Monthly Archives: July 2013

By Lauren Fisher and Lucy Tomforde

Meadows Academy for Young Artists

We set out recently as part of an SMU fashion media camp to meet the staff of Dallas’ glossy  fashion-lifestyle magazine F/D Luxe.  SMU alum Christina Geyer, the magazine’s managing editor, had paved the way for our visit.

When we arrived in the F/D Luxe offices downtown at the Dallas Morning News, the hot topic of conversation was the most recent chapter in the very public divorce saga of Dallas Museum of Art director Maxwell Anderson and Jaqueline Buckingham. In the latest news, Anderson had tweeted that the couple were remarrying.

The fabulous offspring of TDMN’s fashion section, F/D Luxe was revamped under editor-in-chief Rob Brinkley in March of 2012 into a glossy, clean-bound magazine with a 100-page minimum. The magazine also expanded its focus from strictly fashion to many areas of Dallas life.

Sitting around a conference table with Brinkley, Geyer, deputy editor Christopher Wynn, fashion editor Bradley Agathar and intern Ashley Wali, we learned lessons both in how to produce a glossy fashion magazine and how to make it in the fashion world.

The staff was finishing production of the August issue as well as planning several months ahead for the October issue. As they looked over August’s final proofs, they introduced us to the most recent addition to the F/D Luxe family — online editor Heather Young, who relocated to Dallas from New York where she had worked for Elle magazine.

Of course, as students, we were interested in how to prepare to succeed in the fashion world.  Geyer told us that some of the basic skills young people need in this modern era include knowledge of major social media sites like Twitter, FaceBook and Instagram. They should also have a basic understanding of the software program Photoshop and the ability to navigate Pinterest.

Finally, Geyer repeated the advice that every member of Generation Y — those of us born at the end of the century, who have literally grown up online — needs to hear.  Social media can seriously hurt your reputation if you’re not careful: “You are your brand.”

SMU alum Christina Geyer landed at F/D Luxe just a few years out of college, following a stint with PaperCity.  As managing editor of the glossy fashion/lifestyle monthly, she oversees everything from photo shoots to final production.  Meadows Academy of Young Artist students talked to Geyer about what inspired her and what it takes to make it in the fashion media world.

MAYA: When did you realize you wanted to work in the fashion industry?

GEYER: I have always wanted to work in the fashion industry. When I was a little girl I was obsessed with clothes — dressing up my Barbies, playing with paper dolls, and playing dress up with my mom’s old party dresses and high heels. I was probably in seventh grade when I first started paying attention to fashion magazines — particularly W and Vogue. (I now have hundreds, literally, of old magazines and continue to save them to this day.)

I always had a love of art and fashion so for a long time I thought I would go into design. My aunt and uncle live in Manhattan, so every summer during high school I would stay with them. One summer, I enrolled in summer school at NYC’s Fashion Institute of Technology for fashion design. Then, when back in Los Angeles I took a semester of fashion design at Otis [College of Art and Design]. When I made the decision to not go to art school for college and attend SMU instead, I saw pretty clearly that I wanted to major in something I loved (art history) and something I thought I was good at (writing/journalism). I figured I would find a way to combine the two, with hopes of pursuing fashion and/or art journalism.

My interest, of course, always remained focused on fashion magazines. I landed an internship at PaperCity Magazine in Dallas and ended up getting hired full time as the assistant editor. Then, just over a year ago, I was hired on at F/D Luxe as their managing editor. I still sketch fashion illustrations on a regular basis and read every magazine I can get my hands on. Long story short? I’ve always known that the industry I’m in now is where I wanted to be.

MAYA: What skills and accomplishments helped you get your current position?

GEYER: I think my work ethic is the major contributing factor to my career accomplishments so far. I am willing to put in the work, focus and commitment that it takes to work in a demanding industry. 

MAYA: Describe your current position – what does in entail?

GEYER: As the managing editor at F/D Luxe, my job is two fold: I manage our production schedule, deadlines and budget. In addition, I am responsible for creating content: writing articles for print, blogging on F/DLuxe.com, producing fashion shoots, etc.

MAYA: What made you decide to start SMUStyle while a college student? How did people respond to it?

GEYER: My friend Sarah Bray and I started SMUStyle.com because there was no other platform for us to write about fashion and lifestyle on a daily basis. The Daily Campus newspaper only had a page for fashion that was available once a week and sometimes even less. The response was really exciting. What we thought would just be something for us to show future employers — a resume builder, if you will — became a platform lots of people were actually reading and paying attention to.

MAYA: What skills do you think you young people need to make it in the fashion industry today?

GEYER: They need to learn right off the bat that having a lasting career in fashion means more than just having a good eye for clothes or having a fabulous wardrobe. If you ask anyone in this business — from fashion media to designers to PR people — they’ll tell you that the jobs that seem glamorous on the outside require an incredible amount of work and long hours behind the scenes. You have to first love what you do and then be willing to work hard at it. Work ethic, a good attitude and a strong ability to connect and network with people is very important.