k: When did you first know that fashion was going to be your thing?
J: When I was a teenager, doing part-time graphic design work, I looked up to the top man in the field: Alexander Lieberman at Condé Nast. I guess everyone aspires to be number one and I wanted to be an art director back then. Mr Lieberman had the best photographers, the best typesetters, the best models, etc. It was at that point I knew that fashion was going to be my thing.
k: How is what you're doing now contributing to your vision of what modern style should be?
j: Modern style is about communicating people's true selves. But many publications believe style is about pushing product. We're not like the others. What we're doing at Lucire is creating something that's closer to allowing people to be themselves through editorial that has a bit more heart and soul. That contributes a healthier idea of what modern style is and hopefully, more and more people will begin to say, 'Thanks to Lucire, I can be my true self.'
k: Who do you imagine your typical fan might be?
j: Like you! :) Stylish, charming, with a sense of who she is. I think she also aspires to travel or is well traveled herself.
k: How has the internet helped you reach that fan?
j: The successful magazine of the 21st century truly interacts with its readers. It becomes harder to figure out where the editorial team ends and where the readers begin. By having a forum on our site, and by having senior editors and me open emails to the magazine, we have a direct link to our readership. They don't get filtered through three secretaries first.
k: With unlimited resources, what would you do next?
j: Launch editions of Lucire in every market where it's needed, write a few more books, open a forum for third-world entrepreneurs so they can get help for their exports, and generally do things that reduce this awful rich–poor gap we have on our planet today. I've started on all of the above, but a bit of money won't hurt to make them realities more quickly. Oh, and hire a couple of PAs.
k: If you could go back in time to replace one of today's iconic fashionistas with one from the past, who would you switch and why?
j: I wouldn't need to go back far. I'd love to see Liz Tilberis brought back to life. But good manners prevent me from saying who I'd remove. :)
k: What can we expect to see from you in the remaining six months of 2004?
j: The print edition of Lucire. I've a few more speeches lined up, too. Come the southern summer, I might just hang up a sign that says, 'Relaxing. Do not disturb.'
