The Next Generation of Editors
LONDON, United Kingdom — The changing of the guard has felt both slow-moving and quick-footed. 2021 has seen a full slate of established editorial talent depart their long-held roles across continental Europe for an uncertain future. In their stead has risen a formidable set of writers, thinkers, and editors whose resilience has already been tested these past few years by a sharp, discerning readership that can sniff out platitudes like the best of them. These bright minds and bright eyes leading the charge in London and Paris deserve to be acknowledged broadly, so here’s a toast to those radically shaping the future of fashion (hopefully for the better).
THE ARTIST: IB KAMARA, EDITOR IN CHIEF, DAZED
Born in Sierra Leone and raised in Gambia, then London, Ib (short for Ibrahim) Kamara wears a constantly rotating set of hats as a stylist, creative collaborator, and newly minted editor. To know a Kamara image is to receive an awakening. A visual auteur of fashion stories, Kamara is deeply inspired by his personal tales growing up in West Africa, injecting his image-making with raw, sometimes rash color. Leading a print project in an increasingly digital paradigm is considering what will arrest attention-lean readers to stop in their tracks. Kamara is committed to a particular kind of beauty and aesthetic that catches one’s breath, especially with cherished Brasilia-born Rafael Pavorotti behind the lens. With Dazed under his purview, he is well on his way to establishing an aperture that includes many more voices.
THE LEADER: KENYA HUNT, EDITOR IN CHIEF, ELLE UK
What makes today’s editor a leader beyond the title? Social media following? Corporate clout? One thing that hasn’t changed is the need for stewardship by a creative and commercial visionary. With a mass-leaning title such as ELLE, often behind the globally reverberating covers of the biggest pop cultural icons, the editor’s task is to appeal to a broad and changing audience across fashion, beauty, culture, and politics. An American in London, Kenya Hunt has taken the mantle as its newest editor-in-chief. Known for championing new voices, in particular through her mentorship program R.O.O.M, Hunt represents the seasoned editor working behind-the-scenes, whose track record at Grazia, The Guardian, and Vogue Italia provides a formidable advantage in the very tactical management of a fashion magazine. As she begins in her role this month, we are looking forward to her sharp eye on such a significant platform.
THE CRITIC: PIERRE A. M’PELé, HEAD OF EDITORIAL CONTENT, GQ FRANCE
Appreciated for his measured approach and beloved for his online persona Pam Boy, Pierre A. M’Pelé has offered a steady source of wit, wisdom, and empathy. Oft one to connect the dots not only behind the business, but also with the collections themselves, M’Pelé is a philosophical mind of the best kind. Evoking fashion and broader history, on what was and what can be, he launched his own zine SCRNSHT in 2018, an accessible visual commentary for the digitally native. In the midst of recent consolidation at Condé Nast, M’Pelé has joined GQ France as its head of editorial content following a short, but important tenure at tome Perfect helmed by Katie Grand (also behind Love, another former employer of M’Pelé). Congo-born, CSM-trained, he has ample parts optimism and realism for what the future of fashion criticism requires.
Cover photo courtesy Kenya Hunt by Christina Ebenezer