A Special Editor's Letter For marie claire Australia's 25th Birthday

That noise? Champagne corks popping as we celebrate our 25th birthday, albeit from our lougerooms in lockdown. It wasn’t exactly how we planned to toast our anniversary, but welcome to 2021, where life’s painful unpredictabilities have become the norm. Wherever you are, at home, work or waiting in a vaccination queue, we hope this hefty collector’s edition provides plenty to inspire, inform, uplift and entertain.

While today marks the moment our 25th issue hits newsstands, we’ll also be delivering special anniversary content across all our digital platforms throughout the month. From politics to purpose, feminism to friendship, social media to self-identity, we’ll cover the gamut of hot-button topics, penned by some of Australia’s best female writers. Anniversaries give you permission to reminisce (look out for marie claire’s greatest-ever fashion moments showcased in print and online), but it’s equally important to look to the future. In “The Next 25”, we reveal the change-makers, leaders and creatives set to make their mark on the next quarter century; and we’ll also examine who’s most likely to become Australia’s next female prime minister (yes people, it’s time!) voted by our expert panel of politicians, commentators and journos.

Of course, the toughest decision when compiling any anniversary issue is who’ll helm the cover. For me, there was only one contender. Nicole Kidman has been a powerhouse presence for the past 25 years, but more impressive still, her success continues to snowball. Beyond filmmaking, Nicole’s feminist stance and fierce support of women via her company Blossom Films and 15 years as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women mean she’s the perfect marie claire woman. (Fun fact: this is Nicole’s 10th mc cover, making her our most prolific cover star.) The Nine Perfect Strangers actor/producer isn’t an easy woman to pin down: after months of emails, calls and gentle badgering (from yours truly), we finally sat down with the Hollywood heavyweight to chat life, love and her one great regret.

For six years, I’ve proudly edited marie claire, but many don’t know I also worked on the launch issue in the mid ‘90s when faxes, pagers and Betamax were the “new technologies”. Back then, the concept of a feminist fashion magazine was utterly foreign. But a quarter century on, I’m thrilled to say our core mission and purpose has resolutely remained the same since day one – to combine thought-provoking, rigorous journalism with inspirational fashion and beauty for smart, discerning women like you. From gender pay equality and female representation to climate action and Indigenous rights (to name just a few), our commitment to fighting and campaigning for the issues that really matter has never wavered. We celebrate the stories of women either in the pages of the magazine, on our social media feeds, or at any of our inspirational events. At the heart of marie claire is a real belief in the power of women to make a difference.

Finally, I’d like to recognise a few people for bringing to life this big, beautiful brand. First, a special shout out to founding editor Jackie Frank, who for two decades passionately steered marie claire Australia and our activist spirit well before the world went woke. Second, colossal thanks to the talented, whip-smart and wildly funny marie claire team: I hope you’re as proud as I am of what you’ve produced (in lockdown, no less). Last but certainly not least, I’d like to acknowledge you, our loyal readers. You’ve passionately supported our causes, got angry at injustices, laughed and cried at our stories, been uplifted by our beautiful fashion and beauty and demanded better from our leaders. So it’s to you we raise a glass as we look forward to embracing the next 25 years!