NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Stephen Gan is on his way out at Elle magazine.
Gan served as the creative director of the Hearst title since 2018 (see it here). Sources said that he is being pushed out by Nina Garcia, who took the top masthead at Elle in 2017 (see it here) and pulled him over from Harper’s Bazaar soon after she got the top job. Gan also spent 15 years as creative director at Bazaar under its editor Glenda Bailey, who stepped down from her position in January 2020 after 19 years in the role. Last week D.M. Fashion Book reported that Samira Nasr is the new Editor-In-Chief of the American edition of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, overseeing both print and digital as of July 6. She is Bailey‘s successor (see it here). Nasr is the first Black EIC in the history of the 153-year-old publication.
According to sources, it’s been decided that Gan will no longer have any work with Elle or Hearst going forward and that his contract, up in several weeks, will not be renewed.
Gan, whom Garcia has praised as a “creative visionary,” is being ousted over recent complaints about comments he’s made over the years, allegedly showing not only racial insensitivity but misogyny.
Several instances claimed by anonymous sources were recently outlined in a post by Instagram account Diet Prada, all of which related to Gan’s day-to-day operation of V magazine, the oversize glossy he’s been running for 20 years. But Garcia’s decision is said to have had reasons beyond that post alone, including complaints she’s heard from staff and industry people that Gan has worked with on shoots. It’s understood that there have been a number of complaints over the years, and much murmuring, some recently brought up again.
It remains to be seen what effect, if any, Gan’s alleged comments and professional impropriety will have on V.
There have been rumblings for months that Gan’s departure was on the horizon. One source told WWD earlier this year that Garcia was unlikely to renew Gan’s contract this summer, although the reasons why were not made clear. Others speculated that stylist Alex White, hired as Elle’s new fashion director in February, was being lined up to take over some of Gan’s responsibilities.
In just a few weeks, the public outcry has resulted in the ousting of Refinery29’s editor in chief Christene Barberich, Bon Appétit’s top editor Adam Rapoport and Condé Nast’s vice president and head of programming for lifestyle and style Matt Duckor. Leandra Medine also took a step back from leading the fashion and lifestyle site she founded, Man Repeller, after being called out for a lack of diversity on staff. Jane Larkworthy has been suspended from New York Magazine’s The Cut after a comment on the brown face photo that led to Rapoport’s exit. And James Bennett, the opinion editor of the New York Times, was ousted after publishing a piece by a Republican senator calling for military force to be used in order to quell the ongoing public protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing. A number of Times employees took public issue with the op-ed being published, saying it endangered the lives of Black people, thousands of whom have been protesting in public.
Photos Credit: Rommel Demano / Getty Images
Source: WWD
Stephen Gan Is Being Forced Out At Elle Magazine For Making Racially Insensitive And Misogynistic Comments In The Workplace
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Stephen Gan is on his way out at Elle magazine.
Gan served as the creative director of the Hearst title since 2018 (see it here). Sources said that he is being pushed out by Nina Garcia, who took the top masthead at Elle in 2017 (see it here) and pulled him over from Harper’s Bazaar soon after she got the top job. Gan also spent 15 years as creative director at Bazaar under its editor Glenda Bailey, who stepped down from her position in January 2020 after 19 years in the role. Last week D.M. Fashion Book reported that Samira Nasr is the new Editor-In-Chief of the American edition of Harper’s Bazaar magazine, overseeing both print and digital as of July 6. She is Bailey‘s successor (see it here). Nasr is the first Black EIC in the history of the 153-year-old publication.
According to sources, it’s been decided that Gan will no longer have any work with Elle or Hearst going forward and that his contract, up in several weeks, will not be renewed.
Gan, whom Garcia has praised as a “creative visionary,” is being ousted over recent complaints about comments he’s made over the years, allegedly showing not only racial insensitivity but misogyny.
Several instances claimed by anonymous sources were recently outlined in a post by Instagram account Diet Prada, all of which related to Gan’s day-to-day operation of V magazine, the oversize glossy he’s been running for 20 years. But Garcia’s decision is said to have had reasons beyond that post alone, including complaints she’s heard from staff and industry people that Gan has worked with on shoots. It’s understood that there have been a number of complaints over the years, and much murmuring, some recently brought up again.
It remains to be seen what effect, if any, Gan’s alleged comments and professional impropriety will have on V.
There have been rumblings for months that Gan’s departure was on the horizon. One source told WWD earlier this year that Garcia was unlikely to renew Gan’s contract this summer, although the reasons why were not made clear. Others speculated that stylist Alex White, hired as Elle’s new fashion director in February, was being lined up to take over some of Gan’s responsibilities.
In just a few weeks, the public outcry has resulted in the ousting of Refinery29’s editor in chief Christene Barberich, Bon Appétit’s top editor Adam Rapoport and Condé Nast’s vice president and head of programming for lifestyle and style Matt Duckor. Leandra Medine also took a step back from leading the fashion and lifestyle site she founded, Man Repeller, after being called out for a lack of diversity on staff. Jane Larkworthy has been suspended from New York Magazine’s The Cut after a comment on the brown face photo that led to Rapoport’s exit. And James Bennett, the opinion editor of the New York Times, was ousted after publishing a piece by a Republican senator calling for military force to be used in order to quell the ongoing public protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing. A number of Times employees took public issue with the op-ed being published, saying it endangered the lives of Black people, thousands of whom have been protesting in public.
Photos Credit: Rommel Demano / Getty Images
Source: WWD
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