Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, Vestoj
This year’s Modern Magazine conference takes place on 2 November. In the second of our speaker previews we meet Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, the founder/editor-in-chief of Vestoj, the Paris-based ‘The Journal of Sartorial Matters.’ The magazine and its editor recently hit the headlines with its revealing online interview with British Vogue departee Lucinda Chambers.
What’s your favourite cover of your magazine?
I love two covers in particular, issue six, ‘On Failure’ and issue seven, ‘On Masculinities.’ They are funny and irreverent and, I hope, add a certain tongue-in-cheekness that I try not to overlook in the midst of all the seriousness we otherwise attempt to bring to the topic of fashion.
What has been your magazine highlight of 2017?
I don’t tend to see work or life in terms of milestones; to me, the small things that make up everyday life are much more important and defining.
What was the one mistake that taught you the most about making magazines
Again, I’m not one for great pronouncements of this type: it’s not how I see life. When it comes to mistakes, I’ve made many and will go on to make many more. I don’t always learn from them, though I try to.
What will you be talking about at ModMag?
Well, I’ve been asked to comment on how print magazines ought to adapt in this age of social media and though social media isn't my forte, I do have a lot to say about strength through specificity.
Regardless of the recent onslaught of social media, the fashion magazine market is absolutely saturated. There is far too much homogeneity – and this goes for both ‘indie’ magazines and mainstream ones. Despite variations in aesthetics, everyone seems to follow the same format: news, celebrities, fashion shoots and industry insider posturing.
For all its reliance on forward motion, the fashion industry sure can seem conventional and tired sometimes. I don’t quite understand why new magazine makers don’t try harder to come up with an original angle: being niche means you have the ability to build loyalty, which surely is at least one key to survival.
The Modern Magazine 2017
Thursday 2 November (9am to 5.30pm)
Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL (map)
Final details and line up will be confirmed over the next weeks, check here for latest news.
Group discounts are available. Please email stephanie@magculture.com for further information.