Marie Claire Debuts Creators Issue Under New Owner
A lot changed for Marie Claire in 2021.
Longtime joint owners Hearst Magazines and the Marie Claire Album sold the women’s publication to Future plc, which already published the U.K. edition, in May. Shortly afterward, Future ended its regular print run of seven issues a year to focus mainly on digital.
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Now, it is beginning 2022 with a new partnership celebrating creators, teaming up with Adobe to launch the Marie Claire Top 21 Creators to Watch and a Creators issue, which editor in chief Sally Holmes is hoping will become an annual feature. The list comprises women creators of various industries, including art, beauty, directing fashion, music, social activism, social influencers and technology, who are pushing boundaries and in their respective fields.
“We actually did an entire package on the future of work back in September and did a whole survey about how people are feeling right now and it felt like the perfect moment to really highlight the people who are pursuing their passions and making being a creator their full time job,” Holmes said. “[To me, a creator] is someone who is making what’s inside of them — whether it’s their passion for community or illustrating or directing or even a beauty influencer who’s putting on a face of make up. Someone who’s just taking what they love and putting it out into the world.”
While Marie Claire will still publish two print issues a year, in May and September, the latter being the most crucial month of the year for magazine publishers as they seek to grab ad dollars, the Creators issue is digital, which Holmes believes is the perfect fit for it. “We obviously aren’t able to do a moving cover on a print issue and a lot of what the creators are producing are multimedia. They’re something you want to interact with on your screen so I think this was really the best, most organic way to show off this issue. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have worked in print, but I do think that it works best in digital so I think it’s about taking advantage and telling our stories in the best platforms possible.”
Among the creators featured are Maliyamungu Muhande, an artist and documentary director; Corinna and Theresa Williams, cofounders of Celsious, a laundromat that’s turning the idea of laundry on its head with the products that they use, as well as creating a space for community, and Charlotte Palermino, influencer, and cofounder of Dieux, a sustainable skin care brand. The cover face is actress and comedian Jenny Slate, photographed by Ramona Rosales. “She is a creator in every sense of the word — artist, comedian, author and actress,” Holmes said.
As for Marie Claire’ focus under its new owner, expect more of the same type of coverage in a largely digital format. “It’s about really leaning into our core pillars and trying to tell the best stories for our audience and reach them wherever the may be,” added Holmes. “We’re going hard on sustainability. It’s a big piece of what we’ve always done. It’s becoming more and more of a topic that everyone’s talking about which is really exciting. Fashion and beauty are always going to be core to our brand. Politics — if you can believe it, we’re already talking about what the midterms are going to look like this year.”
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