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“FASHION IS
about a smile, a flash of beauty, a
moment of artistic genius.” I wrote those words in
the December 2001 issue, in my second editor’s letter for
Harper’s Bazaar. My first issue was going to the printer on the day
of the September 11 attacks, and the question of what role fashion—
and fashion magazines—would play in the world and in our lives hung
in the air. I’d been the editor in chief of Marie Claire—first in Britain and
then in America—for 13 years, and was doing double duty, editing both that
magazine and Bazaar while the executives at Hearst searched for my replacement there. As I sat down to
write that editor’s letter, it was difficult to know what to say. So I decided to talk about why I love fashion:
how it can make you feel; the joy and optimism it can bring; and the tremendous creativity, originality, and
innovation it represents at its best. In a way, remembering that, and finding new ways to share it with and
inspire you, became my mission at Bazaar. So as I sat down to write this editor’s letter, my last as editor in chief
of this magazine, I knew exactly what I wanted to say: This job has been a dream. I’m so proud of what we’ve
accomplished over the past 19 years. Who would have thought that a girl from Derby, England, from a
working-class background, would end up running America’s oldest fashion magazine? We won awards.
We created iconic images. We got celebrities and designers to climb tall buildings, play with fire, swim
with sharks, and share their fears, hopes, and passions with us. We broke news—and made front-
page news. We took risks, publishing unretouched photos of models, actresses, and musicians,
giving women like Lady Gaga and Kendall Jenner some of their first big covers, and
producing different covers for our subscriber and newsstand audiences. We
even got to light up the Empire State Building with images from
the Bazaar archives—and with the opening of the
new exhibition on BazaarA selection of ASME, Folio, and Ad Age award winners
COVER TO COVER
EDITOR’S LETTER
JANUARY
2006
Julianne Moore,
photographed
by Peter
LindberghFEBRUARY
2007
Drew
Barrymoore,
photographed
by Peter
LindberghDECEMBER
2009
Kristen
Stewart,
photographed
by Mark
SeligerMARCH
2014
Lady Gaga,
photographed
by Terry
RichardsonMARCH
2009
Sarah Jessica
Parker,
photographed
by Peter
LindberghMARCH 2012
Gwyneth
Paltrow,
photographed
by Terry
RichardsonMARCH 2015
Rihanna,
photographed
by Norman
Jean RoyAPRIL 2010
Demi Moore,
photographed
by Mark
SeligerBAILEY:^ SWAN^ GAL
LE
T/WWD/SHUT
TE
RSTOCK➤