There is a new fashion magazine on the block.
You can view the premiere issue
here.
I adore
Enamor, but I have to admit I am a little biased. I have two articles in it. I am a staff writer for this labor of love.
So in order to help celebrate its launch, I decided to share a little of its history with you and introduce you to the girl behind it, my dear friend Morena. You can see her blog
here.
Isn't she a doll? I met this incredibly intelligent 15-year-old more than one year ago. She was my first blogging friend and I always assumed she wasn't that much younger than me. I was amazed to find out she was a decade younger! Despite the age difference, we quickly became close friends.
I was lucky enough to even visit her out in Los Angeles last summer. If things go according to plan, I should be visiting her again this summer. Yay!
(me, Morena, and her friend Avalon)
I recently conducted an interview with Morena regarding
Enamor and how it all got started.
Here it is:
1. When did your interest in fashion start? Why?
I grew up seeing my mom sketch her original designs. My mom doesn't work in fashion but she's always had an interest for it. She would always watch episodes of TLC's "What Not to Wear," which is now one of my favorite shows. With my mom's interest, I developed my own passion for the industry. At first I adored the beauty aspect of it all, but as I got older I realized that fashion is much more than that. It's an art that imitates life. As society changes, fashion changes.
2. When did you come up with the idea for Enamor Magazine? What inspired you to start the magazine?
Over the summer I really needed to start a project. I had not much to do so I literally just thought one day, why not a magazine? I was actually inspired by Rachel Zoe's hunger for fashion, and her ambition to do something about it. So I did something to satisfy my hunger as well.
3. Describe Enamor Magazine. What is it about?
Enamor Magazine is a fashion magazine. That's what it is in a nutshell. But you know what it really, truly is? It's the passion of three young girls, translated into glossy pages. Do you want to hear a secret? This issue of Enamor was produced with no money at all. We happen to have a great amount of luck, and a handful of people who believe in us. That's what it took to produce this 50 page publication.
4. Starting this project at such a young age is really incredible. How did you even begin the process? What are some challenges you have faced?
I knew I could not go at this alone, so I approached my amazing friend Taylor Becnel. She's Co Editor-at-Large for Enamor. I approached her because I knew she loved fashion as much as I did, not knowing what a huge help she would end up being. She then introduced me to the other Co Editor-at-Large Kara Gonchar. Kara's my whole New York base. She helped shoot two of the four editorials in the Premiere Issue. Honestly, although we got into countless arguments, this issue of Enamor would not exist without Kara and Tay.
5. You once told me you hoped to be the next editor-in-chief of Vogue. Is this still true? What are your future goals?
Of course it's still true! In terms of the short term future, I would like to keep successfully running Enamor. In the more distant, I'd like to attend NYU and Columbia for post-grad. And then of course, I'd like to intern at Vogue. We've all got to start somewhere right?
6. With school, ballet, and modeling, it seems you were already an extremely busy high school student. What was it like starting a magazine on top of all that? How do you juggle everything?
This was probably the most difficult aspect of it all. I recently started pursuing my interests in the dance world. That's all I wanted to do. Seriously. And (it's confession time) this is why Enamor took so long to launch. This issue should have been out months ago but I just didn't have that balance in my life and I procrastinated, to say the least. I think I've got it figured out by now. But I'm pretty sure there's many more lessons to be learned. I like learning though, so I'm not anticipating any negative experiences.
7. A lot of people think fashion is frivolous. What do you have to say about that?
Oh, well it probably is. But there's people that love this industry so much, and there's people that don't understand it. For those who don't understand it, there's still no place for them to judge it. At least people who work in fashion love what they do. You don't have to love the food industry to work at a restaurant. But you have to love fashion to work for Anna Wintour, otherwise you will get stepped on (by 6-inch Louboutin's of course).
8. Why did you choose the name Enamor?
Well "enamor" was actually a vocabulary word that I learned a year ago. I initially wanted to name my magazine "Charm," but it seemed a bit cliche. Then I automatically thought of enamor, which is a synonym for charm. Most people thought I chose this name because if you take the last three letters of enamor and switch them with the first three, it spells Morena. That wasn't intentional, but when it was brought to my attention, it only made the name more clever.
9. What are your goals for Enamor?
I would like Enamor to be inspiring. This first issue is very atypical for a fashion magazine. Taylor was right, I'd like to push myself out of the box a bit more.
10. Is there anything else you would like to add?
I would just like to say that I'm well aware of the fact that Enamor is just a compilation of pretty pictures and witty words. What makes us different from other magazines is the fact that we don't give the illusion of perfection. I don't know if you noticed, but there's something very human about our magazine. We're accessible.
If you check out Morena's blog, Too Haute To Handle, you will discover she has a fabulous giveaway to coincide with the premiere of Enamor. Definitely check it out! If you want to order a print copy of the magazine, check out Enamor's website.
What I find amazing is that Morena is still exceeding any expectations. She has also recently launched Telluric Season, a science and nature based magazine that breaches into philosophy.
Now go check out
Enamor! :)
