VISION QUEST Julianna Margulies, star of The Good Wife, traveled to Hôtel du Cap for a shoot with Patrick Demarchelier.
by jeremy murphy, editor in chief
I
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t’s just like a Vogue shoot.” We'd just photographed the Emmywinning star of The Good Wife, Juliana Margulies for Watch! magazine, and she was comparing us to the Bible. For a day we hired Patrick Demarchelier to shoot her around the fabled Hôtel du Cap-EdenRoc in the South of France, and seeing one of the world’s most beautiful women being shot by the world’s top photographer in the most picturesque setting was what Oprah may have called an “aha!” moment. The icing on the cake was the comparison to Vogue, which I had read since childhood. It seemed surreal for a publication that was created on a shoestring budget in 2006 to find ourselves in such a circumstance. Because as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, I’m reminded of a much different time when launching a print magazine was counterintuitive. I remember the summer before, when my bosses and I began planning the launch, and realizing the enormity of what we faced. Thanks to them, we were fortunate to have a direct pipeline to the top, and they both made sure we had an unimpeded runway to get this off the ground. Launching and editing the magazine provided a
FA S H I O N W E E K D A I L Y. C O M
much-needed outlet for that time in my life, too: I was shuttling back and forth between CBS’s famous Black Rock building on Sixth Avenue, the Viacom headquarters in Times Square, and Memorial Sloan Kettering, where my father lay dying of lung cancer. He lost his life that summer, but I always felt Watch! magazine renewed mine. As the summer gave way to fall and winter, ad pages would trickle in, but not the glamorous fashion spreads I expected. Instead, there were the triedand-true brands that were willing to take a chance on a new and different magazine. I remember the euphoria when we got our first—Staples! Then Taco Bell! And let’s give it up for GlaxoSmithKline, which bought a spread. To this day I still have affection for those brands (not so much an appetite for tacos, though). Putting out our first issue was a miracle, and one of which I'm incredibly proud…even if Charlie Sheen from Two and a Half Men was on the cover. Winning? I thought so. Vanity Fair it was not, but I couldn't have been happier to hold that first issue in my hands. And then came a feeling of dread: I have to do this again? Thankfully I had by my side our publisher Michael Rizzi, a humble, hard-working salesman with the work ethic of a saint and a spot-on impression of Christopher Walken, which can disarm even the most skeptical of advertisers. The truth is, I signed him over Stoli Dolis at the Capital Grille on 42nd Street when he agreed to leave a solid job at Entertainment Weekly to join this start-up.
As contributors like Demarchelier, Kate Betts, Michael Musto, and Hudson Morgan joined our ranks, so too did Mercedes-Benz, Rolls-Royce, Van Cleef & Arpels, YSL, Dior, Ferragamo, and many more—as did those brands that supported us in the beginning. I will never forget their loyalty, and will always find a place for them in the pages, no matter what luxury brands open each issue. The truth is, every page in those salad days was a hard-fought victory. As I’d explain the editorial, Michael would sell the brand environment. I remember we made two impromptu trips abroad and shuttled among clients, buying agencies, and brand reps (and maybe a stop or three at the Hemingway). That was another “pinch me” moment, for it was just a few years before that
“IT SEemed surreal for a publication that was created on a shoestring budget in 2006 to find ourselves in such a circumstance.”
c o u rt e s y
The team behind CBS WATCH! rethinks the process of magazine publishing—with stellar results.