Hello and welcome to the most fun special edition yet. Big call, I know, but I’m making it! Gird your loins; this is WintourRama.
Last week my B List Bookclub interview with Amy Odell about Anna streamed on the State Library NSW’s website. This week you’ll be reading an interview between myself and Zara Wong (currently head of content at Mecca, previously worked at Vogue) and an essay from me using my reading of Anna as trampoline into a critique of fashion publishing and media (peppered with premium gifs, of course). Then, tonight at 6.30pm Sydney time you can join a livestream of myself, Bridie Jabour, and Jordan Turner as we all simultaneously watch then discuss The Devil Wears Prada. Epic!
If you’re seeing this in your inbox (rather than reading it online later) you’ll notice our new big red banner. Nerd News & Reviews is what we’re calling these special edition ‘deep dives’ from now on, because I needed to name them something sufficiently different to Style News & Reviews which will be launching on Wednesday 2 November. What does all this mean?
I will always land in your inbox on Wednesdays at 5pm, but from November onwards News & Reviews will be alternating between free and paywalled weeks. The first Wednesday of each month is Style, then a regular week, then we have a Nerd week, then a regular week.
The most exciting part of all this is that I’m bringing three regular contributors on board and paying them to create great stuff for you. Two of them you’ve met before, and one is brand new to the News & Reviews world. I’m taking a bit of a leap here and trusting that this community will rise up and catch us. I still love making regular weeks, drawing connections between news items and keeping the mixed bag of rants and recommendations snappy. If that’s what you’re here for, then wonderful. If you’re also here because you like talking to smart people who make you laugh, who care about art in all forms but also how it’s made, well then you should become a paying subscriber.
Anyways, more on all that in the coming weeks. Right now, take a deep breath, here we go diving into all things Anna Wintour, Vogue, and The Devil Wears Prada. It’s too long for an email; it’s that big and juicy. See you on the other side!
An interview with Zara Wong
I’d been following Zara Wong on Instagram for a while before she launched her Substack, Screenshot This, about a year ago, which I love. Right now Zara is on maternity leave from her role as head of content and editorial strategy at Mecca. Before that she was at Vogue Australia and before that Harper’s Bazaar and before that she interned at a few places, including US Vogue. When I decided to do WintourRama Zara was the first person I thought of—high caliber local talent with an international vision. I’d read interviews with her before that focused on her (great) style and fashion opinions, but I also wanted to hear her discuss some industry stuff. Read on to find out her favourite three Vogue covers of all time, and some fascinating insights into the ‘fashion nerds’ she loved working with, and the motivations behind what she does now.
BL: I've asked you to pick your three favourite Vogue covers, and I feel like it's a bit of a Rorschach test because you came back to me and asked me, ‘do you want Australian or international?’ And I let you choose. So, which covers have you chosen?