Are Media has announced the appointment of Grace O’Neill as editor of the new ELLE Australia magazine, due to be released in 2024.
A fashion and lifestyle editor, journalist and podcaster, O’Neill will join ELLE Australia this month to oversee the content direction of the magazine ahead of its return to newsstands in March.
With 45 global editions, ELLE is one of the largest fashion brands in the world, with 37 million social media followers and 70 million unique browsers internationally.
Are Media will publish two editions of ELLE Australia next year (autumn/winter in March and spring/summer in September), increasing to four editions in 2025.
O’Neill is currently living in London as the global content editor of Harper’s BAZAAR Australia, representing the brand at international events, including Fashion Week in London, Milan and Paris.
As a freelance journalist and consultant, O’Neill has written for British Vogue, The Financial Times, The New York Times and The Guardian, as well as worked on commercial projects for brands including Mugler, Prada, Cartier, Hennessy and Estée Lauder. She is also the current editor of Par Femme, co-founder of boutique creative content agency Dollface, and co-host of podcast After Work Drinks, which has more than 20,000 listeners a week.
Previously, O’Neill was fashion features director at ELLE Australia and Harper’s BAZAAR Australia for five years.
Are Media general manager of fashion and beauty, Nicky Briger, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Grace to Are Media to lead the exciting return of ELLE Australia magazine next year. Grace is passionate about fashion and beauty, but also committed to tapping into the zeitgeist to uncover the now, new and next which makes her the perfect person to edit ELLE Australia magazine, as well as lead the brand’s omnichannel future.
“Over the past three years, ELLE.com.au has become Australia’s premium digital destination for smart, savvy Gen Z and Y women, with an average of 270,000 unique visitors and 530,000 page views a month, reaching a total Australian audience of over 1.4 million across all touch points. On social, ELLE Australia is a powerhouse, with 748,000 followers on Facebook, 303,000 on Instagram and a fast-growing TikTok channel.
“Since 2020, ELLE Australia has been a successful digital-only property, but the print relaunch will allow us to transition ELLE into a true omnichannel luxury offering for our intent-driven audience,” she said.
Grace O’Neill said: “It’s a dream come true to be given the opportunity to edit one of the world’s most formidable fashion titles. I started at ELLE Australia as an intern 10 years ago, so to be returning as editor is a full-circle moment. Like millions of women around the globe, I’ve always had a natural affinity with ELLE, a brand that combines authoritative fashion and beauty coverage with smart, rigorous writing that steers the cultural conversation.
“ELLE is a title uniquely positioned to engage with Gen Z and millennial readers across multiple platforms. While the ELLE audience is naturally obsessed with digital, we’ve seen a growing appetite by readers to connect with a tangible, physical product. The magazine will offer world-class fashion and beauty imagery alongside razor-sharp cultural analysis, championing some of the most exciting and dynamic creative talent Australia has to offer.”
In September, Naomi Smith and Sally Hunwick were appointed ELLE Australia’s fashion and beauty directors respectively.
O’Neill will return to Australia from London this month to begin work on the print edition, which hits newsstands on 4 March next year.