IF YOU SPENT YOUR ADOLESCENCE MOSTLY
TERRIFIED of
tyrannical
fashionista-types, the lovely women of
l’étoile
will upend those fearful preconceptions. You’ve never met a warmer bunch
than those atop the masthead of this accessibly chic new fashion mag.



A small, locally produced biannual fashion magazine in
publication since 2004,
l’étoile has met with
astonishing success. An enviable network of national and international
advertisers is expressing interest in the magazine; notable fashion designers
(from
home
and
abroad)
have been eager to lend their clothing for photo shoots and coverage in
l’étoile’s pages; an array of contributors, stylists, and high-caliber
designers are at the ready to volunteer their time and services.


You’ve got to wonder what they’re doing so right.


As committed as they are, it’s not because the folks at
l’étoile have lots of free time. They’ve got day-jobs to support their
magazine habit.  And it’s a good thing, too—because they’re financing
this little gem themselves thus far.


The magazine itself has satisfying heft, like a book. “We don’t
want anyone to recycle this,” remarks Beth Hammarlund (l’étoile’s
Editor in Chief), “we want it on coffee tables.”


Like many small publications, the masthead’s list of neat
titles is belied by the various tasks they each take on. Krista Stensrud (a
Macy’s photo stylist—it seems like they all work at Macy’s—and
l’étoile’s editorial manager) laughs, “Writers, photographers, event
planners, customer service, damage control… Everybody does it all.”


“It’s the commitment and energy from everyone involved—all of
them working on a volunteer basis. That give the magazine its heart,” Molly
Roark (a member of Macy’s marketing team and l’étoile’s Creative
Director) says simply.


And no small measure of hustle. “Fearless” Amy Roark (Molly’s
sister, a freelance writer and l’étoile’s Managing Editor) is unafraid
to pick up the phone for a cold-call to designers when she’s pursuing content
for a promising photo spread.


l’étoile is tough to classify.
Fashion predominates but there is also much on art and artists, local pieces
side-by-side with national and international artwork. There’s coverage of
music and, soon, maybe literature.


The art section,
“Submissions”
(curated by Density Studio’s founder Kate Iverson, l’étoile’s Arts
Editor), offers an eclectic mix of design and visual arts from
artists
both near and far. Molly explains, “It seems to us that art and fashion
can’t exist separately in our community.
Voltage [a popular
annual Twin Cities fashion/rock show in the spring)includes artists who
moonlight as fashion designers and vice versa.”


Amy echoes that sentiment, “There’s so much crossover in the
communities. Everyone knows everyone else, so it’s only natural that we would
start covering these different scenes.”


Once you look beyond the imagery, you’ll notice that a
friend-to-friend tone runs throughout l’étoile’s writing. It’s no
accident. Beth Hammarlund explains, “We took a long time to establish the
voice we wanted. I love art and design magazines like
Surface or
ID. The content is spectacular.”



“The problem,” Beth says, “is that you have to come to it
knowing about the people involved, otherwise you have no idea what they’re
talking about. It’s ultimately inaccessible.” Beth’s solution involves finding
a balance between insularity and invitation: “We’d like writing that’s
inspiring enough that an artist can relate and appreciate it; but we also want
content that’s unpretentious and appealing even if you don’t come from a fine
arts background.”


The visual vocabulary of the magazine offers a stunning amalgam
of both narrowly and broadly appealing elements:
fine
art photography stylings and
narrative
blended with an invitingly diverse population of “real” people as models. And
thanks to Iverson’s deep connections within the regional art scene and her
can’t-miss eye for the perfect flourish, the excellent photography is
sometimes lightly embellished by up-and-coming illustrators, like
Chris
Hajny or
Molly
Butterfoss. “There’s a never-ending flow of artists I’d love to have
working on this project. It’s insane. I have so many people I’d like to
highlight,” Kate says.


For fashion design, finding a place to show work can be a
particularly pressing problem. Molly Roark explains ruefully, “There are a
limited number of outlets and too many talented designers leave
the Twin Cities without ever having been celebrated at home. That’s just a
terrible shame.”


In spite of the wealth of acclaimed educational institutions
(like MCAD) for art and design, Molly argues, this lack of opportunity in the
region means that for many newly minted fashion designers in the area, “their
bags are packed the minute they graduate.”


“But,” she says quickly, “we’re getting them lined up for
l’étoile. That’s what so great about this.”


In the end, this unflagging attention to creative detail and
heartfelt passion for giving artists a showcase results in content and design
which is not only compelling, but also distinctively l’étoile’s own.



Krista Stensrud says simply, “It’s like summer camp, working on
this. Working in the same industry in my day-job, I see how regimented and
strict a corporate environment is,” Stensrud explains. “But when I get to
l’etoile, ideas go all over the place. I love that we have the freedom
to change a story two days before it goes to the printer and that we can just go
with the flow of ideas and contributors.”


The resulting spreads are
welcoming
and complex (and not a haughty pout in sight). The men and women in the
l’étoile universe bring something more than vacuous good looks to the
pages. Instead their models are often artists and musicians, people with
stories
behind their eyes.  Molly Roark explains, “I began my career in the
plus-size world , and I’m still really influenced by
that. I want the imagery of l’etoile to be inclusive of a variety of
looks and styles, with innovative photography but accessible to a broad
audience at the same time.”


But what about the fashion? The clothing featured in
l’étoile offers an appealing mix of
stylish
runway-specific couture and
quirky-cute,
highly wearable fashions; and the
presentation
is anything but ordinary.


In an unexpected but typical l’étoile twist, the latest
issue features a spread highlighting pieces from local fashion designer
Laura
Fulk’s current collection. But instead of bringing in coltish teenagers to
showcase the work, they asked the designer herself to pose in her fashions for
the shoot. It works. The photography's prismatic look is arresting and
Fulk
owns the frame with a gaze that speaks volumes about the woman-empowering
intentions behind her designs.


Molly describes the intensely personal vibe of a typical
l’étoile piece as wholly intentional. “Our feature profiles have depth
and nuance that other magazines can’t really get to because we’re part of the
community—we know these people. Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine
just can’t get on the inside like we can. For example, we’ve known
Emma Berg and
Ben Olson for years, and a profile like
‘Let’s
Pretend’ reflects that I think.”


“Emma is a tiny little sprite,” Molly leans in smiling.
“Five feet nothin’. So she doesn’t fit the conventional notion of ‘model’.”



But she brought a passion and willing perseverance to the
enterprise, Molly says, that “just lit up the photos with her energy. Emma and
Ben committed themselves to the process completely, and they trusted
us to get it right. Because of that there’s a real closeness there.”


That tingle of intimacy and enthusiasm carries throughout the
magazine and, in the end, that sense of friendly invitation truly
distinguishes l’étoile from its high fashion and design kindred
publications.


Still, putting together a glossy, thick magazine is
expensive—so I ask them why they didn’t take the whole shooting match and put
it online. Krista Stensrud responds, “Unlike something published online, print
lasts. You can pull it out fifty years later and show it to your grandkids.”



 l’étoile is the beautiful friend who never leaves
you feeling like her frumpy sidekick when you hit the town together. On the
contrary, after you’ve spent a bit of time with her you feel a little more
glamorous and lovely yourself. All that and she looks fabulous on your coffee
table. What more do you want?


 


The
Spring/Summer 2007 issue of l’étoile is hot off the
presses and available for purchase directly from
the magazine’s website or
at select locations around
the Twin Cities.


P.S. If Minnesota artist Matthew
LaCosse is reading this (or if any of you know him),
get in touch with the magazine.
They’re desperately seeking him about featuring his work in a forthcoming
issue. The spread will have a hip wilderness lodge theme (yeah… you heard that
right) and his artwork will be perfect, I hear.


 


--Susannah Schouweiler

access+ENGAGE Issue 17.1: Minnesota Couture
CLICK HERE to read the web (HTML) version of the issue in which this collection is featured.

l'étoile magazine website
Click here to find out where you can buy a copy of l'étoile and get links to the mag's blog and MySpace page.

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Susannah Schouweiler on mnartists.org

access + ENGAGE, Book Arts, Photography