Marie Claire launches new edition with stronger fashion focus

By

Tanissia Issad

Translated by
Erin Floyd

Published
May 3, 2018

Following in the footsteps of Grazia and Glamour, it's now Marie Claire's turn for a makeover. While Grazia opted for a stronger informational slant for its March edition and Glamour took the step to move away from its feminine image just two weeks later, Marie Claire is setting a new course to become a fashion industry benchmark in the publishing sector.
 

The change was ushered in by Marianne Mairesse, editor-in-chief of the publication for the past three years, and by fashion editor Anne-Sophie Thomas, previously employed at the Editions Jalou group. It should enable the leading premium women's monthly magazine, which has a paid circulation of 363,898 copies in France, according to research by APCM, to "remain an influential brand for women and to address their new expectations and consumption habits."

In order to achieve this, the magazine is focusing as much on the introduction of a number of new sections (including those of top Instagrams, L'Insta décisif, or designs that have provoked debate, L'Objet du débat), as it is on its new layout, which Marie Claire creative director Oisin Orlandi has been working on since her arrival at the magazine last January.

"Fashion, one of our historic mainstays, is occupying its rightful place in the new Marie Claire: central to the magazine... alongside inspirational fashion series produced with new photographers; features; designer interviews and new sections linked with digital which will reflect fashion and markers of femininity and gender in our society," explained Mairesse via a press release.
 
The metamorphosis comes as women's media is undergoing a series of meteoric changes: the magazine Elle is on the verge of being sold by Lagardère to a Czech group belonging to billionaire Daniel Kretinsky; Mondadori and Marie Claire were in discussions in March about a potential merger, and even fashion bible Vogue has seen its readership drop, recording a decrease of 11.96 percent across its total circulation between 2016 and 2017, according to figures from APCM.