In the chaos of fake news and consummate virality, the New York media world is witnessing another change. In the recent past, three women of Indian origin have been appointed editors-in-chief of both legacy and new-age publications. Meet the bosses heralding an era of diversity and inclusivity.
As editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, Radhika Jones is the latest arbiter of our cultural moment, capturing the zeitgeist with a progressive gaze, finds Kanishk Tharoor
One of the images Radhika Jones is proudest of from her tenure so far as editor of Vanity Fair comes not from the red carpets of Hollywood but the halls of Congress. After Democrats swept mid-term elections in November, a Vanity Fair image of six new Congresswomen went viral. It featured the first Muslim American and Native American women to serve in Congress, as well as the popular 29-year-old leftist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The changing face of American political life shone through with dignity and strength. “That’s the kind of imagery I want to be making,” Jones tells me. “It captures the spirit of the age, of the country, of this new wave. There is an attitude to it, it’s forward-looking. That’s where we want to be.”
Jones, 45, is the first woman “of colour” (her mother is Indian and her father white American) to lead a magazine of Vanity Fair’s prestige and influence in the United States. Though she speaks carefully—almost delicately—and with self-effacing humility, she does not hide her ambition for the magazine nor her sense of its epochal responsibility. “We are in a very volatile and exciting cultural moment,” she says. “Vanity Fair has the potential not just to reflect but to play a taste-making role in the culture.”
ON THE RECORD
This story is from the April 2019 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 2019 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Current affairs
Elif Shafak’s work abounds with references, memories and a deep love of Istanbul. She talks to AANCHAL MALHOTRA about the significance of home and those who shape our recollections of the past
A drop of nostalgia
A whiff of Chanel N°5 L'Eau acts as a memory portal for TARINI SOOD, reminding her of the constant tussle between who we are and who we hope to become
Wild thing's
Zebras hold emerald-cut diamonds, panthers morph into ring-bracelets that move and a turtle escapes to become a brooch -Cartier's high jewellery collection Nature Sauvage is a playground of the animal kingdom.
Preity please
Two surprise red-carpet appearances and a movie announcement have everyone obsessing over Preity Zinta. The star behind the aughties’ biggest hits talks film wardrobe favourites, social media and keeping it real.
Honeymoon travels
Destination locked, visas acquired, bookings madewhat could stand between a newly-wed couple and pure, unadulterated conjugal bliss in some distant, romantic land? A lot, finds JYOTI KUMARI. Styled by LONGHCHENTI HANSO LONGCHAR
La La Land
They complete each other’s sentences, make music together and get lost on the streets of Paris—this is the love story of Aditi Rao Hydari and Siddharth.
A SHORE THING
Annalea Barreto and Mavrick Cardoz eschewed the big fat Goan wedding for a DIY, intimate, seaside affair that was true to their individual selves.
7 pheras around the buffet
Celebrating the only real love affair each wedding season: me and a feast.
Saving AI do
From getting ChatGPT to plan your wedding itinerary to designing your moodboard on Midjourneytech is officially third-wheeling the big fat Indian wedding
Love bomb me, please
Between breadcrumbing, cushioning and situationships, the language of romance seems to be lost in translation. SAACHI GUPTA asks, where has the passion gone?