She created a cool, conscious and successful magazine in just two years: Chere Di Boscio. The lady who wears “rich hippy, urban bohemian (style) with a bit of rock chick” lives in my favorite town, Paris, and is passionately at home on the greener pastures of life: luxury and eco.
We had a little talk:
Meet Chere from Eluxe Magazine
What was the spark to create Eluxe ?
After having worked as an editor for luxury magazines for some time, I became quite tired of the waste I was essentially promoting. For example, we ran an article about a society woman’s ‘dream wedding’ where the glamorous bride flew all her guests to an exotic island (bad enough!) and then also flew in food from her native France, as she felt it was somehow superior to local food. So loads of wine, foie gras and champagne was flown in on a private jet, to help her create the ‘wedding of her dreams’. Rather than finding this aspirational or luxurious, I was just sickened by all the waste and excess. After feeling this way about many features we did, I decided to make a positive change.
Luckily, having a journalistic background, as well as fantastic contacts in the worlds of fashion and beauty, it was pretty easy to start my own publication. But that being said, it’s never easy in the beginning for any magazine in terms of financing and finding advertisers.
In your words: the unique view point of Eluxe
Eluxe is truly a pioneer in the sense that we are the first dual online/paper eco-luxury magazine in the whole world, ever. There are some others that are similar, but nothing is as focused on luxury as we are. We focus on fashion that’s sustainable because it uses upcycled or recycled materials, zero waste techniques or because it’s vintage. I don’t buy into this ‘it’s eco because it was made locally, by hand’ because that basically defines every single high end French and Italian luxury brand. And given all the toxic dyes, glues, tanning and chemical fabrics they normally use, well–‘eco friendly’ is the last way I’d define them!
Your passion
I’m passionate about motivating people to reduce the amount of unnecessary crap in our daily lives. All people in the developed world, and I mean, all, consume too much. I love that there are new sites like Vestaire Collective that allow people to swap clothing when they tire of it, and Girl Meets Dress that allow you to rent a frock for a big night out. I’m also passionate about promoting antique furniture, vintage clothing and jewellery. There’s just so much incredibly beautiful stuff in the world right now, it seems so wasteful to create more!
Your pet peeves
Overconsumption, of course! Also cigarette smoke. While I don’t care what others choose to do with their bodies, when their choices negatively affect other people’s health (through second hand smoke), that’s just incredibly selfish–especially when little kids are involved.
What’s your connection to couture/the world of high fashion
When I was the Features Editor of Velvet Magazine in Dubai, I was privileged enough to meet some of the world’s best couture designers, who I now call friends. These guys are truly incredibly talented and creative, and see fabric as an artistic medium more than the basis for a commercial product. The fact that they use ‘petits mains’ from around the world, who are highly trained in a specific area of artisanal production–be it beading, embroidery or pattern cutting–is beautiful for me; there is something quite moving about a garment that is infused with the personal talents of several people.
I like the idea of “slow fashion”, could you elaborate on it please?
Slow fashion is, for me, French fashion. French women generally buy excellent staple pieces only when they need them, and those last for decades. They supplement these with vintage details passed down through families. Shopping as an activity, like ‘Let’s go to the mall’ just isn’t part of the culture.
Most French fashion brands–even the high street ones–consequently focus on well cut blazers and coats, high quality tee shirts and jumpers in neutral colours that transcend seasons and trends.
What’s eco about your own life
There’s a lot about me that’s eco, actually. I’ve been a vegan practically all my life and I eat organic, local produce whenever possible. I’ve never learned to drive and have never owned a car. I make sure all the energy companies I sign up with use at least 50% renewables. I recycle everything that is recyclable. I only use organic skincare and makeup. I almost never buy anything new–a lot of clothes and beauty products are given to me, though. I also donate to charities focused on wildlife conservation.
Tips for brides from your perspective
Keep it simple. I’ve been married twice. The first wedding was huge–200 guests, enormous dress, loads of food and booze. It required months of planning: seating arrangements, caterers, florists, travel plans. My poor parents paid for it, and it was a disaster. All I remember about it was being so tired I couldn’t even open gifts afterwards, let alone spend quality time with my husband. I have no idea what happened to that gigantic dress! The marriage lasted 8 months.
For my second wedding, it was entirely different. It was held in a town hall. I picked a bouquet of flowers from our garden, wore a dress I later dyed black and still wear frequently and look at fondly, and we took our 8 guests out for a lovely meal in a gorgeous restaurant afterwards. What I remember most is the intimacy of that dinner; having in-depth conversations with good friends; the tasty food, and of course, the tears in my husband’s eyes as he said his vows. That was 20 years ago!
Eluxe published a bridal issue and also promotes conscious travel, organic beauty, eco architecture, unique, ethical jewelry and fashion, bringing together mindfully creative people who send out the sustainable vibe of awareness.
Photo courtesy: Eluxe
Brands on the photo:
Ralph &Russo
Stephanie Rolland
Que Va
Celia Grace
