The Sharon Lim Interview
Former editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine on Covid-19, fashion journalism, the “pandemic” aesthetic
While chatting with a friend this morning, I actually said: “Can’t wait to go out but honestly think I’ll miss having so much time alone when this [quarantine] is over.” I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs personality test a few times, scoring a mix of I’s and E’s, but mostly I’s—I really enjoy time alone.
So much that I feel this extended time in my head has pushed me to reach out to (just recently): fashion influencer Mae Tan, celebrity photographer Russel Wong, fashion editor Niki Bruce, 3 very namedrop-y industry powerhouses I still reel in pleasant shock that I’ve had the opportunity to chat with.
Recently, I chatted with (another) fashion titan, Sharon Lim, former editor-in-chief of Elle Magazine. While the media industry in Singapore is small, it can still feel like a lot to take in. It’s not uncommon to “hear” things about people, and especially of whom we don’t know personally it makes it easy for us to form disjointed opinions of them.
With Sharon, it was refreshing to have known of her as a “great” editor. No postscripts. When we chatted I was reminded of what my editor-in-chief at NYLON Singapore, Adele Chan, once advised: “Do good work, be professional, stick to your principles, and you’ll be fine.”
I asked Sharon how she did it.
Fashion career.
I was frustrated working at The Straits Times; was a crime reporter before becoming a music writer. Media was quite meek to culture, and I was pigeonholed as the “rock chick” who writes about ang moh music.
I was always into fashion from a pop culture perspective. Felt like being an information junkie gave me different perspective. It’s so much more interesting to extrapolate fashion, connect dots to culture. In music, for example, heavy metal actually mutates classical music; it’s kind of a fuck-you.
I read a lot. My journalistic background helped. Hermione Granger is a rockstar. Even with a copy for a fashion spread, there are layers. Sometimes there really is nothing to say, but I always try to value-add the visuals.
Image-story ratio of “importance”.
We’re visual creatures, even fonts and layout of words play into that. But the only pictures that didn’t need text were things like Yves Saint Laurent posing nude for his first cologne, or Tom Ford “G” pubes Gucci campaigns. With Brook Shields for Calvin Klein, however, it wouldn’t have been as impactful if she hadn’t said, Nothing comes between me and my Calvins.
Fashion writing is a thankless job, it’s insular, but the cerulean sweater scene in The Devil Wears Prada still holds true today. I’ve always thought about the impact of my work. I’ve left no stone unturned, I’m always looking for the other story.
Fashion writer to editor to editor-in-chief.
With my learning curve, I needed to strive for bigger goals. It’s a misconception that if you’re a writer, you should be an editor next. Some are not the type who can manage people. I didn’t say no to my promotions, but it wasn’t easy when my friends became staff. I learnt to draw, respect boundaries, not to take things personally.
Fashion media preys on insecurity, offers solutions in consumption. It also attracts certain personality types.
It’s very easy to mis-step and be crucified for it.
“Creative direction” as editor-in-chief.
They’re the face of their magazines. Anna Wintour was an early adopter that her enigma would be an X factor for her. I was quite an old-school editor who didn’t really make much human contact; I went to shows, connected with the rarefied circles I needed to, but that’s all.
They’re project managers, overseeing teams for stories, shoots. They’re marketers, hustlers, finding new revenue streams for them and their magazine. They make sure no one makes mistakes.
Today, you definitely need to be digitally savvy and have a presence, be credible, respected, have gravitas, a sense of business.
It’s not about sucking up to advertisers, but understanding how their brands fit into yours.
Do you need a skill set/portfolio to work in fashion?
Your personal should be separate from professional taste. It’s not enough just to have personal taste to make it in fashion; you need to know more than what you like to wear.
I don’t want to be the chicest, but the smartest.
Sharon Tulasidas was the fashion director at Elle when I left. She wears sweatshirts, jeans, sneakers, but produces the most exquisite editorials and spreads.
There’s more to “liking” a fashion show: what exclusive looks would make sense for your magazine, on which celebrity, what would sell, who is it aimed at, what would be copied by the high street, are there any sensitivities that might be triggered?
A few years ago, Prada released a capsule collection called “China” done in cotton twill; it was used in the Mao Dynasty to make communist party uniforms. Chinese people felt the clothes regressed to a more austere time.
Fabulous, major, amazing, groundbreaking… What’s the line between innovative and BS?
You can’t really ever tell. Thankfully there are respected fashion writers to turn to: Tim Blanks, for example. But it’s important to understand he views fashion purely as a creative art form. Have references, but understand their blind spots.
Fashion and Covid-19.
Fashion has been hamstrung by this pandemic. By the way the industry has been mutating, it was a long-time coming. From 2, to 4, to how many seasons now? The strain on people and resources used to produce fashion, desire is, some say, reason why Raf Simons left Dior. Similar to John Galliano prior, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton, etc.
Many brands will lose critical mass, struggle to redefine themselves. The need to acquire may not be important anymore.
Until the industry finds a new business model to sustain mass media, the current format of magazines is not sustainable. Titles are trying to pivot. The “idea” of a magazine is what Instagram has exploited. Smaller titles are nimble, but the pandemic has also shown people still turn to bigger ones for timely, credible updates and solutions.
The “Pandemic” aesthetic.
I think any display of ostentation will be frowned upon. The class divide has not been more obvious. I can imagine versions of a “pandemic” collection in designers’ heads. Fashion should figure out what people need, not want.
Diet Prada. Too much?
They’ve never stepped away from who they are. Because they’re so big now, who they are can step on people’s toes. Sometimes running jokes like with the Kardashians is a little old. But I don’t think it’s wrong. Say what you want, they know their shit. They’re not angry.
