Celebrity contacts help land Bailey editorship of Elle

Bailey: "It’s a dream job"

Sarah Bailey, the journalist with the Hollywood A-list celebrity contacts, has clinched the job as editor of fashion glossy Elle.

Bailey was told the news and then whisked off to attend the fashion shows in Paris over the weekend. She is believed to have fought off stiff competition from editors and journalists in New York, London and Sydney to secure the role and replace former editor Fiona McIntosh.

Speaking from Paris this week, Bailey said: "I was beyond thrilled. It’s a magazine I love and it’s a dream job. It was a bit like winning a game show – the ticket to Paris. I thought I was going to be at my desk on Monday, the next minute I had a seat in the front row at the Yves St Laurent show." "I think Elle is fabulous and fantastic as it is, so it is just a case of re-energising and revitalising it."

Bailey has spent the last three years on Elle as editor-at-large, where she introduced the new Street Style section and helped secure exclusives with Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Jennifer Aniston. "Elle is essentially about fashion and style but celebrities are an essential part of the mix. I’ve spent a lot of time and effort working with A-list Hollywood stars and dealing with their publicists and I think that is a very strong skill to my bow," she said.

Insiders say Bailey is well respected by the publicists which will help Elle clinch the high profile interviews needed to reverse its six per cent fall in sales.

Barry McIlheney, chief executive of Emap Elan, said Bailey was "an Elle girl from her head to her Manolos".