Vig Morgan works for Fashionista magazine. After two years as the assistant to Jane Carolyn-Ann McNeill, Vig got promoted to assistant editor and got to live the dream. Although it seems like the dream isn’t quite what she expected. Instead of being able to write interesting pieces that she goes out and finds and then pitches to her editors, she is tasked with writing articles about the things they want. She has to write quick pieces that feature celebrities over creativity, writing something insipid over innovation. But after years of having her self-esteem shredded and her work mangled, she has lost the will to fight it. She takes her assignments and does the writing and keeps putting one foot in front of the other.
Then she gets called into the meeting.
Three of her fellow assistant editors call her into the women’s restroom for a meeting. But not their usual restroom, the nice one over by the advertising department that you need a key code to get into (truth be told, Vig didn’t even know it existed and spends the first part of the meeting just taking in the luxurious alternate reality of the sofas and beauty products and quiet of this magical restroom). But then she realizes what’s going on. The other assistant editors have a plan, and they’re sharing it with Vig because they think she’s the linchpin.
Fashionista magazine isn’t the best or the brightest. It’s a magazine about fashion and celebrity, recycling the same ideas over and over again. But that’s the magazine that Jane Carolyn-Ann McNeill wants, and she rules it with an iron fist. But her assistant editors are tired of being under her thumb, and they finally have a chance to oust her. They have a plan, and Vig is the linchpin.
Fashionista has just hired Marguerite Tourneau Holland Beckett Velazquez Constantine Thomas as the new editorial director, after her six years as editor in chief for Australian Vogue. Jane clearly was not on board with this decision, and it’s this rift that the plan is based on. For the plan, they have to get Jane interested in featuring a new artist whose work is highly questionable and often maligned, whose Gilding the Lily exhibit features statues of Jesus in haute couture, dresses mainly, but from top designers. Jane’s support of such a controversial artist will sully the magazine, and she will be fired, allowing Marguerite to take over as editor.
They have it all figured out except for one thing—how to get this artist onto the Fashionista schedule. That’s where Vig comes in. They need the events editor Alex to put the artist’s showing on his event list, and he is in debt to Vig as she did a makeover on his sister the previous year, and now she’s happily married to a rich man and they’re expecting a baby.
Vig isn’t convinced that Alex owes her one, or that the rest of the plan will work either, but she decides to give it a shot. As she tries her best to stick to the plan, she starts to learn what’s really been going on around her that she never noticed. And as she learns more about her coworkers than she ever expected to, she finds out that the plan might work after all. But more importantly, she’s starting to figure out what it is she really wants from her time at Fashionista and for her future.
Fashionistas is a story about a fashion magazine in New York City. But it’s also about young women figuring out who they are and who they want to be. It’s sly and snarky, entertaining and engaging, and smart and surprising. Author Lynn Messina brings the industry to life through the crowded cubicles of those in the middle, offering some insights for having made it that far but not yet understanding what it takes to get to the top.
I had a lot of fun reading Fashionistas. It’s a quick read, but there are unexpected twists and delightful surprises. The characters are fantastic, strong women (mostly) I’d love to work with, and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with them. This one is a fun read for anyone interested in magazine publishing, fashion magazines, or stories about young women finding out what’s important to them and chasing their dreams.
Egalleys for Fashionista were provided by Potatoworks Press through NetGalley, with many thanks.
