We ran a Q&A with Marrisa Bourke in Gym Class Magazine No.08 when she was the (hello, multi award-winning!) creative director of Elle UK. Since then she's taken the design helm of Harper's Bazaar UK.
magCulture recently highlighted Marissa as one-to-watch in 2013; we thought it about time for a catch up...
Congrats on the new job, Marissa. So far, so good?
So far, very great. Enjoying the new challenge. Bazaar is a fascinating brand.
You achieved great success at Elle UK, and won many awards. What do you believe to be your greatest achievement there?
Probably persuading them to move on from Futura. Also I think it eventually became a more credible fashion title–as it once had been.
We're loving the current Harper's Bazaar subscriber cover with Anne Hathaway; it's working an old-school, glamourous vibe. How influential, still, is Alexey Brodovitch to the modern Harper's look?
Brodovitch's Bazaars are some of the most beautiful magazines ever published. I'm endlessly fascinated by his work but there's also many other lesser known art directors who have worked for Bazaar that I'm discovering. Such a great archive.
As a creative director, what's your design style?
That's quite hard to answer. People I work with might be able to describe it better than me. I guess it's about gut feeling. I like lots of styles–clean, messy, anarchic, refined. As long as it has good tension, I like it.
magCulture's Jeremy Leslie acknowledged you recently as one-to-watch in 2013. Exciting. What can we expect from you and Harper's Bazaar this year?
Did he? I'll have to send him a fiver. I think it's important to understand the heritage and DNA of a brand before making too many changes. Bazaar is also in a good place–I've inherited a strong magazine.
Finally, excluding your colleagues at Harper's Bazaar and friends at Elle, who in magazine publishing are you most excited about this year? Who's your one-to-watch?
Vanity Fair. Hole & Corner. magCulture. And Gym Class Magazine.