Some of the most iconic and influential women in fashion history have formed the legacy of Harper’s Bazaar: Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland, China Machado, and Liz Tilberis among them. Anna Wintour had a stint at the magazine when she first came to New York.
On Tuesday, Hearst Magazines announced Samira Nasr as Harper’s Bazaar’s new Editor-in-Chief, filling a role recently vacated by Glenda Bailey, who herself played an enormous role in the magazine’s trajectory for the past 19 years.
Most recently, Nasr was executive fashion director for Vanity Fair. Before, she was ELLE’s fashion director, and, prior, style director at InStyle. The Montreal native started her career at Vogue assisting Grace Coddington.
This is a true homecoming for Nasr. She was a fashion editor for Bazaar under Kate Betts some two decades ago.
Nasr is primed to bring a new dimension to Bazaar’s legacy, joining the magazine at an unprecedented time. The global pandemic has hit the fashion industry from every angle, and the killing of George Floyd has sparked global outrage and a call for all industries, including fashion, to implement changes for true equality.
It’s a challenging time but also a time when magazines have a responsibility to speak to the moment more than ever, a notion that Nasr, the first person of color to assume the role, does not take lightly.
“At this particular moment in our nation’s history,” she said in an IGTV message, “I am honored to be at the helm of such an iconic brand. As the proud daughter of a Lebanese father and a Trinidadian mother, my worldview is expansive and is anchored in the belief that representation matters. My lens by nature is colorful and so it is important to me to begin a new chapter in Bazaar’s history by shining a light on all individuals who I believe are the inspiring voices of our time.
“I will work to give all voices a platform to tell stories that would never have been told” she continued. “To all the protesters, community organizers, activists, and those currently fighting to be safe, to be seen and heard through our own narratives, I see you, I thank you, and I hope we can join forces to amplify the message of equality because Black Lives Matter.”
This is important. So is Nasr’s interest in using the platform to discuss important issues women face today, “such as the fight for human rights, for our reproductive rights and the hurdles that we face as we fight for equity in the workplace.”
She starts in her new role on July 6. We can’t wait!
