red carpet, a directive from international licence holder Time Inc.

"When InStyle came out no one (else) was doing six pages of red carpet looks," McCallum tells Jackson. "But over time people take bits of a successful formula and apply it. Now everyone does them... InStyle will always use celebrities as inspiration. But they have broadened their idea of what a celebrity is. InStyle now recognises that taste-makers have become celebrities in their own right. That might be a talented chef or a jewellery maker. It isn't just people you see on the red carpet."

A wise move, I say. And here I must confess: I have not been a regular reader of InStyle, which makes comparisons to the 'old guard' editorial offering futile. My reluctance to buy the magazine has to date been hedged on the idea of having to draw the purchasing line somewhere, generally uninspiring covers, the devotion to red carpet looks (not applicable to my lifestyle) and the cheesy American content (take a look around the exquisite home of Blah Blah from A Show You Never Watch). But on perusing this issue, I was pleasantly surprised. Visually, it's stunning. The styling is gorgeous. And I don't think any other Australian magazine can boast of the same A-list access. Plus, it smells really good (a blend of Ralph Lauren Notorious and Lancome Magnifique). So, to a review:

The cover... Okay, I'm not fussed on the cover. This is, in part, because I'm not fussed on Nicole. Here, she looks like her Stepford Wives character, and she's been Photoxed to within an inch of her acting credibility (not that you need Photoshop when you use real Botox – though no mention of that in the 'Get the [cover] Look' beauty tip box inside). Same white background as usual, a little glitzy gold text and '30 ways to look thinner in your clothes'. I'm not sold. Thankfully, this issue isn't plastic wrapped, so potential buyers can flick through at the stand.

Nicole has been shot by Alan Gelati, who also photographed her for the cover of Harper's Bazaar's March 2008 birthday issue. Kidman was reportedly shot during her recent Sydney visit... after the birth of Sunday Rose. In one full-length cover story picture (right), she looks extremely thin – virtually no evidence of the post-baby tummy she claims to have ("I don't have a flat stomach any more and I probably never will, so I would love to get back into some sort of skin-tight dress, but that's certainly not in my future!"). Yeah, right! Kidman is just like all the other celebrity mums (which GWAS reader Rachel coincidentally referred to as 'emaciated mums' – an ironic misreading of my 'emancipated mums' comment) who seemingly lose their post-baby weight with the ease of taking off a coat.

The ed. says... the issue is devoted to Australian style, inspired by Baz Luhrmann's Australia.

The story line-up:

• Catherine Martin speaks to Claire Davey about her costume and set design work, her research and collaborating with her partner on Australia.
• Presumably from the US edition, three pages are devoted to Nicole Richie and her jewellery line, House of Harlow 1960. Richie looks suitably boho lovely in her white shirt and ripped jeans; her cats-eye makeup and layers of gold jewellery adding a touch of glamour (if not a little Captain Sparrow and his treasure chest effect). The line apparently reflects her love of vintage.
• Proenza Schouler duo Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough feature on this month's designer profile pages (along with the 'women who love them': Kate Bosworth, Charlize Theron and Chloe Sevigny).
• The month's 'Man of Style' is Fringe's Joshua Jackson (I still have a soft spot for Pacey), boyfriend of Diane Kruger, who says, "My education in the world of high fashion started with Diane... When you're dating a European woman, the slovenly American way of dressing will not do. But the reality is, I've also grown up a lot in the last five years and not getting dressed up is partly teenage rebellion".
• In 'Seeing Double', a ten-page photographic spread, designers and "their A-list muses" discuss their friendships. The roll call includes Marc Jacobs and Victoria Beckham, Claudia Schiffer and Karl Lagerfeld, Brian Atwood and Rachel Zoe (who looks really lovely... smiling!), Henry Holland and Agyness Deyn, Vivienne Westwood and Daisy Lowe, Giambattista Valli and Mary-Kate Olsen and Giorgio Armani and Camilla Belle. It's gushing but interesting and pretty to look at.
• I adore Sophie Monk (she's like a young Sonia Kruger – her humour is so refreshing and she's not afraid to unleash her inner bogan: she says "I have tanorexia very badly!"), so am happy to see eight pages of the rising Aussie starlet. She offers some simple styling tips and poses in dresses by Aussie designers Lisa Ho, Easton Pearson, Josh Goot and Collette Dinnigan, as well as an Anna & Boy swimsuit and Bassike tee shirt. The busty blonde, shot by InStyle in LA, shares how she gets bikini-ready: "I stop eating creamy things and exercise. I run, do yoga or do dance classes at LA's Millennium Studios."
  
• In 'Your Perfect Fit', four stylish women reveal their favourite summer piece – "and why it works for them". The four include actress/model Tahyna Tozzi (smock dress), interiors stylist Megan Morton (high-waist pant), boutique owner Lauren Abood (the mini) and PR Tracy Baker (the maxi dress). All fashionably connected, of course.
• 'What's now!' is the magazine's entertainment section. It opens with Lenka and Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel gun heel and is swiftly followed by fashion tips from Nina Garcia.
• 'On my mind' page subject Lindsay Lohan reveals she's speed dialling Samantha Ronson, collecting Hermes bangles, carrying a Charlotte Ronson bag, doesn't have a Facebook account but is addicted, and watches Living Lohan ("so I can keep up with my family's life").
• Narciso Rodriguez scores a page as does a new book on Sophia Loren (Sophia Loren: A Life in Pictures; HarperCollins, $60).
• There are two pages of mostly black-and-white celebrity snaps from the Toronto Film Festival and a further two pages on 'The Genius of Patricia Field', whose style icon is Cleopatra and says she helped to pioneer the idea of mixing designer and vintage pieces.
• In 'Life etc.' ("because style isn't just about what you wear"), we're invited into Michael Kors' New York apartment and Margherita Missoni tells us about her fabulous life.
  
• Homewares designer Megan Park hosts a lunch for friends and the InStyle shoot team, an excuse to sneaky peek inside her home.
• 'Halle's Great Race' covers the actress's involvement in the Annual Entertainment Industry Foundation's Revlon Run/Walk for Women in LA, which helps fund cancer research.
• The travel section takes us (read: writer Juliet Rieden, lucky gal) to Byron Bay's Emerald Valley Estate.
• The issue rounds out with Horacio Silva's 'Pssst!' column. He starts by writing of an encounter with Anna Wintour's "toe-verhang" (aka 'shrimp cocktail, aka 'when you little toe pokes out from the side of your shoe) at the Derek Lam show in NY ("nothing short of a sandal scandal") before launching into comment on the statement shoe, Zac Posen's padded dresses, designers paying homage to YSL ("sheer tops, safari looks and peak-shouldered Broadway suits") and the US election. All well said with a dash of good humour.
  

The superficial:

• 'Australia Dreaming' is the first main fashion spread, running from page 40 to 49. It is exquisite. Magazine style director Judith Cook has paired a Lee Mathews cotton dress ($1,295) with an RM Williams leather belt ($69.95) and boots ($555) for the opening DPS. It's dreamy. Elsewhere, Cook has used labels such as Cue, Marni, Diesel, Dries Van Noten, Ralph Lauren, Hermes, Anna Thomas, Bonds (singlet, of course), Stubbies (shorts), House of Cashmere and an Akubra hat to create her outback-inspired looks. It would have been fantastic to use Australian labels exclusively.
• 'The Look' opens up with Keira Knightley's huge, mesmerising smoky eyes. She is November's 'Best Dressed'. This follows with two pages of Camilla Belle in cute dresses (divied into A.M. and P.M. style), a page devoted to celebs wearing Balmain, celebs in fringing, celebs in red (casual and red carpet), Claudia Schiffer, 'Shorts vs Pants' and two pages of Julianne Moore (to balance out the celebrity age bracket).
• 'Your Look' opens with a $345 Dinosaur Designs statement necklace. Five pages of still-life outfit suggestions follow under 'Instant Style: Summer in the City', then we get tips on how to pull off the maxi dress, wear lace three ways and incorporate a graphic skirt into our work wardrobes.
• In 'Shoe Diaries', Rachel Zoe (again – clearly InStyle loves this celeb stylist) shows off her favourite pumps.
• 'How to look thinner in your clothes' could be edited by Ms. Zoe (eat asparagus for dinner!), but instead we are given pics of Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Davis and Camilla Belle (again!) and tips on blazers, high waists, 'wonder wedges', hem length, tonal contrast, full skirts and miracle underwear.
• 'Shop It!' opens with 'The Short List' ("five things we're set to splurge on this month"), which includes a $1700 Miu Miu bag, $100 Sportsgirl sandals and a $245 Missoni scarf. The section gives us retro shades, a page on the history of high heels, three pages of statement bags ($219 - $32,800), cuffs, gladiator flats and 'deals & steals' (two generous pages of affordable fashion finds).
  
• 'The Best Swimsuits on the Horizon' is an eight-page swimwear spread with a retro vibe, which is followed by a six-page 'Swimsuit Workshop' featuring a zillion different bikinis and one pieces.
• In 'Water Baby' actress Gemma Arterton models four nautical chic looks (she's lovely).
• The 'InStyle Fragrance Awards', over a sprawling eight-pages, offer us the best of evening, celebrity, holiday, day-time, 'new classic', most innovative, men's, limited-edition and designer scents, as well as the best bottle design (Prada Amber Pour Homme EDT), as voted by the magazine's panel of eight judges, including Akira Isogawa, Gail Elliott, Neil Perry and Jill Timms. No wonder this issue smells so good.
• The beauty section opens with coral polishes.
• More Elle Macpherson (this time spruiking Invisible Zinc as well as her The Body collection of beauty products)! In 'How I got my beach body', The Body says she does an acupuncture session once a week for 'maintenance' and that right now "I'm trying my best not to be too hard on myself."
• We get weight loss tips from Gisele's trainer ("start your day with a shot of wheat grass and a green juice...") and are told that Angelina Jolie "fast-tracked her body back to fabulousness after giving birth to Shiloh by slathering on Yon-Ka Creme 55" (clearly a miracle product!)
  
• All the major fragrance advertisers get a little editorial plug (Chanel No. 5, Lancome Magnifique, Estee Lauder Sensuous...) and a page of Jennifer Aniston hairdos makes for a familiar trip down memory lane.
  
• In the four-page beauty feature 'What kind of girl are you?' we're told how to get a Cate Blanchett glow, Jessica Alba's straight locks, Gisele's waves, Drew's burgandy lips, Halle's nude look and Eva Longoria's eyes. This is followed by '10 ways to glowing skin', Beyonce's beauty buys, an Avon advertising feature and a page of 'Deals & Steals'.

In all, I really enjoyed my first genuine look into InStyle and think this issue is great value for money. Its main advantage is definitely celebrity access, and I'm glad they've decided to ease off the seen-it-already red carpet coverage.The prices of featured items are skewed towards the high end of the market, though there are rare glimpses of affordable goods and I'd assume the reader is not the kind to shop in SUPRE. InStyle provides readers with glamorous reprieve from the doom-and-gloom of the mainstream news, without being completely inaccessible or alienating or featuring too-thin 14-year-old models a la Vogue. It is, perhaps, the Who magazine of the monthlies. This is a good thing.

The score:
Overall excitement factor: 8/9
Feel-good factor: 6 (points off for the dieting editorial, celebrity weight loss tips and 'How to look thinnner in your clothes': they spoil the party)
Eye-candy rating: 5

The stats:
Issue: November 2008
Cover price: $7.95
Book size: 290 pages
FOB ads: Ralph Lauren Notorious, Estee Lauder Pleasures, Dior Rouge, Chanel No.5, Cartier, Chanel Le Rouge, D&G Time, Clinique, Lancome Magnifique, Juicy Couture, Gucci by Gucci, Clarins, Beckham Signature, Dior Iconic, Avon...
Editor: Kerrie McCallum
Publisher: Pacific Magazines/Time Inc.
Website: www.instyle-australia.com

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel