To Our Readers

Fashion has long been a preoccupation for Europeans. A sense of style and an appreciation for the art of dressing well are at the center of society and culture in the Old World. But in the past decade fashion has become an even more integral part of European life. The fall of communism has made it possible for many of the inhabitants of the former Soviet Empire to shed their polyester dresses and plastic shoes and don, if not the works of the top designers, at least plausible knockoffs of the clothes featured in the main shopping districts of Paris, London and Milan.

The market for fashion has grown even faster in the Americas and in Asia. And that growth has meant that Europe's purveyors of style have had to transform themselves into global marketing machines while still trying to maintain their creative drive. These changes make it more difficult than ever to cover the world of fashion. A good fashion journalist these days must have both a sense of aesthetics and a feel for the bottom line. Lauren Goldstein, our new fashion writer, fits both requirements. Lauren, who in this week's issue takes a look at the future of men's suits, has written for fashion media stalwarts like DNR and GQ. More recently, she covered the business of fashion for our sister publication Fortune.

Business reporting often involves dealing with large egos, but nowhere are they as big as in fashion. Lauren recalls being told that she would only be granted an interview with the head of a small Italian fashion house if he would be featured on Fortune's cover. "I couldn't figure out how I was going to explain to my editor who this guy was, much less why he should push Bill Gates off the cover of our next issue." She managed to get the interview without bothering her editor the sort of enterprise that is essential when covering the fashion business for a general-interest magazine. "These companies are used to lavish praise from the fashion press. I sometimes have to remind them that our readers are interested in fashion but not slaves to it."

But she also sees business as an extension of culture and that informs her reporting. "What we wear what we buy speaks volumes about who we are. For a fashion company to be successful it has to have a keen understanding of current societal mores." And a news magazine such as ours needs journalists like Lauren who have an equally keen understanding of how society, culture and business interact.
, Editor, TIME Atlantic