Daily Front Row

2012 February 21

Deb's Debut

Comments | | Print

Deb Schwartz
Giorgio Niro View Gallery

(NEW YORK) Lucky’s got a new executive editor, and it’s a homecoming of sorts—Deb Schwartz spent five years on the title’s launch team. What’s the former Out senior editor been doing in the interim? Another Condé launch—remember Domino?—a string of contrib editor and freelance gigs, and, yes, an almost-finished novel!
BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV 

How did you initially land at Lucky?
In 1999, I got a call from Kim France, whom I’d sat next to when I was a fact-checker at Elle. Kim was starting a new magazine about shopping. Of course at that point I had no idea what that meant, and neither did anyone else. I ended up spending five years as a freelance contributing editor at Lucky. I also knew Kim from Oberlin College—she was a year ahead of me.

How did you get into journalism?
I was living in depressing Somerville, Massachusetts in the late eighties after I graduated from college, doing a terrible job of waiting tables while writing for this great little newspaper, Gay Community News. Local gay press was really alive then. Then I applied to be an intern at The Nation, which was an incredibly rigorous experience with lots of fact-checking. That brought me to New York, where I was subletting the home of a shiatsu masseuse who’d gone off to a Zen retreat.

How did you end up at Out?
I went back to freelancing, and then became research chief at Out—followed by roles as associate editor and senior editor. The magazine was very different then, with lots of investigative pieces. I got to write and edit so much, from side effects of AIDS medications to a recipe for salt-baked fish. James Collard became editor-in-chief while I was there. Initially I thought he was a silly poof, and he thought I was a dowdy, humorless lesbian. We had this great mutual misunderstanding—of course he’s now a very good friend.

And then, Lucky.
I was there starting with the test issue in 1999, creating the magazine’s voice with Kim, James Truman, and a total staff of 10 or so people. Kim was very clear about what she imagined Lucky to be for its readers: straightforward and honest, without bullshitting. The first year Lucky existed, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I wrote all of the fashion copy in the magazine.

You also worked on Domino, but what were you doing right before coming back to Lucky?
I was writing copy at J.Crew for six weeks. I spent entire days writing copy about boxer shorts. That held some brief fascination, but after a while…

How did you land back at Lucky?
Brandon [Holley] called, we talked, that was it!

Had you worked together?
No. I think I met her in the hall at Lucky once. I also ran into her at City Bakery.

Why did she call you?
She’s making sure the magazine stays true to its original vision and promise. The voice is a big part of that, and I’m intimately familiar with it—unpretentious, respectful, enthusiastic, passionate, and informed.

What’s it like to be back at Lucky?
Working with Brandon is really great—she’s a real innovator, very enthusiastic, has a ton of energy, and is a big thinker. I really like being in a managerial role and working with lots of different people. I’m happy to be doing many things during the day, rather than just writing.

What advice do you give your writers?
I counsel my writers not to read fashion magazines. They should look at them—but our mission at Lucky is to not sound like one.

What voice are you aiming for, then?
Native English speakers who are writing in a straightforward, clear, knowledgeable manner.

How would you describe the cadence of a freelancer’s life?
Freelancing is a very unpredictable, up-and-down thing with blank periods. It’s weird because you can’t really plan ahead. But while freelancing, I also worked on a novel.

What’s it about?
The rise and fall of a friendship, set in AIDS activism circles in the early nineties in downtown New York.

How long have you been writing it?
Like 800 years!

What’s your look?
I’ve always had a specific style—Kermit the Frog meets the Marlboro Man meets Tin Tin meets Radclyffe Hall.

What kind of shopper are you?
My favorite stores are ones that have men’s clothes that fit me. Let’s take my outfit right now. Florsheim shoes, jeans from Barneys, custom Tim Hamilton shirt, and a Ted Baker tie.

How often do you shop?
When I find the right thing, I buy in bulk so I can shop less. But I’ll get sucked into blogs, which leads to a shop, which leads to another blog, which leads to a belt or something.

Does your shopping style reflect Lucky’s readers?
No. The reader is a dedicated shopping enthusiast. I’m not the demographic.

What effect does that have on doing this new job?
There’s a long history of gay men working in fashion and publishing, and my position is no different. We want the fun and passion of shopping, which we get from our market and fashion teams. But we also aim to demystify, so we do in-depth stories about, say, where to shop for the right pair of jeans. My job is to understand and appreciate the tizzy. And I have a whole department of people feeding it to me, which is great!

Plus! Brandon Weighs In!

How did you find Deb?
Whenever an editor went on maternity leave, Deb came in. She was our crackerjack! All of a sudden, I thought, let’s get her to come in all the time.

When did you lure her in?
I knew Deb’s work, so I basically just called her and said, ‘come.’ Deb’s response was, ‘Give me two days.’ We didn’t even do a face-to-face interview. I knew that she was the right person!

Why?
She has an amazing way with tone and display. The voice of our editors just flows out of her. If you’re toiling over your copy, it reads that way. Also, Deb is a former camp counselor, so she’s great for morale!