Grazia

Grazia, the magazine edited by Silvia Grilli, is on newsstands from Thursday 8 October in a special issue dedicated to global icons. Today celebrities, with huge followings on social media, have imposed their values by putting their lives in the spotlight and through their Instagram – or other social media – profiles, are able to influence a growing number of people. They are icons with hundreds of millions of followers around the word.

Kim Kardashian has established a new idea of beauty. With posts that capture her hourglass figure she has revolutionised aesthetic canons. Cristiano Ronaldo has liberated the idea of having children with surrogate mothers. Selena Gomez has broken the taboo about talking about illness: in fact, today, illness – mental or physical – is something that can be shared. It’s a way of feeling less alone and to be better able to fight against it. A cultural change that has come about mainly thanks to social media icons.

The cover star of the new special issue of Grazia is Kim Kardashian: the undisputed queen of Instagram with 188 million followers, and the protagonist of a global project by the brand involving another 11 international editions of the magazine.

The covers, interviews and exclusive photos have been published simultaneously   from the UK to Italy, from India to Australia, right up to the recently launched US edition.

Grazia has dedicated to her an exclusive photo-shoot by the artist Vanessa Beecroft as well as an extensive interview in which she talks about herself.

“Vanessa Beecroft, one of Italy’s most sought after artists, exclusively shot for Grazia the images of Kim Kardashian that appear in this issue,” declared the editor Silvia Grilli. “Kardashian and Beecroft have worked together for a long time, and in these shots the Italian artist revisits the stylistic character of her living pictures in her portraits of the global superstar. This publishing operation, that involves 12 international editions of our magazine, is further evidence of the success of our network. And in this extraordinary issue, in addition to a long and intimate interview with  Kim, we examine the phenomenon of these new global superstars, from  Ronaldo to Selena Gomez, by way of Kardashian/Jenner, who set fashion trends and influence the passions and economic interests of mass culture with hundreds of millions of followers on social media.”

Readers of Grazia will find inside this special Issue: a major survey, interviews, fashion shoots and features dedicated to beauty, all with a linking common theme: global icons.

The survey looks at how these highly influential personalities are changing the culture. For example, the American actress and singer Ariana Grande, a strong and determined girl who has become a symbol of tenacity for a great many young people and The Rock, currently Hollywood’s highest-paid actor, as well as an example of positivity thanks to his entrepreneurial skills. As well as Justin Bieber, the Canadian popstar, class of 1994, and the idol of teenagers across the globe.

Grazia is news but also lots of fashion. In this extraordinary issue Grazia had fun by imagining photo features inspired by the style of the most popular global stars and creating pieces on the trends and shopping habits that have made the style of these protagonists of pop culture so iconic.

Plus, beauty in this special issue applauds and highlights the products, beauty tips and trends adopted by the great icons.

Grazia also on this occasion demonstrates its role as a multichannel brand and trendsetter in the Italian publishing panorama where it has launched a series of special Issues. The global multichannel system of the Grazia International Network reaches every month a total community of 15 million readers, with a monthly circulation of 10 million copies, and 35 million unique users and more than 20 million followers on social media.

The publication of the new issue of Grazia is supported by an advertising campaign planned of print, digital and outdoor.

Grazia, the leading 100% Italian fashion brand, available around the world in 20 international editions, has produced along with Instagram and extraordinary issue of the magazine dedicated to the values of freedom of expression, tolerance and inclusivity.

An exclusive collaboration that for the first time sees Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram, in the role of guest editor of the weekly, edited by Silvia Grilli, on newsstands on Thursday 3 September.

“I wanted to entrust Instagram with the creative direction of this issue of Grazia to underline how both print and digital media, in this case a power social media platform, can work together to support a civic battle such as that for freedom of expression,” declared Silvia Grilli, editor of Grazia. “This extraordinary issue, with a cover that you can animate and filters that you can use in your fashion stories, carries and important message for all of us: liberate your voice. In these complicated times, when the world is accelerating historic changes, we focus on how the language of freedom can take us towards a brighter future,” she concluded.

Eva Chen worked together with Silvia Grilli to produce the issue: from the fashion pages to interviews, from surveys on current affairs to beauty, and travel, with an inclusive and open eye on the latest trends, as well as interaction with the community.

“I want to dedicate this issue of Grazia to all those who on Instagram, with courage and audacity, are fighting for change. This special edition of Grazia celebrates authenticity, not perfection. It is a hymn to unity, not minorities, to a sense of community and to kindness. It wants to challenge the status quo regarding what is seen as beautiful, standard or normal,” declared Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships at Instagram.

The cover, conceived and produced by the visual artist Marino Capitanio, uses graphic elements, such as mouths and cartoons, to illustrate the numerous first-hand accounts of freedom of expression featured in the magazine.

Thanks to the special filter ‘Liberate your voice’ the cover is animated and gives readers and Instagram uses the possibility of sharing this extraordinary project and their own thoughts. The filter is available from the Instagram account @grazia_it in the filters file (under highlighted stories). By opening it and capturing the cover with the frontal camera, it becomes animated. While using the selfie mode, the filter changes to allow users to share their message.

In this issue of Grazia we also hear form a number of protagonists: Elodie who describes her continuous search for freedom and the mission she has given herself: ”To speak for those who can’t express themselves.” Readers will also find a long interview with Mahmood, the singer from the suburbs of Milan who says that freedom is obtained by finding yourself and a commitment to giving a voice to your battles: “A multi-ethnic country is not the future,” he says. “For me and many young people it is the present.”

The magazine also features an account by Whoopi Goldberg, the American actress who has symbolised anti racism since she became a star thanks to the film The Color Purple. Today, in the United States, crippled by the pandemic, she is using the web and her popularity, to get African-Americans to register to vote: “At the upcoming elections,” she tells Grazia, “theirs must be the loudest voice.”

A big survey by Grazia highlights the 90-year-old influencers 90enni who are re-writing the rules of beauty and Italians of African origin who are fighting against hate. Instagram has already given freedom of expression to many who were not previously represented and who now have enormous: that of being able to change the world.

The new issue of Grazia also features inclusive and sustainable fashion. The augmented reality of the Instagram filters is transported by this project from digital to print, in a fashion photo shoot. Grazia photographed models and clothes, making them even more creative, using a range of filters that readers can use and share in their stories.

The issue’s creative concept and shooting was produced together with Facebook Creative Shop.

Today, in Italy, the communication platform of Grazia includes a total audience of 4.3 million people (Source: Media Impact Data Fusion based on Audiweb – Audipress data to December 2019), more than 350,000 Instagram followers and almost 1million followers on Facebook.

Around the world, the global multi-channel system Grazia International Network each month reaches an overall community of 15 million readers, with a monthly circulation of over 10 million copies, 35 million unique users and over 20 million followers on social media.

The launch of the new issue of Grazia is supported by an advertising campaign planned across print media, digital and outdoor.

Grazia, the magazine edited by Silvia Grilli, is celebrating the beauty and excellence of Italy with a special issue dedicated to the discovery of the wonders of the country.

“In the strangest summer for generations, we have discovered that we are a community. I like to use the word “discover” because that’s what’s happened. During the lockdown we discovered the humanity of our neighbours, and as we re-opened, how great it was to meet again. Now, that we know that 6 out of 10 Italians will not take a holiday, we have realised just how extraordinary are the places where we live or those nearby. And those, who will travel around the peninsula will be surprised at the great beauty of Italy its flavours, its smells, its unparalleled natural and artistic assets,” declared the editor, Silvia Grilli.

The Grazia on newsstands tomorrow, Thursday 2 July, will guide readers from the country’s artistic beauties to travel, and from fashion to first-hand accounts from Italian celebrities including Levante, Baby K, Francesco Sarcina, Chiara Galiazzo and many more.

Readers will discover from the pages of this issue of Grazia the cities, beaches and mountains of our country: and immerse themselves in uncontaminated Trentino, which, with its lakes and mountains, offers a wide range of views and activities. Or Tuscany, with its relaxing rolling hills, an artistic pathway that is unique in the world, as well as enchanting spas in Maremma. Or a trip to fascinating Noto, which seems locked in time, or a bicycle trip through Liguria, the peaks of Alto Adige and the lakes of Lombardy for a weekend of fun and relaxation.

We were a divided country, then, with the Covid-19 crisis, we started to sing the national anthem from our balconies, we changed our style of life and discovered ourselves proud to resist the difficulties together. And after the long days of the emergency Grazia wants to take a closer look by means of a survey about how the future of Italy depends precisely on the kind of citizens we decide to be.

Lots of interviews with Italian celebrities: from the protagonist of the cover Levante who posed for exclusive shots Franciacorta, the popstar Baby K who is launching her new single and is the star of a commercial and a video with the digital entrepreneur Chiara Ferragni. She tells Grazia how their friendship led to the couple of the moment. And then there is a look at the world of music, with Chiara Galiazzo and the leader of the Vibrazioni Francesco Sarcina.

The column 7teen by Elisa Maino

From this week Elisa Maino starts a new column called 7teen in which she meets for Grazia the idols of her generation and in which she will deal with issues that are close to the hearts of the young. In this Thursday’s issue, Elisa interviews the rapper Chadia Rodriguez, who, with the song Bella, sends a message against violence and attacks on people’s physical appearance.

Elisa Maino who was born in Rovereto in 2003, a just 17 is the most famous Tik Toker of the moment, with over 5 million followers. She began as a YouTuber and fashion blogger where she quickly gained an extensive audience.

Grazia, the magazine edited by Silvia Grilli, has developed a series of initiatives to support all those women who before, after and during the lockdown have taken on professional and family commitments and now risk being left out of the labour market. And it is to these topics that Grazia has dedicated an extraordinary issue #Facciamocisentire – on newsstands from tomorrow Thursday 21 May – and a campaign launched on social media to ensure that he current health and economic emergency does not undermine women’s rights.

“Let’s be honest: women are not angels. Though this is how we have been figuratively represented and depicted during the lockdown. Angels of the hearth, while we hold the family together, angels in hospitals where we make up 80% of health workers; angels of the supermarket, where we continue to comprise the majority of workers. And whiles these so-called ‘angels’ continued to work outside or at a distance, sacrificing themselves with children, husbands, aging parents, government-appointed task forces – made up only of men – forgot about us.  Because you can’t re-open Italy while keeping the schools closed. You can’t hold back female employment giving to women the role of assistance for the country. We mustn’t let the crisis become an excuse for depriving us of the rights that have been won with such difficulty. Let’s fight to honour our ambitions and liberate our dreams. We mustn’t continue to ask women to give up a part of themselves. From a great crisis it is possible to ensure that a greater awareness is born along with a country where there is more equality between men and women,” declared Silvia Grilli in her editorial.

In the special issue #Facciamocisentire (Let’s Make Ourselves Heard) Grazia has brought together first-hand stories and suggestions from readers on how to create a more equal school system; how to encourage girls and young women who too often withdraw from the competition for fear of making mistakes, how to bring up a female generation that sees power as something positive. And it also tries to understand how to involve Italian men in all this. Because women will win this battle only by convincing everyone that the sharing of duties and power between the sexes will be of benefit to men, women and the good of the country.

This is also what Senator Emma Bonino thinks, and she tells Grazia about how many women during the lockdown had to live with aggressive partners, but only a few asked for help and some lost their lives. The emergency, the Senator tells the magazine, risks silencing rights that were acquired only after years of battles. To avoid this, we need a cultural revolution that also involves and includes men.

International studies confirm that the gender gap in our country is widening. The Minster for Equal Opportunities, Elena Bonetti, explains how we can build a better society starting from the family, school textbooks and the labour market.

Grazia also publishes an account by journalist and writer Annalena Benini, who writes about the way in which the lockdown has unmasked a misapprehension:  women, brought up to be generous, doubled down with home and children. Men, whenever they tried, seemed like heroes. But the disparity between such efforts, the journalist explains, should open our eyes. Because women should now have the courage to present the bill.

In the pages of the special issue #Facciamocisentire there is also the voice of Rose McGowan, one of the first to accuse American film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse. She had to sell everything, including her home, to pay for her lawyers. But the courage of this actress led to a movement that has revolutionised the world. Now she has produced an album of music to help people overcome their fears, including those concerning the pandemic. “Since I put myself out there,” she explained to Grazia, “I have learned that it is during crises that we can reconfigure our existence.”

Another woman who has been much talked about as a result of being the subject of sexist insults is Giovanna Botteri, the RAI correspondent in Beijing. She tells Grazia about her experience among the courageous women of Sarajevo, among small children under bombardment in Baghdad, in the America of Obama and Trump, and in China in the time of coronavirus. And why, as she writes, she prefers to ignore the looks of disapproval and go straight to where life is flowing more energetically.

During the pandemic actress Anna Foglietta rolled up her sleeves, oversaw her three children as the played and did their homework and saved her husband who was working from home for any inconvenience and disturbance. She did it because it came naturally, then she realised how much it was taken for granted that this is what she should do. And in her diary for Grazia she explains how it is only when tasks in the home are shred that a woman can claim to be free to be herself.

Behind the name Claire Fontaine is a couple that loves to be provocative and make us reflect on equality between the sexes. Like when, in Paris, they installed feminist slogans during an important fashion show. Grazia asked them to imagine how artists could change the relationship between men and women. While also the designers featured in the Architecture Biennale 2020 try to imagine the future of homes with and after Covid-19.

The economist Veronica De Romanis explains to Grazia why our country, in order to restart, has desperate need of quotas to put the right women in command.  During the emergency women worked from home, took care of families and suffered the closure of the schools. But were excluded from the decision-making process.

The magazine also spoke to some leading female scientific researchers: “Often we just wait for others to recognise our qualities. But now we want to make ourselves heard,” they say after the inclusion of six female scientists on the government’s emergency coronavirus task force.

In Italy fathers are changing and are more involved than before. But male power remains dominant. Why is that? Psychiatrist Paolo Crepet tells Grazia about a country in which the army is made up of women, but the generals are all men. And explains that if we really had a meritocracy, we would need much more than ‘pink’ quotas.

The special will also go ‘viral’, trought a Digital PR campaign with the hashtag #FacciamociSentire.

Across the world, the pandemic has faced us with a new normal, comprised of social distancing, and new rules to protect ourselves and others. But what will the coming months be like as we await the discovery of a vaccine? Grazia, the magazine edited by Silvia Grilli, tries to offer its readers some answers with the help of a range of authoritative voices.

Starting with two of the world’s leading funders of research, Bill and Melinda Gates, who have donated an unprecedented sum to finding a vaccine against Covid-19 and become a global point of reference. But the couple is looking further ahead, and the philanthropists explain Grazia when we will overcome the emergency and which of the innovations of this period will help to protect us from future epidemics.

But Grazia is also fashion, so the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana talk about the future that awaits Made in Italy and for which they are ready.

A new vision of the future of our school system comes from Gianmario Verona, economist and Rector of Milan’s Bocconi University who outlines how the pandemic has modernised Italian universities which are now planning the next step forward.

The Mondadori Group magazine has also collected opinions on the future of the arts and cinema. Film director Cristina Comencini tells Grazia that only when we can go back to cinemas, after months of watching films and series on TV, will we understand how much we have missed the big screen, Because, as she explains, sharing stories with others will have a new meaning. Above all if they are stories about how we have been reborn after the pandemic.

Other leading names include Giuseppe Culicchia who, for Grazia, a tomorrow of many unknowns and a certainty: that we will continue to look in books for what we miss in reality, because he is convinced that with the practice we’ve gained from the restrictions it will be as if we are in a maze in which each one of us will have to find our way and accept a new kind of normality.

Also Letizia Muratori says that our experience of home isolation has been like living in an eternal present and as the restrictions are lifted, the writer tells Grazia, we will have to discover how to live in a smaller and more protected reality, in which there will be Perspex panels and looking into the eyes of others will be a different experience.

Behind a world turned upside down and the spread of the coronavirus there is male domination. This is the view of the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, who, in order to build a different future, asks for a handover of power: from men, accustomed to the unrestrained exploitation of nature, to a female balance that takes account of every aspect of creation.

This special issue of Grazia also features contributions from the influencer Marta Pozzan, music producer David Guetta, manager Luca Finardi as well as the managers of a number of international schools in Italy who are examining the positive experiences of their sister schools around the world.

Grazia, the leading 100% Italian fashion brand, available around the world in 20 international editions and a voice for style and news, is on the frontline with a series of extraordinary issues that deal with big topics and the #facciamocisentire (#LetsMakeOurselvesHeard) campaign in favour of gender equality in a moment in which it is under threat. In fact, the magazine is strongly supporting the women who during the health and economic crisis are more than eve on the frontline and risk being forgotten, when they really need to be heard.

Grazia, the Mondadori Group magazine edited by Silvia Grilli, is the first Italian title to feature a model on the cover wearing a face mask.  The model Stella Maxwell, well-known for her anti-conformist lifestyle, is the protagonist of a real and highly relevant shot. “Fashion,” says Stella, “has always helped to overcome difficulties and also in this health emergency it can do so again.”

Grazia, Italy’s leading 100% Italian fashion brand, with 20 international editions, and the voice of style and news, in the issue on newsstands from tomorrow has given space to a journalistic investigation and campaign aimed at ensuring that the emergency does not become a pretext for setting aside the freedoms that women have gained. The investigation explores the forced return of women to the home in a period when schools are closed, with interviews with the Minister for Equal Opportunities and the Family, Emma Bonetti, the mayor of Turin, Chiara Appendino, the mayor of Milan, Beppe Sala, the leader of Fratelli d’Italia, Giorgia Meloni, the economist, Paola Profeta, and many others.

In her editorial, Silvia Grilli writes: “Visible in public places, such as hospitals and scientific laboratories, making the sacrifices of researchers, doctors and nurses. Invisible within families as they try to reconcile remote working with the duties of mother, cook, cleaner, carer of elderly relatives and teacher of children working online during school closures. In a fair world, family management would be shared equally between husbands and wives, given that it takes two to make children just as it should take two to put on the washing machine. But we know that a fairer world cannot be realised in two months, it takes years of education to achieve gender equality. From 4 May Italy will gradually reopen, while schools, kindergartens and nurseries will certainly remain closed until September. Consequently, women will remain the only social service available to deal with children and the elderly. But the problem is that nine million Italian women Italian also work outside the home. Many of us wonder how and if we can go back to work. Who will take care of the children left at home? Who will care for the elderly in the family? How many of us will be forced to resign to take on the totalizing role of the housewife?” Silvia Grilli concludes, as she launches a campaign.

Readers can share their experiences with the magazine and Grazia’s social media profiles, as well as making proposals to present to government and politicians to resolve the issues.

The issue on newsstands from tomorrow also addresses the topic of love and sex in a time of coronavirus. The government has decreed that from 4 May it will be possible to visit relatives or ‘kin’, and, apparently this refers also to “stable relationships”. But there is a certain vagueness about the term “stable relationship”, what does the decree really mean? Who decides whether a relationship is stable or not? The lockdown has obliged many of the undecideds and on-off couples to make a choice: fragile links can break, while, on the other hand, more solid ones can become stronger. The magazine has brought together a range of opinions: from the actress Bianca Nappi, to the actor and writer Paolo Stella, as well as the writer Federica Bosco and actress Federica Fracassi.

Plus: what will be the medium and long-term impact on relationships? “History shows us that, after an emergency, we tend to go back to our old habits,” observes the sexologist Gaia Polloni. “But, it’s also true that we are discovering that the online world works. The change could be quite significant.” In fact, Facebook has lost no time in launching Tuned, an app developed especially for couples living remotely.

Following the measures introduced by the prime minister Giuseppe Conte for dealing with the so-called Phase 2, Grazia also examines how we are going to deal with things such holidays, weddings and the reopening of restaurants.

But there is also space for entertainment, with interviews with the actress Cate Blanchett in lockdown, the singers Benji and Fede who are splitting, and Coco Rebecca Edogamhe, protagonist of the original new Italian series on  Netflix, Summertime, based on the book by Federico Moccia.