Alexandra Shulman 3052301 216847975 2008-06-03T14:20:08Z Canis Lupus 5517044 saturday → Saturday '''Alexandra Shulman''' (born [[1957]] or [[1958]]) is the editor of the British edition of [[Vogue (magazine)|''Vogue'']]. She was a regular columnist for the [[Daily Telegraph|''Daily Telegraph'']] newspaper but has recently started writing a column every Saturday for the [[Daily Mail|''Daily Mail'']]. She is one of the country's most oft-quoted voices on fashion trends. She took the helm of ''Vogue'' in [[1992]], presiding over a [[Magazine circulation|circulation]] increase to 200,000 and a higher profile for the publication. Shulman received an [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] in [[2004]], which [[Janet Street-Porter]] wrote in [[The Independent|''The Independent'']] was "proof that the honours system is an embarrassment." She also was named "Editors' Editor of the Year" by the British Society of Magazine Editors and is a trustee of the [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]]. Her tenure at ''Vogue'' is known for the "Gold Issue," a December [[2000]] edition with [[Kate Moss]] on the cover in silhouette. The magazine drew criticism in the early 1990s for photos of an [[wikt:emaciated|emaciated]] Moss that were dubbed [[heroin chic]], part of a larger ongoing debate over whether fashion magazines present an unhealthy image for girls and contribute to the [[anorexia nervosa|anorexia]] problem. In [[1997]], the watchmaker [[Omega SA|Omega]] pulled an [[ad campaign]] from ''Vogue'' over this issue. Shulman dismissed these concerns in a [[1998]] interview with the [[PBS]] public affairs television program [[Frontline (TV series)|''Frontline'']], stating glibly, "Not many people have actually said to me that they have looked at my magazine and decided to become anorexic."[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fat/etc/script.html] She has become more sensitive to the issue in recent years, acknowledging that anorexia is a "huge problem" in a January [[2005]] interview with [[The Scotsman|''The Scotsman'']]: "I really wish that models were a bit bigger because then I wouldn't have to deal with this the whole time. There is pressure on them to stay thin, and I'm always talking to the designers about it, asking why they can't just be a bit closer to a real woman's physique in terms of their ideal, but they're not going to do it. Clothes look better to all of our eyes on people who are thinner." Contrary to expectations, Shulman describes her own life as work-dominated and not particularly glamourous. In an October [[2004]] newspaper column on her ''Telegraph'' portrait, she said: <blockquote> "Leaving aside the obvious but unlikely criteria of beautiful and thin, I realised that there was no look that was achievable which was going to make me happy. In my mind I am a free spirit of about 25 wafting around in second-hand cocktail dresses; in reality I am a 47-year-old businesswoman and journalist. The pictures unfortunately, tell the whole story." </blockquote> ==Background== Alexandra Shulman was educated at [[St Paul's Girls' School]] and [[Sussex University]]. She began her fashion journalism career in 1982 at [[Tatler]], working subsequently for [[The Sunday Telegraph|''The Sunday Telegraph'']], [[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]] and the [[GQ|''British GQ'']], where she became editor in 1990. Her parents are the London drama critic [[Milton Shulman]] and writer Drusilla Beyfus. She has a son, [[Samuel Spike|''Sam'']] (born [[1992]]), with the writer [[Paul Spike]], from whom she is divorced. She lives in the [[Queen's Park (London)|Queen's Park area of London]]. ==Trivia== Shulman's hobbies include music, tennis and reading fiction. Her favorite author is [[Rosamond Lehmann]] and she's an avid fan of the [[Kurt Wallander|Inspector Wallander]] novels by [[Henning Mankell]]. She critiqued the [[Wikipedia]] entry on [[haute couture]] for a newspaper in October [[2005]], rating it a 0 out of 10. She plays the guitar and owns a [[Nissan Figaro|''Nissan Figaro'']] and a [[Toyota Corolla Verso|''Toyota Corolla Verso'']]. ==References== *[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fat/etc/script.html "Fat"] FrontLine (PBS), [[November 24]], [[1998]] *[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2005/10/18/efshulman18.xml ''Telegraph'' column about her portrait], [[18 October]] [[2003]] *[http://news.scotsman.com/features.cfm?id=46522005 ''The Scotsman'' interview on anorexia], [[14 January]] [[2005]] *[http://technology.guardian.co.uk/opinion/story/0,16541,1599325,00.html Shulman's critique of Wikipedia], [[24 October]] [[2005]] {{start box}} {{succession box | before=[[Liz Tilberis]] | title=Editor of British ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]''| years=[[1992]]–present | after=current }} {{end box}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Shulman, Alexandra}} [[Category:1957 births]] [[Category:Alumni of the University of Sussex]] [[Category:British Vogue]] [[Category:English Jews]] [[Category:English journalists]] [[Category:English magazine editors]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Old Paulinas]]