Are Media appoints new editor for ELLE Australia relaunch
Are Media has named Grace O’Neill as the editor of the new Elle Australia, ahead of the fashion and beauty magazine’s 2024 print relaunch.
The title is set to hit Australian shelves from March 2024, almost four years after the title was axed as part of sweeping closures by then-owners Bauer Media in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Grace O’Neill. Photo credit – Gabby Laurent for ELLE Australia
In its first year back in business, Elle Australia will be kept at two print editions, one each for the key autumn/winter and spring/summer fashion seasons. From 2025, the magazine will be expanded to four print editions.
Currently based in London as the global content editor of Harper’s Bazaar Australia, O’Neill will commence work with the new Elle Australia team later this month to oversee the content director of the magazine, steering the Elle Australia brand to become am omnichannel fashion and beauty powerhouse for young Australian women.
She brings significant experience as a freelance journalist and consultant, having written for British Vogue, The Financial Times, The New York Times and The Guardian, as well as working on commercial projects for brands including Mugler, Prada, Cartier, Hennessey and Estee Lauder.
O’Neill is also the current editor of culture magazine Par Femme, co-founder of boutique creative content agency Dollface and co-host of popular commentary podcast After Work Drinks.
Commenting on the appointment, Are Media general manager of fashion and beauty, Nicky Bridger, said O’Neill’s commitment to “tapping into the zeitgeist to uncover the now, new and next” made her the perfect person to take on the editor role at Elle Australia.
“Over the past three years, Elle.com.au has become Australia’s premium digital destination for smart, savvy Gen Z and Y women, with an average of 270,000 unique visitors and 530,000 page views a month, reaching a total Australian audience of over 1.4 million across all touch points. On social, Elle Australia is a powerhouse, with 748,000 followers on Facebook, 303,000 on Instagram and a fast-growing TikTok channel.
“Since 2020, Elle Australia has been a successful digital-only property, but the print relaunch will allow us to transition Elle into a true omnichannel luxury offering for our intent-driven audience,” she added.
O’Neill said it was a “dream come true” to be given the opportunity to edit Elle Australia, reminiscing on starting her career at Elle as an intern 10 years ago.
“Elle is a title uniquely positioned to engage with Gen Z and millennial readers across multiple platforms. While the Elle audience is naturally obsessed with digital, we’ve seen a growing appetite by readers to connect with a tangible, physical product. The magazine will offer world-class fashion and beauty imagery alongside razor-sharp cultural analysis, championing some of the most exciting and dynamic creative talent Australia has to offer.”
O’Neill will work alongside Naomi Smith and Sally Hunwick, who were appointed in November as Elle Australia’s fashion and beauty directors respectively. The pair have decades of experience between them, having worked for the likes of Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Australia, and Marie Claire. Smith and Hunwick’s roles will also expand across Are Media’s marie claire publication.
The Elle Australia relaunch comes as print appears to be experiencing something of a renaissance in the Australian market, after the 2022 launch of Forbes Australia and the return of InStyle Australia under True North Media the same year. In 2021, former Bauer Media title Harper’s Bazaar Australia returned to print by Switzer Media, with the publishing also indicating plans to relaunch Men’s Health and Women’s Health in 2024.
Are Media’s current fashion and beauty stable also includes marie claire and Girlfriend.
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