Flare, Falter, Fame

This is old news, but if any of you follow Canadian fashion magazines, you'll know that Flare underwent a change of lead in June 2012. Lisa Tant, the Editor-in-Chief of eight years, known for her daring foray into social media, left to become publisher of HELLO! Canada. Yes, HELLO! Canada, otherwise known as a celebrity gossip magazine. I can't speak for other fashionistas, but although the job position is a step up, the magazine is a definite step down. Imagine going from working in the throes of high fashion, to working for a magazine tripping over its heels to obtain photos of celebrity babies.

Now, there was talk about her sudden move being due to an earlier Tweet where she leaked details of Lady Gaga's top secret fragrance. Of course there's no confirmed link between the two, but working in media, you have to be extremely careful of what you put out. Especially in her position, she was a pretty high profile figure, basically acting as the face of the entire Flare brand, and being known as Canada's Anna Wintour.  But fast forward to Flare's new Editor-in-Chief: Miranda Purves, former fashion editor at Elle. I've only read through a few of the issues under her direction, and I'm not quite impressed yet.  Flare was initially my favourite Canadian fashion magazine because of Tant...she added personality to the publication that the other magazines lacked. Purves has not won me over yet, but I look forward to getting a better picture of her style this summer by catching up on the latest issues of Flare.  (Update: After going through a couple issues, I find this new Flare to be a little lacklustre.  Purves rarely shows her face in her Editor Letter, and although that is an admirable and humble attempt at making the magazine more about the entire team, I feel a loss of connection to the Flare brand.  I find her Letters fairly straighforward and the content average.  Nothing yet is making me say, "Hey, that's really great," but time will tell whether Flare comes back shining.)

But anyway, back to Tant. If you think the story ends there, you're wrong. In early November 2012, Tant was named Holt Renfrew's Fashion Editor, a position made specifically for her.  It turns out the job at HELLO! Canada just didn't demand enough creativity from her. Opportunities come at the strangest of times.  Even when you think you've got your career down, you never know when you'll be whisked away on another exhilarating adventure. This whole ordeal just reminds me to keep going after what I want.  Doors may constantly seem to be closing in my face, but all I need to do is reach out and give them a tug in my direction.

Image Source: Tant, Purves