Fashion masthead Elle Australia will return to print in 2024, with Grace O’Neill appointed as editor.
Parent company Are Media will publish two print editions of Elle Australia next year, and will grow to four editions in 2025.
Elle Australia stopped printing three years ago, alongside its then-sister mastheads InStyle and Harper’s Bazaar under Bauer Media Australia. The magazine was then acquired by private equity firm Mercury Capital, and has since formed Are Media as the overarching publication house.
The new editor O’Neill will return from London this month to oversee content direction for Elle Australia’s upcoming March issue.
She is currently living in London as the global content editor of Harper’s Bazaar Australia, representing the brand at international luxury events, including Fashion Week in London, Milan and Paris, global cruise shows and high jewellery events.
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 cult culture magazine Par Femme, co-founder of boutique creative content agency Dollface, and co-host of popular commentary podcast After Work Drinks, which has more than 20,000 listeners a week.
Before then, O’Neill was the fashion features director at Elle Australia and Harper’s Bazaar Australia for five years.
Are Media GM of fashion and beauty Nicky Briger said O’Neill’s return to the publication comes at a pivotal time for Elle Australia.
“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.”
O’Neill called the return a “dream come true” for her career.
“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.
“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. Both have decades of experience between them and have worked for multiple luxury publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Australia and Marie Claire throughout their careers.
Naomi and Sally will work across Elle Australia and Marie Claire.