Whitney Robinson

THE NEWLY MINTED ELLE DECOR EIC BRINGS AN INSTAGRAM- TRAINED EYE TO A BELOVED FRANCHISE.

- Emma Bazilian

It seems like a lot of magazines in the shelter category have been trying to reinvigorate themselves by bringing in new editors to add more lifestyle, fashion, culture. Is that part of your directive? The thing about Elle Decor is that fashion isn’t just in its DNA, it’s in its title. It’s meant different things over the years, but the tagline has always been the same: Fashion at home. “Lifestyle” has become this dirty word, so to speak. It’s become a catchall phrase for everything. But what it means for me is that design and home are about all the elements of a stylish life. It’s about art, interiors, architecture, travel, food. All one has to do is look at everyone [taking pictures] on their cellphones in restaurants to realize that a beautiful plate of food is also design. So it’s not “is there going to be more fashion on the cover”—it’s whether the magazine is a reflection of its time and place.