Looking Ahead

As I step into the role as editor-in-chief of Earnshaw’s, a magazine I’ve admired for many years, I have to pause for a minute. Throughout my journalism career, I’ve penned hundreds of stories about the fashion industry on both coasts and have earned my share of blisters at trade shows. But when I hold in my hands a delicate copy of the magazine from 1938 and read the Editor’s Letter by founder George F. Earnshaw, I feel, well, humbled.

Earnshaw’s is a magazine with an inspiring history. The magazine not only gracefully weathered the Great Depression but this century’s debilitating recession, which mowed down even the most hyped and well-funded magazines. It is a testament to the magazine’s editors and staff that have preceded me and the industry they covered.

Earnshaw’s has one of the best creative departments in the business, bringing you visionary fashion spreads, inventive illustrations and beautiful photography every month. In May, creative directors Nancy Campbell and Trevett McCandliss were nominated along with goliath magazines like W, More and New York Magazine at The Society of Publication Designers’ 51st Annual Design Competition and took home a silver and gold medal for their work. I’m privileged to work alongside such an imaginative and accommodating team.

Earnshaw’s writers and editors also deserve special mention. They recently worked weekends and after-hours to bring you an entertaining and informative trip through the childrenswear business over the decades in last month’s Centennial issue. From the cost of knitwear during World War I to social networking in the 2000s, they combed the archives to show us just how far we’ve come, discovering wonderful stories and throwback images along the way. I encourage you to pick up or read online the issue that we’ve fondly dubbed “the baby issue.” We put 100 babies on the cover!

Of course, the magazine’s long-standing history is primarily due to the business it has reflected all these years: the ever-thriving childrenswear industry. And it is all of you, our readers, with whom I look forward to having an open dialogue. Throughout the years, Earnshaw’s has always dedicated itself to providing you with relevant information, design inspiration and business intelligence. I’m thrilled to be here and will carry on.

Kristin Young