Teen Vogue Hires First Black Editor-in-Chief, Elaine Welteroth

A historic change-up at Condé Nast: Teen Vogue’s former editor-in-chief Amy Astley has been replaced by Elaine Welteroth, the media group announced Thursday. Welteroth becomes the first African-American to hold the position at the fashion magazine, and the youngest editor-in-chief in Condé Nast history.
This is not the first time Welteroth has made headlines, having also served asTeen Vogue’s first African-American beauty director since 2012. Only the second Black editor-in-chief at large in the history of Condé Nast, Welteroth’s experience traces back to Glamour magazine from 2011 to 2012, where she advanced from Beauty writer to Senior Beauty Editor, and her role as the Beauty and Style editor of Ebony magazine from 2008 to 2011.

As the youngest person to hold her new title at age 29, Welteroth isjoined by two other editors – an unprecedented move for the magazine. The magazine’s Digital Editorial Director, Phillip Picardi will also lead with Welteroth in addition to the Creative Director Marie Suter.
RELATED: Channing Dungey Becomes First African American to Head Major Network
“Elaine, Marie and Phil are fearlessly at the forefront, inspiring young trendsetters with their sophisticated take on emerging fashion, beauty and pop culture, and they will lead Teen Vogue to the next phase of its success,” Condé Nast Artistic Director and Editor-in-Chief of Voguemagazine said in a statement. “This team has thoroughly embraced the endless potential of social media and new platforms, and their understanding of the most effective way to use them to connect with audiences, embodies what it means to be an editor today.”

Having overseen the beauty coverage across Teen Vogue’s print, online, and social media platforms, Welteroth contributed to the magazine’s boost in multicultural content over the years, what she referenced as a “step in the right direction” with recent covers of women of color like Willow Smith, Amandla Stenberg and Zoe Kravitz.
Naturally, fellow journalists and media mavens alike congratulated Welteroth across the Twittersphere.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/
Pix: Gettyimages