Deez Interviews: Meet the ELLE assistant editor who believes woke content & hand-held steamers are the future

Happy Friday, Deezers! Sorry again about that weirdness yesterday with the missing pics — we’re nearly two years strong and still getting pranked by TinyLetter in infinite ways.

NEVERTHELESS, today’s interview is with Madison Feller, the magazine maven you need to know based on her meteoric trajectory through woman-power titles like ELLE, Cosmo and Levo League. Enjoy!

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The interviewee: Madison Feller (follow her @_madisonline)

The current job: Assistant editor for Elle.com

The hustle: I help blog news, write longer lead stories, run our Facebook show page (Follow ELLE The Movement! Shameless plug!), help post videos to our main Facebook page, get our print content online and manage some more general administrative tasks. I also send the “awesome” emoji to everyone on Slack all day.

Okay, so just about everyone in our generation in this industry — especially women — can credit movies like The Devil Wears Prada for inspiring us to get into this field. How does working in actual women’s magazine media compare to how it looks onscreen?

To be fair, I’ve never worked at a print fashion magazine, so I can’t really speak to that environment, but I’ve never ever encountered anything like The Devil Wears Prada. I mean, we all work really hard and sometimes do not fun things, but I’ve never felt the desire to toss my phone into a fountain for any job-related reason!

I do feel a certain kind of pressure, though, because all day I’m surrounded by nothing but badass female writers and editors. It’s intimidating, but it’s also supportive and encouraging. I’ve wanted to work for women’s magazines since I was 16, and there’s a reason I haven’t left yet. (Also The Bold Type is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to magazines being portrayed accurately on screen, even though there are things on that show that would NEVER HAPPEN IRL, a.k.a. letting an anonymous story go to print without running it by lawyers??)

The 2016 election gave the chance for a ton of women’s media — most famously, Teen Vogue — the chance to get noticed for their political chops. What are your thoughts on that?

For years, women’s media has played a critical role in pushing the political conversation forward, and I don’t see that slowing down anytime soon. I was working at Cosmopolitan.com during the election, and in my short time there, the site published a major interview with Ivanka Trump, broke news about Kellyanne Conway, and published a number of well-written op-eds. And then they recently published an entire guide to running for office.

I think women are invigorated and angry and inspired and curious, and they want content that reflects that. Women’s magazines are rising again and again to meet that demand.

And speaking of which, Teen Vogue’s last print issue will hit stands in a few weeks. Is this whole print decline thing how it’s going to be??

You are breaking my heart with this question. I hope not! Women’s magazines also really run the gamut. I think it makes sense that teens aren’t buying print anymore and that publications like Woman’s Day are still selling on newsstands. It really just depends on the audience that’s looking to buy. And even though I assume I will always work in digital, I really hope with all my magazine-loving heart that we never see the end of print.

Okay, because this is Deez Interviews first foray into the fashion world, we gotta ask: what are your ride-or-die tips on dressing professionally?

OK, this answer might seem boring at first, but I promise it’s golden. The most incredible thing I’ve bought this year is (*anticipatory drum roll, please*) a hand-held steamer.

So boring! But so useful! I don’t know about anyone else, but I am not a very good adult, meaning I don’t always fold things well, and my New York closet isn’t great for keeping things prim and proper. Enter: hand-held steamer. Literally everything looks more professional when it’s free of wrinkles. Here is the one I have.

On a more fun note, I also love a good black blazer that you can throw on top of any t-shirt/jeans combo and a statement midi skirt. And lastly, I’m short AF, so I love a good pair of black strappy heels. (Old Navy has surprisingly great shoes!)

Let’s fast forward a few years to where you're the editor-in-chief of your own mag. Who put on the cover of your first issue, and why??

If I were being smart, probably Cardi B. She’s landed some major covers lately, and her interviews are always interesting. She doesn’t hold back. (And obviously she’s so talented.) If I were being selfish, probably Tracee Ellis Ross or Viola Davis just so I could do the interview myself and listen to them talk forever. And if I didn’t care about newsstand visibility, New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey because they definitely deserve a cover.

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OMG I am living for the thought of this Kantor/Twohey spread. Feller, make it happen!!!

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