Vogue Scandinavia’s Martina Bonnier on becoming Editor-in-Chief of the 28th edition of Vogue and a new approach to sustainable magazine publishing
Martina Bonnier, Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Scandinavia, introduces CNC students to Vogue Scandinavia’s radical and innovative approach to magazine publishing, from the unique business model to her engagement with sustainability. Martina was in conversation with Johannes Reponen, Director of Postgraduate Programmes… CNC’s BA (Hons) year 2 student Antonia Centioni reports…
Editor’s Letter
“Lately, I’ve been asked if being the editor-in-chief of Vogue was a dream of mine growing up but my answer is always the same, you cannot dream of something that seems beyond achievable, I am much more of a dreamer but I do believe in destiny and hard work”.
Extract from Martina Bonnier, Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 editor’s letter
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About Martina Bonnier
Martina was born in Sweden into the Bonnier publishing dynasty, whose illustrious history goes back two centuries. By the age of 20, Martina had lived in 15 different cities in five different countries across Europe and the USA, most recently in New York. This peripatetic childhood made her self-reliant and observant. It has also given her ‘lived’ international experience and the opportunity to see how people outside Scandinavia view the region. This alongside her expansive career history in fashion media, most recently for the last eight years where she held the position of Editor-in-Chief of Damernas Värld and has published several books about fashion and style, has made Martina the ideal candidate to lead the team in the launch of the 28th edition of Vogue.
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Cover Stars
The inaugural issue of Vogue Scandinavia went viral, featuring 18-year-old Swedish Activist, cover star Greta Thunberg, and an Icelandic horse, photographed by duo Alexandrov Klum. A cover that represents the intertwined, dependent relationship between human and animal within nature. A far cry from the streets of political protest presenting the realities of the environmental crisis. This cover of Vogue has been reinvented as a method of defiance against an apathetic attitude towards the environment.
Martina explained how Greta, “trusted us and for her, it’s solely about trust, she only does what she believes in herself, I think because of how we want to work and only be genuine.”
The styling is respectfully in line with Greta’s zero-waste philosophy, remaining true to her ethics. The pieces she is wearing were made from dead-stock fabric and included Nordic designers, a very important aspect for Vogue Scandinavia.
Bringing Greta into the conversation, as someone who has been very critical about the fashion industry, is time appropriate whilst maintaining values of integrity synonymous with the Vogue DNA.
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Issue Two, features coverstar Helena Christensen, makeup-free wearing linen cloth from her summer house. This promotes a natural and clean aesthetic attributed with Scandinavian culture and valuing the luxury of its landscape.
Both issues are rooted in Scandinavia’s functional, yet modern approach, of being mindfully conscious of the environment and forms a cohesive thread across all Vogue Scandinavia’s content channels.
The intention behind this decision, Martina explains, was taken on day one. “From the beginning, it had a lot to do with nature and the love for nature, as I have five countries, five different languages, cultures, all of that, we are very different in the Nordics, I was thinking what unites us? And the thing that unites us the most is the love for nature”.
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The Scandinavian Vision
Martina saw the need for magazines to change radically, and working digitally brings another creative freedom today in fashion which is e-commerce.
“We are small countries, not so many people and to be able to have a big market that counts I immediately knew it had to be five countries, it had to be all of the Nordics, Finland and Iceland also and then we had the complications with the five different languages, it’s culturally different and English language needs to be there to unify us”.
The English language creates opportunity outside Scandinavia and they have worked a lot on this concept to create a larger market.
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For each issue the publication curates The Sound of Vogue Scandinavia, capturing the spirit of their printed pages through sound, and they also have a perfume, a paper scent of a little lake from the north Inspired by the Swedish mountain lake, ‘Fjällsjö’.
All of these entities elevate the experience of reading, making it more luxurious.
“I believe that if you’re not transparent and not open, nothing will happen. We know we aren’t perfect but if we do something it’s better than nothing”.
Sustainability
Vogue Scandinavia is operating as part of a new subscription model unlike any of their sister titles. Published bi-monthly, the e-commerce single copy edition is packaged in a renewable box instead of plastic.
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The collector’s edition arrives in a framed patterned box, an object of desire. This is the most circular option when it comes to sustainability because this is a limited keepsake, not mass-produced, being online allows them to track every magazine, count the footprint of the magazine from start to finish. This not only ensures the longevity of print, but provides a solution to print vs digital debate and the relevance of a print magazine in a digital savvy world.
“Vogue is about quality, and to make quality today, it costs money, it’s very strange to have something low priced and tell people you’re doing quality, it doesn’t really rhyme”.
Key Takeaways
- You have to be passionate about it and you have to give your life and devote yourself to it
- Hard work will always pay off
- Critique yourself in order to do better
By Antonia Centioni, BA (Hons) Fashion Communication