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Cleo Glyde - Style Director for Marie Claire

By Zachary Mesenbourg

Recipe for the ideal style director: one part fashion sense, two parts passion and a dash of former modeling experience. Mix it together and you have Cleo Glyde, new style director at Marie Claire.

“It’s the perfect way to marry my fun chandelier-swinging fashion experience with a smart women’s magazine,” Glyde said. “It’s about trying to bring Joanna’s [Coles, editor in chief] vision across the magazine, from everything to the podcasts to the fashion shows to being an ambassador for the magazine.”

Early in her career, Glyde was a model for top designers around the world, including Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Dior, Armani and many others. Now, she finds herself in the unique spot of helping direct the coverage for a magazine about the industry she used to work in.

“That’s the fun thing. It was very rare for them to have the opportunity to have a journalist that was on the other side of it,” she said.

Having lived the life of a “chandelier-swinging” model helps Glyde bring a lot of perspective to the job. She has in-depth knowledge of designers and issues such as weight and trends, but also a general inner understanding that most others don’t have.

Fashion is now in the mainstream with shows such as Project Runway and hours of red carpet coverage at major award shows. That means many more people follow the hottest trends. But that doesn’t mean style and fashion magazines will lose their place, Glyde said.

“In one sense, it brought fashion into the mainstream. But a certain trivialization of fashion occurs. The upside is that people are more savvy, but everyone still looks to magazines for help,” she said. “The reader might be aware of what’s happening but will still look to magazines to translate those trends for them in a way that resonates for them.”

A day for Glyde might include working closely with public relations people to maximize brand opportunities, writing a story, hosting a lunch to think tank ideas and doing a podcast. She also goes hunting for fashion at shows for top designers, as well as underground ones, and “road tests” certain ideas with real women.

“We can go places other magazines can’t. We can cover glamour but also cover points of view of women all around the world,” she said. “I am on the ideas side. The champagne bubbles side. You don’t want a sensible fashion director.”

Fashion has always been around. But a facet that many people overlook is that “art translates to real life,” which is something Glyde particularly loves. To her, that means fashion is basically wearable art, “one of the most common ways for self expression.”

The opportunity to work with a top-notch publication and an amazing staff are great perks of the job. But what means the most to her?

“What was really exciting was being hired for my mind after being hired for the surface,” she said. “Glamour was great but it’s a bit of empty calories if that is all you’ve done with your life.”

Pitching Tips

Glyde calls her role the “octopus job” because she has many hands in many different things. “I love anything that is cultural comment. Any lessons learned to benefit other women. Something funny, smart. Something that takes you to a place that someone wouldn’t be able to go,” she said.

Also, she is mindful of lesser known designers as much as the top designers because otherwise they can fall through the cracks. That also relates to how she has to think about coverage geographically. “We will always look to Paris and New York. But we always try to keep in mind, when you are in New York, you kind of forget other places exist. We don’t just want to be New York, black-wearing fashion vampires. We want to remember the rest of the country.”

Contact her by e-mail, especially on Monday mornings because it throws her right into her work. The magazine usually works two to three months out.