Off the Page is an exclusive series produced by the NMAF that reaches out to former National Magazine Award winners to find out what their awards have meant to them and what they’re up to now. Off the Page will appear each Thursday on the Magazine Awards blog during the fall of 2012. This week we catch up with the 2011 winners of Best New Visual Creator: The Coveteur. The Coveteur are designer Erin Kleinberg, stylist Stephanie Mark and photographer Jake Rosenberg.
NMAF: At this year’s National Magazine Awards The Coveteur was named Canada’s Best New Visual Creator for your spread “Strictly Top Shelf” in Report on Business magazine. First of all, what is The Coveteur, and where does it make the biggest impact on the world of fashion and style?
The Coveteur: The Coveteur takes you into the closets of today’s celebrities and fashion icons so you can discover their unique style. Our site features exclusive photography and videos and provides a behind the scenes community for fashion lovers. Our followers can collect and share their favorite images in their own “closet” and then shop the look of Coveteurs from around the globe—from New York to Paris, London and beyond.
We make an impact by redefining the way people shop and the way they view the still-life by showcasing the styles of today’s tastemakers in a new light that is also shoppable.
NMAF: How did you get involved with Report on Business, and how did you develop your winning piece—which the judges lauded for “magnifying the desirability of objects”; “a perfect balance of style and composition”—for the magazine?
The Coveteur: We are loyal readers of Report on Business and we were thrilled and honoured when they approached us to contribute. We created a holiday gift guide in signature Coveteur fashion and arranged the products in such a way that brings them to life and makes each one appear as a character in an environment.
Our community enjoys the quirk of an image—a stuffed monkey wearing a pair of designer glasses styled amongst other great products—as it highlights the product when showcased in an unexpected, eccentric way. Keeping the sophisticated Report on Business reader in mind, we chose exceptional, high-end products for the feature.
NMAF: Your online “curations” (coveteurs) seem to borrow a bit from traditional fashion magazine layouts while also being remarkably innovative in tapping the power of social media, digital publishing and e-commerce. What have been some of your influences from the world of magazines—fashion, style, design, etc—while developing this unique approach to exhibition?
The Coveteur: We have all had individual and unique experiences working in these different yet connected areas. Erin worked for W Magazine alongside director Alex White who taught her to push stylistic boundaries, which catches the reader off-guard and calls for a second glance. She recalls a photo shoot with model Doutzen Kroes staged in a field and littered with teddy bears—a consistent quirkiness that has remained an integral part of her styling since.
Stephanie, who went to Parsons [School for Design] for fashion marketing and interned with Kate Lanphear at Elle Magazine, has a keen eye for picking great product from across the globe and is our in-house e-commerce wiz.
Jake’s visual inspiration comes from the work of Ben Watts and his vivid editorial imagery as well as Raymond Meier’s ability to bring product to life through editing. His photography is bright, vivid and intimate, adding a certain “glow” which tells a unique story about each subject and their personal style.
NMAF: Do you have any other current or upcoming projects in magazines to tell us about?
The Coveteur: We just shot an exclusive, eight-page spread for the October/November 2012 issue of Air France Madame magazine filled with the best accessories of the season and shot in our distinct stylistic approach. As for what else is coming up? You’ll just have to stay tuned!
Check out all of fantastic curations of Stephanie, Erin and Jake at thecoveteur.com.
