As a proven leader in the fashion world, Sarah Richardson has stepped into a new realm of influence as the editor-in-chief and creative director of Beyond Noise. The newest media brand set to shift the editorial landscape, Beyond Noise aims to understand and promote the diverse narratives that shape contemporary womanhood while challenging the usual conventions of fashion media. Richardson is no stranger to the media space, the seasoned stylist’s London roots and early connections to fashion’s biggest leaders like Venetia Scott, Mario Sorrenti, Craig McDean and Juergen Teller was the best platform to build upon when she wanted to venture out on her own. While working with Edward Enninful, Hedi Slimane and Alber Elbaz, Richardson brought her keen eye for aesthetics and her inclusive vision to the forefront, creating a storied career with pivotal roles at recognized brands. Now as she turns her gaze to Beyond Noise, she’s focused on resonating with women from all walks of life to make more than just a magazine, while delivering content that is both thought-provoking and visually captivating. Models.com sat down with Richardson in New York to talk about the process of creating Beyond Noise, the mentors that helped shaped her trajectory, and how sustainable print processes make the media publication stand out from an oversaturated crowd.
Growing up, what were some of your first connections to fashion images?
I would say my connection to fashion started with music. My mum was very young when she had me, and she used to take me to the galleries. She would also take me to the Victoria and Albert Museum, where I’d sit on the floor and sketch the fashion I’d see. I was obsessed with these fashion paper dolls they used to have at the V&A Museum, which you could cut out and make into different clothing. Then, that went into music, which as a teenager in London, I was majorly into the club scene. I took on a job at JOSEPH purely so I could get a discount on designer clothing and could wear Vivienne Westwood, Alaïa, and some really beautiful pieces. Joseph himself was alive, and he was a master merchandiser, and everything had to be a certain way. It was all color-coordinated. He had the most incredible understanding of visual merchandising. It was great to be introduced to designers like that at a very young age; I was 17 or 18.
Then I went to Central Saint Martins for a part-time course where I studied design and then did another course where I studied display, and I got a job at Browns on South Molton Street, which at the time was like Dover Street Market. I did all the windows for all the different brands, from Alaïa to Comme des Garçons to Romeo Gigli and Dolce & Gabbana. That for me was huge, and if I can be honest, I learned more from practical work, working with clothing, and being able to make windows based on the designs of incredible brands than I did at Central Saint Martins, which was more around the history of fashion and the philosophy behind design. It’s not just an art, it’s a business.
You mentioned working in retail as a huge foundation. How did you get your first gig as your own stylist and make the transition?
When I was at Browns, it was the mid-nineties, and some of the biggest names came in to the store, but it was a relatively new concept being a stylist. If you said to someone you’re a stylist, they thought you were a hairdresser. We used to have Karl Templer, Jane How, Venetia Scott, and other young stylists come in for pulls. I thought they do what I do, but on real people and they travel around the world. I got the opportunity to work with Venetia Scott as her [assistant] stylist, and she’s now a dear friend of mine and also recently shot and styled a story for Beyond Noise. It was really working with her and Juergen [Teller], who’s also in Beyond Noise, where I really grew. When I was ready to do my own thing and it felt like the right time, that’s when I went out on my own. It was definitely not a success overnight, and I had to go back from working with people like Mario [Sorrenti], David Sims, and Juergen with Venetia to doing tests and looking for interesting young photographers. I really appreciate that time because it allowed me to grow my own style. It allowed me to work with people of the same age as myself as my own peers, find new photographers, and understand newer brands rather than so much the luxury brands that we were working with.
Were there any mentors that helped you on your trajectory?
At the beginning, I think maybe peer groups. I’m someone who creatively likes to work as a team when we’re doing shoots, but when I’m referencing, I’m someone who really likes to go into my own little corner and just look at images and read. Definitely, there are people like Venetia and Juergen who were really supportive. The one person who gave me encouragement and gave me the opportunity was Edward Enninful. I had just left Venetia and he called me up asking, “I want you to be a contributing fashion editor for i-D.” I’d barely done any tests or anything, but he believed and supported me. Throughout the journey, he gave me incredible opportunities at W and Vogue Magazine. Another person who really made a difference in my career and gave me an enormous opportunity was Hedi Slimane. I had shot a story in a magazine that he saw and told the editor that he loved it, and for whatever reason, it was really complimentary, and he believed in me from day one. We met and got on really well as human beings, then worked together in various ways. He gave me the encouragement to push myself further. Alber Elbaz at Lanvin was an incredible supporter, a wonderful person, and dearly missed.
You mentioned meeting huge stalwarts in fashion history in London. How essential has the city been to your creative development and where do you think it stands now in terms of fashion?
I think one thing about London is we’re an island, so that means we’re very free-thinking. We don’t necessarily look to the outside world to come up with ideas, and that means that creatively, we’ve always been very free. I also think that there’s a good lifestyle there. There’s lots of green, you’re close to nature. I think it’s a cultural melting pot. The kids that I grew up with were a mix of a lot of Guyanese, Indians, a lot of Irish, and Jamaicans. Everyone had to live together, work together, and know how to get along. I find that it isn’t exactly like that anywhere else in the world.
Now that you’ve started your own biannual platform with Beyond Noise, what do you think is the role of an editorial publication in a climate that some lament is oversaturated? How do you stand out from [excuse the pun] the noise and what made you decide to start your own magazine?
I don’t know if I’ve actually said this to anyone, but I never set out to do a magazine. There was never something like, “Oh, I’m going to do a magazine.” I was the fashion director at i-D and went from working with many independent publications, like AnOther magazine and i-D to working with luxury magazines like W and Vogue and other magazines that are more commercial. I think what actually inspired me to do a multimedia platform like Beyond Noise is more from my experience consulting and contractually working with luxury brands that gives insight into, and I’d wonder, the needs of brands.
I know some people are like, “Oh, there’s loads of women’s magazines and women’s publications,” but I really didn’t think that there is one that caters to women that are not in the industry, in that way that is 360. I think a modern woman today is not just looking for fashion, beauty, social, and celebrities. We read The Times, National Geographic or Bloomberg. My husband would send me an article from Bloomberg, focused on the sciences, the environment, or tech and I’d wonder, where do you read about this in our world? It should be educational and just as inspiring for an 18-year-old as it is for an 80-year-old. It’s a broader spectrum of content imagery-wise that I want to touch on. You have people like Ayo [Edebiri] that are incredibly in the zeitgeist, but also really inspiring, as she’s not only beautiful and a brilliant actor, but incredibly funny. I think that can get lost, that women can be funny.
How was your process of creating Beyond Noise and how long did it take from the genesis of the idea to the first issue?
The ideas for this started coming along when I had a conversation with women about why does something like this not exist for women today, where it’s more informed for women. We asked the question of why we’re still stuck in this hole of only certain topics being pushed to us. I wanted to show depth. From there, someone that I know very well dealing with the industry said to me, “Why are you not doing this yourself? You have strong ideas. You have an incredible network. You know what you like visually, why are you not doing this yourself?” That was probably in June or July last year. Then, physically putting it together was very organic as well and I’ve felt very fortunate. I was having a conversation in August about doing a project like this, and asked, “Well, how much will that cost?” I was put through the paces, making sure that this wasn’t a vanity project, that it was a business. I’ve come to love over the years, the fashion business side as much as the creative and we put it all together in five months. We fully incorporated, first in New York and then in London, set up teams in both offices, the structure, the creative direction, the commissions, the meetings with clients, and getting the advertising. I feel privileged to have the advertisers we had in the first issue and the belief from everyone.
“I think a modern woman today is not just looking for fashion, beauty, social, and celebrities…It should be educational and just as inspiring for an 18-year-old as it is for an 80-year-old. It’s a broader spectrum of content imagery-wise that I want to touch on.”
You’ve worked with top photographers like Hedi Slimane, Mario Sorrenti, Juergen Teller, and Craig McDean and a new generation of names like Tyler Mitchell, Gray Sorrenti, and Malick Bodian. How important is calling upon those collaborators when launching a new platform like Beyond Noise?
Most of these are people I’ve known for a very long time within my career at different magazines. I collaborated with them on those platforms. Mario, I knew from working with Venetia. Juergen, I also knew from working with Venetia and said yes from day one. I love Gray, and knowing her, it is amazing to get this cross-generational spectrum of photographers. Craig [McDean] I met while I was working with YSL Beauty. Malick [Bodian], I met and fell in love with him. He’s like a Buddhist monk, so wise and calm, just an incredible person. I commissioned him on a story, and we built the relationship from there. When this was coming about, I phoned them and said, “Will you do this for me? I would love to have you.” As creative director for Beyond Noise as well as EIC, my instinct is to ask, “What would you like to do? What inspires you?” It’s not about me putting references onto someone else. If I find a young artist that I think is super talented, I want to give them space, whether it’s a photographer or designer. We did a piece on Grace Wales Bonner who I think is incredibly talented and about giving her space within the magazine to have a conversation.
People often have preconceived notions of what it is to be an editor-in-chief – how do you deal with misconceptions and what’s the hardest part about leading a team?
I think you have to be human about things. You have to guide people. I think there’s a misconception that you can’t say no to people or you can’t tell people exactly what needs to be done. I disagree with that. I think you have to do that, but at the same time, give flexibility to your team when they do make the right choices. Working with creatives is freeing and I give them the opportunity to come up with ideas, but I’m also not afraid to say that’s not right or this needs more work. I’m quite a taskmaster and a workaholic myself, so I do expect dedication and passion.
Given that it costs you at least 30% more to use the most sustainable print processes available, what made you decide to take on that extra cost for a brand-new project in such a competitive print market?
We use vegetable dyeing, all the paper, all the packaging – everything is sustainable. It’s printed in a solar-powered printer and that means, the cost goes up. It isn’t just the sustainability – being a creative myself and having worked within the industry, I know a lot of young artists have struggled from not having budgets and not being paid their budgets. One thing I wanted to ensure with Beyond Noise is that we give photographers and stylists a good budget so that people are paid timely and respected for the work that they do for us. They’re not lucky to work for us; we are lucky for them to work for us. It costs to have integrity.
When it comes to London and beyond, how important is supporting the next generation of designers and who has stood out to you?
Supporting the next-generation is one of our pillars. We have Fran Burns as our sustainability fashion director at large and Marina Testino as our sustainability fashion editor. There are two brands that stuck out to me and weirdly, they’re both sustainable, and the first one is Ponte. I think what he does is genius and I love it. It feels like, in his own way, he’s like Margiela. Then, Duran Lantink. They’re both super creative, strong, bold and stand out. They’re young, so they’re going to have to develop how that translates to something that’s more commercial that’s going to work as a business.
How would you describe the differences in how you plan on approaching things like digital versus what you choose to feature in the print edition?
There’s an interactive digital platform that we’re planning to launch now, and we really want it to be very different from a typical website. The idea is to create an in-between space outside of the biannual issue and do something that’s more curated, and isn’t tons of content that feels really thought out.
