CHANGES AT LUCKY: Lucky magazine has been undergoing a transformation for several months now under new editor in chief Eva Chen and Condé Nast artistic director Anna Wintour. Changes started appearing in the magazine with the September issue and will continue with a few new appointments. Chen has replaced designdirector Lisa Steinmeyer, whose position was eliminated, with new creative director Katia Kuethe, a former creative director at Teen Voguewho had been most recently at Kate Spade.
The colorful stylist Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele is also joining as fashion editor at large.
Chen said these appointments, and a handful of other more junior hires, round out her editorial team. Steinmeyer was the most-senior holdover from the tenure of the previous editor in chief, Brandon Holley. Deb Schwartz, the executive editor, left soon after Chen was named editor in June.
Readers shouldn’t expect more changes besides those already in place.
“What you’re not going to see is a crazy overhaul or crazy aesthetic change because the Lucky reader has seen that already,” Chen said, referring to redesigns under previous editors.
She said the November issue comes closest to her expectations for the magazine.
“The tweaks people can expect to continue to see are small, a refinement of what we’ve established in the first four issues,” she said.
Steinmeyer’s last day was Friday. Kuethe, who begins today, left Teen Vogue in the spring to be senior director of creative at Kate Spade. She was recruited to Lucky while she was a free agent doing consulting work — she recently left Kate Spade, a company that now is the centerpiece ofFifth & Pacific Cos. Inc. as it’s unloaded a number of brands, most recently Juicy Couture.
It’s not unusual for the editorial staff of Lucky, a magazine that specializes in shopping, to come from the brand side. Steinmeyer maintained an independent commercial outfit where she did work for various retail clients, J. Crew among them.
And the at-large title allows Cerf de Dudzeele, who is known for her extravagant and jewelry-strewn photo shoots, to continue with her commercial work consulting and styling for brands, like designer Jeremy Scott. Chen said the at-large structure allows stylists “the flexibility and freedom to work on projects that are not competitive.” Cerf de Dudzeele, Chen said, is “ultimately a smart woman. She is very business-minded as well.”
It’s commonplace in fashion to assign at-large titles to stylists so they can juggle (the more lucrative) brand campaigns and editorial work — Joe McKenna plays a similar role at T: The New York Times Style magazine — and it’s incumbent on their editors in chief to observe a line between church and state so their shoots aren’t overwhelmed with client products. Chen said she’ll be monitoring that division of labor for Cerf de Dudzeele, who had already been shooting for Lucky going back to the September issue.
“Carlyne knows there’s a line and I don’t anticipate that being a problem with her,” she said.
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