Gladys Light (2:31)

Oh, gosh. I mean it's. I feel like the title that I hold now and the work that I do, I very often desensitize to it. I think I'll come back home from a long day at work and probably after today and just complain about how long the day was. And then they'll ask me to break it down and I'll be like, oh, you know, went to this shoot, did this interview, did this. So sometimes I feel like a brat, but I am very grateful for it at the end of the day.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (2:58)

Well, last year was like the summer of Bratz, so let's just continue it on to 2026. Gladys, we love a recommendation here at Stylish, and on our Wednesday episodes, we religiously do a segment called the swap. So we thought it would be really fun to kick off the interview by asking if you have a swap to share with our audience.

Gladys Light (3:16)

Oh. Oh, gosh. I feel like because you talked about skincare, now the only thing I can think about is my very sparse skincare routine. But it's very affordable. I really do not splurge on skincare at all. It consists of maybe three products every night, and most of it is Paula's Choice. But I swear by Paula's Choice, BHA Liquid. I think it's maybe 20 bucks around that number, but it's great. It's an exfoliant.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (3:49)

You know what's gonna happen now? It's going to be sold out for the next three months because everyone's going to listen to this. Hopefully they listen to this and go out and buy it. So sorry, Sephora and Paula's Choice. I think the stock is going to be cleared.

Gladys Light (4:01)

Yeah, you're welcome. You can sponsor me if you want. Send me a lifetime supply.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (4:06)

Yeah, there you go. Gladys, let's get into it. Now that we know your secret to perfect skin, I feel like we have to give the context that off Mike. I was like, girl, drop the skincare routine. Your skin is impeccable. But enough about your skin, and let's get into this very impressive bio. You studied art history initially and wanted to initially be an art curator. How has your background in the arts informed your approach to fashion writing?

Gladys Light (4:32)

Oh, gosh, immensely. I'll preface by saying that I never expected to end up in fashion. I always had a dream of being an academic or a museum curator and living in the archives. And when I started out in the workplace, that was where I was. I was cataloguing things. I was writing up those small descriptions that you see beside artworks in the gallery. And, you know, sometimes I was dealing with luxury goods, but that was the closest to fashion that I ever got. And when I was in university, I took this one elective course in fashion history and fashion analysis, and it was. I Believe it was the first year it was offered at the University of Sydney. Shout out to Professor Mark DeVitus, who was amazing and was my thesis supervisor as well. I love him. He's the best person in the whole world. And he really introduced me to how incredibly interesting and analytical fashion study could be. And I saw that so much of what I was studying in art history overlapped with what fashion demanded, which was a great deal of sociology, visual theory, anthropology, psychology, economics. And fashion was at the nexus of that. And so in my job now, I'm very lucky to be able to bring all of that experience together. And I always think that coming to fashion from a non fashion background, but having a keen interest in visual culture, visual politics, it makes the world of fashion so much more interesting and so much more about more than the clothes. I suppose that is just the most

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (6:20)

beautiful way to speak about fashion. I think that we need to play that clip clip. Whenever someone's like, oh, you work in fashion and think it's like vapid and vain.

Gladys Light (6:28)

Yeah, I can give the cerulean monologue from Double Was Prada, which is the more concise version of that.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (6:33)

Oh, don't you worry, we're definitely going to be talking devil as part of it as well. But you also studied law. I mean, talk about being an academic. But what made you want to end up in fashion? After studying art history, studying law, how did you kind of get to fashion?

Gladys Light (6:48)

Yeah, I always wanted to do something creative. So in my final year of school, I very infamously took no STEM subjects at a school where everyone was doing STEM subjects. And I loved the humanities. When I signed on to do law, I will be honest, I had no intention of ever becoming a lawyer, which I think was much to the chagrin of my classmates, who were very vocational and very doggedly pursuing a career in law. I was very interested in law from a theoretical standpoint. So I loved all of the classes that my fellow classmates hated, Equity, all of the really abstract lectures about airy fairy law. So not contracts or torts or anything tangible. I think that what made the study of law so invaluable for me was it taught me a certain kind of rigor to apply to my research. And everything that I do, everything that I write has to have a certain logic. And if it doesn't test up to, you know, maybe I'm like stress testing a certain thesis or I'm stress testing an argument and I'm reading the flow of an argument from beginning to end. It doesn't matter if it's an opinion piece or a long form essay. It needs to have that persuasiveness. And that's what I found really valuable about studying it at uni.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (8:24)

Yeah. Fantastic. I love that insight too, because I think a lot of the time people study something and the natural progression and trajectory is that you end up working in that field. But there's so much to gain from particular degrees or ways of thinking that are such a colorful array of informing the rest of your life or the industry you do end up working in. And I think law and arts are probably two perfect examples of those degrees.

Gladys Light (8:48)

100%. I a believer in meandering. I don't think that setting yourself, you know, a one way ticket on a train to whatever career you want is necessarily the most interesting way to live life. I mean, people definitely do that and I very much respect it. But I think that when you shut yourself off to different disciplines and different modes of thinking, you shut yourself off to different ways of seeing the discipline that you do want to end up in. And I think there's often a very hard line drawn between practical and quote, unquote, abstract careers. I think that reciprocity between creativity and more rigid analysis is exactly what makes fashion so interesting for me now.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (9:38)

Yeah, I also think we just need to bring back the word meandering in a positive light. I love that I'm gonna start calling myself a professional meanderer.

Gladys Light (9:45)

I think you should meander. The. The silent moments is what life is all about. So.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (9:50)

Yeah, and less one way tickets and

Gladys Light (9:52)

more like round the world, 100% now, Gladys, I.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (9:57)

Historically, I was not a big believer in fate. That has changed in recent times. And look, we always do a little bit of research. It always feels quite creepy to research people to the degree.

Gladys Light (10:06)

Oh my God.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (10:07)

I'm really excited now before we interview them, but we did read that you had a very chance encounter with Vogue's editorial director, Edwina McCann, and it inspired you to transition into journalism. Now, I believe that there may have been a conversation and she invited you to apply for an internship. But we would love to hear about this chance encounter.

Gladys Light (10:30)

Yes, well, she was giving a talk at a school and I wasn't meant to be there. I just rocked up and I thought, oh, you know, like I'm meeting someone. Here I am vaguely interested in media. At the time I was still juggling my art gallery jobs and thinking about maybe applying for a clerkship or a legal job. But I had considered writing. I think I put the pieces together and I thought, oh, you know, writing is the through line of everything. And I love literature and I love essay writing. Maybe I could be a journalist. And I think I was maybe 18, 19 at the time. So I thought, oh, whatever, why not go for it? And she was there, listened to her speak. And I remember that the whole speec was about business and it was nothing to do with fashion or media. It was about reading the economic trends of where technology was headed and how people were consuming media. And I was really won over by that. I thought that it was just such an incredibly intelligent way to look at an industry that I previously hadn't considered. So I went up and I talked to her and I think I was very candid and I said, I am having a bit of an existential crisis about what to do.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (11:49)

And.

Gladys Light (11:50)

And she said, have you ever considered working for a title like Vogue? And I said, no, not really. And she said, you should probably apply for an internship. And I said, oh, you know, okay, cool, not a bad idea. She gave me her email, I sent her my resume, I rocked up for an interview a week later and then I interned and then I got a job. And that was that was that.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (12:17)

If that's not fate, I don't know what is. That is right place, right time, all of the stars aligning totally.

Gladys Light (12:23)

It is serendipity. And I think that, I mean that plays such a big role in where you end up in your career. It is just about timing. But also, just don't be afraid to ask the question. I know people say this all the time, but the worst thing you can hear is no. Just go up and talk to random people, annoy people, be annoying to get what you want.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (12:45)

Don't ask, you don't care. Fast forward to now. You are now the head of brand for Vogue. I wish that you could go back and sit alongside that 18 year old listening to that speech. Like, can you honestly imagine? But what is this world taught you about successful brand building for a publication and title like Vogue?

Gladys Light (13:03)

Goodness. It has taught me a great deal of agility. I think that when I joined the role, I started off as a writer and then I became a features writer before my role became more senior and evolved into brand building. But it's taught me that storytelling encompasses many, many things beyond words. Words will always be at the core of what I do and I will always find an unhealthy amount of satisfaction in putting a sentence together and editing someone else's sentences. But over the course of my few years here at Vogue, I've learned how to produce Video. I've learned how to foster commercial partnerships and of course, build a brand. Not necessarily build a brand, because I was very lucky to be given a brand that has decades of heritage and immense social capital that I still can't really even reckon with on the day to day. It's about how to extend and evolve a brand's legacy to make sure that it keeps up with what modern readers want, what modern women need, and perhaps what they're lacking in other forms of media. And constantly having my ear to the ground, I think that building a brand for a title like Vogue is about walking the tightrope between accessibility and a certain aspirational quality. Because Vogue will always be a little bit mythical. I think in the world of fashion, it's like Kleenex for tissues. I don't know if that's a weird. I don't know.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (14:47)

That's not the analogy I thought you'd go with. That's too short.

Gladys Light (14:51)

Sorry. It's kind of. It has become almost synonymous with fashion. There's a synergy there with the industry. So how do you make sure that this brand continues to be pushing the forefront of what fashion means, but also meeting people where they are and giving them the content that they want and that they deserve?

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (15:14)

I think safe to say there is a strong mystique around Vogue. But I love what you spoke about in obviously working, working on legacy. You know, legacy media feels like we're underselling Vogue to even put it in that conversation, because it is just a phenomenon that has, as you said, been decades and decades in the making. How do you find, you know, looking after legacy versus the challenges there versus an infancy brand?

Gladys Light (15:40)

What.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (15:40)

What do you would you sort of foresee as those challenges?

Gladys Light (15:43)

Totally. I think with an infancy brand, it's, gosh, I mean, it's hard to grow anything from the ground up. But the most beautiful thing about an infancy brand is that you can really do anything. And not that I can't do anything in the job that I have, but I am not just looking out for myself. It's like I'm looking out for this thing that I, I have, like a pet hamster or, or I'm incubating an egg. So I'm really coming up with all of these weird growing that's been given to me, and it's a responsibility. Whereas I think if I had an infancy brand, maybe I, I would be throwing the toddler around a little bit more. There is a certain fragility to a legacy brand, which I think is quite ironic because it's built on such a strong and long lasting foundation. You're constantly asking yourself, is this on brand? Is this where Vogue should be heading? What should Vogue be speaking on? What does Vogue mean? What should Vogue mean to the next generation of people who want to enter fashion and are in love with the fashion industry? There are so many questions that you have to ask yourself before you do anything. And that applies to things as simple as Instagram captions to things as lengthy as a 2000 word cover story. So having that constant back and forth and having that line of questioning and constantly testing every that you're doing.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (17:19)

You're the custodian.

Gladys Light (17:20)

Exactly. You are a custodian.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (17:22)

Well, speaking of 2,000 word cover pieces, there's obviously been some incredible pieces that you have penned for many publications. Is there one that stands out to you that you felt, you know, the most proud of? Or is there one that you remember the first time it went out going, that feels the most.

Gladys Light (17:39)

Me? Yeah, I. And this is a bit of a strange one because it's not for Vogue, but it was for gq. When I was head of brand for gq, it was my first ever cover story. I did it with Liam Lawson, who is an F1 driver. At the time, he'd just been signed to the second Red Bull seat and now he's with racing bulls. But we did an interview. I was on leave technically, so I'd found out that I was doing the COVID story two days before I flew to Japan. And we'd been in conversations with his agent, Michaela, for a few months beforehand. I love F1. I have loved F1 for years. It was a real obsession of mine and being able to sit down with him for an hour. So I was in Kyoto at the time and then when I zoom called him, he was in Spain testing for the first gp. And we sat down for an hour, an hour and a half, and we just have this conversation. Athletes are so fascinating because they are so absolutely pledged to excellence in their sport. They very rarely have room in their life for little else. So they can often make the worst interview subjects because you can ask them about their career, what they want, what they do, and very often the answer will be, I've just tried really hard. This is all I have. I'm fully committed and that is 100% honest. But they don't do anything but their sport. And I think with the added layer on top of that is that when you're dealing with a sport like F1, there is so much red tape around what you can say who says it, how much time you have with an athlete. So that interview with Liam is. See it into my brain is because we got so much time.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (19:36)

What I love about that is, and we get it a lot in Face to Face is this kind of uninterrupted time where you get to ask people questions that don't feel like the PR machine answer.

Gladys Light (19:45)

Oh, totally.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (19:46)

I think they're my favorite. When you're like, yes, we're gonna ask you something you've never been asked before, or you kind of get this unfiltered version. It's the best version of someone, and it builds affinity. Like, people gravitate towards that. There's an affection towards it. I am definitely going to go and read that piece now because it sounds like a very special one.

Gladys Light (20:05)

Let me know how you find it.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (20:09)

Can't believe as an F1 fan, I haven't read it. I'm so sorry. So we fast forward. You're at Vogue now. And look, as I said, Vogue has mystique, it has allure. There must be some incredibly exciting people, events, Runway experiences that you, you know, even shoots. You were just explaining you have exposure to what's been the biggest pinch me moment working at Vogue.

Gladys Light (20:34)

Oh, that's a really good question. I think that what I was saying before about me desensitizing myself to the job, I think in the first couple of years, it was almost a coping mechanism because you write the story and objectively, it goes out to millions of people, and you can see the numbers in the back end. And you. You know how many people have read your story, and it is an incomprehensible amount of people, and you have to almost numb yourself to that in order to not freak out. So I think that pinching myself, for me, is a very active thing. I'm often on set or I'm interviewing a celebrity, and in the moment, I will not think of them as a celebrity at all. I will think of them as a very normal, if unusually attractive person who is talking to me about a project that they're passionate about. I have to pinch myself afterwards, I think, whenever I have a really amazing conversation with someone I would have never expected. Like, I sat down with Paul Mescal for Gladiator, and we had a very, very lovely conversation about the most random things. And I think maybe one of the first pinch me moments was talking with Chaim ahead of Laneway. I'm obsessed with Chaim. They have been in my most listened to in my Spotify roundups for years. And seeing the three of those sisters, I think it sent me to outer space. But in the moment you have to be so calm and collected and it doesn't really sink in until maybe even the story goes up or, or they post about it or they reach back out to you and say that was a really lovely conversation. So yeah, I think those are the moments that stand out to me. Giga Hadid also very beautiful and very lovely.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (22:33)

Yeah, I imagine you have a lot of like be cool, be cool moments like don't fangirl, don't fangirl. Do you ever have like a little walk off, you know, the conversational walk off set and go.

Gladys Light (22:45)

Yeah, it sets in after I think in the conversation everything goes away and it's just a person in front of me. The one moment where I have been completely starstruck is probably seeing Zendaya and speaking to Zendaya I wasn't processing anything. But that's because she is so beautiful that even if she weren't a celebrity, I would be gobsmacked.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (23:07)

You'd still be disassociating and levitating out of your body. Even if she, she didn't have the

Gladys Light (23:12)

acclaimed 100%, I'd just be drooling.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (23:17)

She is exceptionally beautiful. It is quite, quite distracting. The official celebrations have all wrapped up, but we're still clinging on to those last moments of summer with our friends. And no matter what the occasion is, people usually bring along their go to drinks. If you're ready for a reset though, you might be better off grabbing a low alcohol option from Dan Murphy's. Let me tell you, beer, wine or spirits, whatever you're into, they've got a delicious low elk alternative. Dan Murphy's have the big and best range of low alcoholic drinks, so we always ask their advice on what to get. For the wine and sparkling lovers they suggest the Grand Birge Lighter sparkling which also makes the perfect mimosa or the Rouge V Pinot Rose because nothing beats a crisp on a summer's day. And for those casual catch ups with friends, you can stock the esky with the light and mid strength beers like the Great Northern Light or Stone and Wood Hinterland Easy Pale. Alex the next generation of low and non alcoholic drinks is just so good you won't be missing out on a thing. Dan Murphy's does all the groundwork on what's new and what's trending in drinks. Whether you feel like drinking or not. Head in store or be inspired on the app and remember to choose to drink wise a Huge thank you to Dan Murphy's for making this episode of Stylish possible. Okay. One thing we love to do on Face to Face is a bit of a rapid fire wreck. So I know we've done the swap. We know that Paul is choice is your swap. But our audience love a recommendation and I just think given you're the head of brand for Vogue, it would be so remiss of us not to ask you for. I'd love to ask 50, but we're going to keep it really tight with five. First one is a label that we should keep our eye on this year.

Gladys Light (25:05)

Oh, I will actually say the label that I'm wearing right now, Little Yarn, which is a label based out of Iron Bay. I love supporting an Australian label and they have been on the rise in somewhat of a cult brand for the last few years, but they have been on an absolute tear recently and I think that they are going to just see more and more success.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (25:30)

Our audience love an Australian swap so they're going to love that rec so much. The other is a social media account that you think that our audience should follow.

Gladys Light (25:38)

Ooh, I think that everyone should follow. Amy Odell, who is one of the most incisive fashion journalists of our generation. She writes all of these incredibly candid interviews and features with different agents of the fashion industry in a way that you might not expect. So I was reading one of her most recent pieces about the reaction to the most recent ready to wear and couture shows, except she was speaking with Vic's, which are very important clients. So people who are wealthy beyond imagination and their opinions on the clothes, which I think was such an interesting way to step out of my bubble completely of fashion commentary and fashion media and think about the people who are actually affording the luxury that we're writing about. And to throw in another one, Louis Pisano, who I think is one of the most incredible writers, commentators, media figures and fashion as well.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (26:39)

Well, I love both of those also. What a great insight to go to the Vic's because we all sit in our ivory towers judging Runway shows and it's like I am buying. You know, I'm not buying.

Gladys Light (26:50)

I'm going to swap. Yeah.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (26:52)

John and Sandy Buck Dior is not something I will be shopping, but I

Gladys Light (26:56)

love to watch it.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (26:57)

What's a must read book for creatives?

Gladys Light (27:00)

Oh my gosh, that is so hard. Can I.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (27:03)

You can give as many as you want.

Gladys Light (27:05)

Oh, okay, great.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (27:07)

I'm not gonna hold you to rules.

Gladys Light (27:08)

Okay. Thank you so much. Ways of seeing by John Berger was the book that started it all for me. It made me fall in love with art history, with everything that an image can mean, a portrait can mean. On top of that, essays by Linda Nochlin, who one of her most seminal ones is Great Women Artists, which is basically discussing gender politics through the lens of art history and why women have not allowed to be great throughout history. The other one is a really recent one, actually. Babel by RF Kuang, who is one of my favorite authors, contemporary authors. I confession I don't read that much contemporary fiction, but RF Kuang is maybe the most talented writer that I've seen come out in the last decade. I think that Babel completely rewired my brain chemistry on what language means, how language can be power and sadism, but also freedom and how you can reclaim your identity through what you say and acknowledging where words come from in such a beautiful Philip Pullman esque way. That whole book is just. I sobbed after it. It was amazing. And a Personal Matter by Kenzo Buro? Oe, which is a short one. It's a novella and a friend from a Japanese writer. But the way that those sentences are written, it changed my perspective on what was possible with the English language and metaphor. There's the first paragraph of the novel. Talks about the weather like it's a sleeping giant in the summer, I think. And it was. Every line was a revelation about what language could be. So those are my. Those are my recommendations off the top of my head, but I could speak forever about it.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (29:11)

Do you know what? We might need to get you on the Shameless Book Club, because honestly, the way that you have just spoken about these authors and these titles, your passion and admiration is just shining through. So I feel like we've got to get you on another Shameless pillar. We'll just keep you on rotation each quarter.

Gladys Light (29:28)

Let's talk. Yes.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (29:30)

Last but not least, your Desert island beauty product.

Gladys Light (29:33)

Oh my gosh. Okay, so I can't take my Paula's Choice exfoliant because then I'll just be sandpaper. It would be really bad. I. It would be the Mecca sunscreen.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (29:44)

Oh, do you know what, Gladys? I'm really glad you said that because I used to work on the Mecca cosmetica brand, so I have a strong affinity for that sunscreen.

Gladys Light (29:53)

So.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (29:53)

Great answer.

Gladys Light (29:54)

I need a vat of it.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (29:56)

They did do a super size over the holiday season, I believe. Do you use the to Save face lotion or do you use the to Save face serum?

Gladys Light (30:03)

I use the lotion.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (30:05)

Yeah. Fantastic.

Gladys Light (30:06)

I Haven't tried the serum, but are you putting me onto an.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (30:10)

Maybe I've just reverse wrecked you. Like you've given me your wreck, I'll give you mine. It depends on your skin type, but I really do like that serum.

Gladys Light (30:17)

Silky finish perfect. Well, I will, I will take you up on it.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (30:20)

Now that we know all of your recommendations and we all get to be 10% smarter for them and 10% more sun protected. Take me through A Day in the life of Vogue's head of Brand. I feel like I've just spoken about you in third person.

Gladys Light (30:33)

You know what? I will speak about myself in third person maybe. Great follow. On A Day in the Life of Vogue's head of brand. It varies day to day, so there's a lot of spontaneity. A very regular, not stressful, no ambulance call kind of day will look like me. I'll get in at around maybe 8, 8:30. That's, that's usually when I start work because I'll be catching up on all of the global content that's been published overnight. Any global communic that have happened that I'm not across because I was dead to the world. And then kind of making a content plan for the whole day. So I'll start collecting things, saving things. Maybe I'll cut together a quick video to put up if something's happened overnight. Like this morning I woke up and then I cut a video of Margot Robbie together. She was looking amazing. And then I came here.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (31:33)

We've also got to talk about that color. Oh my goodness me. We spoke about this on our Wednesday episode the other week. Oh my goodness. Well done. Vogue Snaps.

Gladys Light (31:42)

Thank you so much. It was a mammoth effort from the whole team and we're really proud of it.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (31:48)

So you should be.

Gladys Light (31:49)

So yes, you clip Margot.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (31:51)

Clip Margot did an awful job in

Gladys Light (31:53)

the morning, a terrible job making a thirst trap of Margot Robbie at 8am so we walk in and then every morning at 9:30 we have a meeting with the whole team, with all of the writers. And basically during that I'll field pitches, I'll feedback, I'll be stress testing a lot. We'll be working with the writers on all of the stories that will be going up that day and what medium those stories will be in, whether that's purely in text form, whether it'll be converted into video, whether that's long form, short form, and then the rest of the day depends on what's on my to do list. So sometimes it will be writing a couple of features. Then I might Go off and shoot a video if someone's in town. So the most recent videos we've shot with Vogue for Olivia Dean. Who else have we spoken to recently? Oh, it's not out yet, but I think it's fine.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (32:51)

I feel like I could almost make this guess. Can I have a guess before you say it?

Gladys Light (32:55)

Yes.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (32:56)

I have a bold prediction that Hailey Bieber is going to be the March cover star to align with the road launch into Australia. You can neither confirm or deny.

Gladys Light (33:04)

I can neither confirm nor deny.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (33:07)

You know, Gladys, I am, I tell you, the Vogue effect. I am flying up to Sydney to go to vote for. Oh, my gosh, are you? I'm so excited. What a lineup.

Gladys Light (33:16)

Please, please come and see me. I'll be the really anxious looking Asian woman running around so you'll not be really excited.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (33:24)

Short brunette in the front row. I'm not in the front row, actually. I booked a balcony seat because I'm quite short and I wanted to make sure I could see everything.

Gladys Light (33:32)

Strategic. Strategic.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (33:33)

Exact strategic.

Gladys Light (33:35)

So we'll go off and shoot a video. But a lot of the day is also for me, talent management. So I'll be reaching out to people, seeing who's in Sydney, seeing if we can possibly fly places, writing up call sheets, video concepting with the team as well. On set, I'm usually directing and I'll be producing the shoots, but also the socials are all me. So then I'll be scheduling all of the socials as well for the magazine and then meetings because there's a lot of strategy involved. Sometimes there'll be commercial partnerships. So I'm working on one with the F1 at the moment and it'll be about building those relationships. And then we'll be setting up for the day and the week ahead. So if there's any global interviews under embargo, if there's anything that I know that's happening that needs to be recut and resold, that's probably what I do in a day.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (34:30)

I stand by my comment in the opener. We don't have the same 24 hours. Gladys. This is so not what I'd prepared in my notes. But I have two key questions for you. One is, how many hours sleep do you get on average during a working week? And the second is do you drink coffee?

Gladys Light (34:45)

So on average, I want to say I get between six to eight hours a day, which is not enough. I could sleep for 14 hours. Was it Dakota Johnson who said that she can sleep forever up to 20 or something? Yeah, I could do that. On a weekend where I don't have to do anything the next morning. It is the most blissful thing that's ever happened to me. And I will be conked out and. Yes, but caffeine has no effect on me, unfortunately. It's actually quite devastating and I consider a genetic inferiority that I have. I wish that caffeine worked on me because I actually need energy, so I'm just addicted to sugar instead.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (35:28)

Oh, okay. So you've just picked a different poison.

Gladys Light (35:30)

Yes, 100%. I always need a poison.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (35:33)

We just covered a sleep story, so sleep is very top of mind. I'm like, how many hours is everyone getting? What's normal?

Gladys Light (35:38)

How much are we all trying to

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (35:39)

fit in our day? Now, we've spoken about everything from music to sports stars, celebrities. There is a very big movie coming out later this year, and I did say we would talk the Devil Wears Prada. Obviously, it has been very long rumored that that is based on us voting Vogue. We've got the devil wears Prada 2 coming out. How similar is Vogue to the Devil Wears Prada? What synergies exist? What is just total myth legend that is just so far from the truth.

Gladys Light (36:14)

This is such a funny question because I think that when I first started working at Vogue, it was the question that I fielded all the time and that I found to be untrue. When I was younger, I was very convinced that the Devil Wears POD was completely inaccurate and nothing like working at Vogue or in fashion. And the more that I work in this industry and the more time that I spend in it, the more that I realize how horrendously wrong I was and how incredibly accurate the Double Wears Prada is. It is to a T. I mean, obviously there are exaggerations and a lot of creative liberties, and it's not literally like working at Vogue, but there are so many scenes when I watch that movie that I have to pause and then go, oh, my God, this is. This is just my life. Because it spoofs a certain kind of attitude that a lot of people have working in fashion, which is, on the one hand, very admirable, because you're taking an industry and a discipline that a lot of people. Well, the majority of the general public don't take very seriously and think is frivolous and associate with a certain, you know, unseriousness that I think is tinged with quite a lot of misogyny. But you also have the other end of the spectrum where people take fashion way too seriously, and it is just fashion at the end of the day. It can mean a lot. It's a great symbol, but we're not curing cancer. So I think that the Devil Wears Prada is genius in the way that it treads that line because you have these really shockingly insightful monologues from Meryl Streep about what fashion can mean to people and how fashion is communicated. Like, that monologue, the Cerulean Monologue, is so amazing and it's so quotable. But we studied it in our fashion course at university because it is directly how trend theory works. I think the theory was like, sorry, this is a bit of a tangent, but the theory was first proposed by, like, Thorsten veblen in, like, 1899 in his theory of the Leisure class about how things trickle down. But then you have all of these meetings where, you know, Miranda is guiding her team through how to put a shoot together, how to put an issue together. And she clearly takes her job so seriously. There's so much gravitas behind each of her decisions, and you really respect what she does. But you also see the incredible amount of sacrifice that goes into it, and also a lot of absurdity. I think about the way that people are running and flailing around the office is very accurate to the urgency of several tasks and the emergency with which a lot of things are communicated. Everything feels like a life or death deadline, even when it's not, and it's not that serious. But I think that the one thing that maybe doesn't really capture, and this is definitely singular for my experience, is the. The friendships that you make. I have such dear friends that I work with. It is the greatest privilege of my life. I love them all so much, and I will love them for many, many, many decades to come. And that is not something that is very common in workplaces, I want to say, let alone at a fashion magazine. I think maybe something that the Devil Wears Prada doesn't touch on that much is the amount of trauma bonding that you go through as a teenage in order to work through a deadline.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (39:53)

Do you know what I think trauma bonding is? Unfortunately, the cold, hard truth. But also, we spend more time with people we work with than we do with our friends and family. Like, you don't get to hide who you are at work. You totally see every corner of your anxiety, your wins, your losses.

Gladys Light (40:11)

It's.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (40:11)

Yeah, a trauma bonding is a very unflattering word, but a very true one.

Gladys Light (40:16)

Yes, well, because I think especially in a creative industry, the line between personal and professional is so hazy. And the downside of that is, obviously, it's very hard to draw that boundary and know when to stop working. But the upside of that is you walk into a space where all of these people are themselves, and they have to be themselves for work. And they share so many of the same interests, and they're the most astoundingly intelligent and witty and funny and clever people. It's amazing. That's the best part of my job.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (40:48)

I love that. Speaking of your job, there's obviously many listeners who I imagine will be sitting back going, oh, my goodness, this is just a job I could only dream of. And we know that with jobs that are kind of sexy or illustrious, that sometimes there's a few misconceptions. What are the most common misconceptions or the highs and lows, so to speak, of your role?

Gladys Light (41:10)

I will say that the most common misconception is that my job is about fashion at all. I think fashion is the subject, but my job is rooted in business and numbers and data and analytics and psychology above everything else. I am reading the numbers to understand what people want, what people read, what people are drawn to. When I'm online, it's almost from the perspective of, like, a Darwinite figure. Like, I'm looking at you in a. In a little, like, terrarium, watching what you're talking about. And I want to give you things. Things that make you happy or make you awestruck or that inspire you. Fashion is something that we look at, and fashion is a tool. And fashion is an incredible craft with such a huge legacy. And it's something that is a part of our daily lives. But at the heart of it, it is about people. It's about why people are wearing what they want to wear, why people about. Are talking about this one specific. So I think the biggest misconception is that it is about just clothes. I'm not just wearing clothes into the office and then sitting in my clothes from 8 to 6, which I think

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (42:29)

is stick and tapping away.

Gladys Light (42:31)

Exactly. Which is what a lot of people think my job is. It is very, very different to that. There are so many moments when I'm on set and when I'm speaking with someone where I will go back home and. And I will have moments where I go. I cannot believe this is what I do for work. I am so, so deeply lucky. If I had to give you one pinch me moment, it was probably when I went to New York Fashion Week. And I jealous. I'm jealous of past me. I want to go back and do it again.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (43:03)

And we're listening Vogue. We need one ticket.

Gladys Light (43:06)

Exactly. And I sat front row at Coat and watched the show, interviewed Stuart Fevers, who is the creative director, and I wrote up the review for the show while I was watching the show itself and then incorporating his quotes. And then I filed it and then went to the after party and was just surrounded by all of this life. And that was probably the biggest high that I've had.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (43:38)

I was going to ask what your biggest work perk was or has been, but it kind of sounds like maybe that was it.

Gladys Light (43:43)

Yeah, it's, it's the travel, it's the experience. I think there are many times where work is really difficult and where it's long and it's very demanding. I think that's something that brings all of us together, is that we know that we have to give a lot for this job. It doesn't just stop at 5pm when you talk about culture, because culture is constantly cycling through trends and topics and you know, especially in a world where everything is so online that just that cycle keeps becoming more compressed and it, it gets faster and faster.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (44:17)

It's so interesting, right, because that we have a lot of conversations about work, life, balance. That's a constant cultural conversation. And I'm never going to sit here and say that that's not important. But when you are passionate about something or you're in a demanding industry the way you are, where if you don't talk about Margot Robbie until tomorrow, tomorrow, everyone else has already spoken about it over the last 24 hours. I think it's really important to also acknowledge that there are roles that are not always a 9 till 5 and you can give your all and then leave and then the job is done.

Gladys Light (44:48)

No, I mean, and going back to what you asked me before about working for a legacy brand, when you work for a brand that has become synonymous with the industry that it reports on, people expect you to be first. And when you work at a company where people expect you to be first, you have to be first first. And that is an expectation that comes

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (45:05)

with the job and it's being of expectation. I mean, you're incredibly accomplished for your age to be in the role that you are. And you know, that is so inspiring to our listeners. And I really do hope that you go home at the end of this and just know that many, many people will listen to this and be absolutely inspired. I mean, I'm sitting here like, okay, I've got to go home and like vision board myself again. But what do you feel like has been essential in gaining this role and climbing the ranks of vogue from quite literally an internship to head of brand,

Gladys Light (45:34)

I think that what's been essential is making sure that my eye is always trained on other parts of the world and other elements of culture. I think that if I did my job as an intern, as a writer, as a head of brand, just looking at the world that I exist in, I would never be able to grow the online magazine in the way that I feel like we have. Yeah, I think that fashion intersects with so many different worlds. It intersects with politics, it intersects with just general human, day to day life and sociology. And I think that I am constantly putting that at the forefront of my mind instead of the immediate topic that I am faced with. Whether that is fashion, whether that is celebrity, you always have to look for the why, right? I think that in order to be successful in storytelling, in becoming a journalist, in, you know, if this is a field that you want to work in, you have to take the narcissism out of it. And I say that not in. Not in a really pejorative way. I think that many writers that I know and many storytellers, because of the nature of the craft, isolate themselves and write for themselves and want to construct the most perfect sentence or the most perfect story, not for a reader, but as. As proof of life, as proof of talent. When you step into the world of storytelling and you have an audience, you have to forget about yourself. Your primary goal is engaging a reader and connecting with someone, whether that's through a page, whether that's through a screen. So when you're writing, you shouldn't be thinking, is this a sexy sentence? Like, have I used a really impressive word? You should be thinking, am I keeping this person engaged? Am I being funny for you? Am I telling you something? Am I opening a gate for you? I am I inspiring you? It's about someone else. And I think that narcissism comes quite early on. I think. I think a lot of young writers have it. I think that a lot of very accomplished writers have it, and that's just their style. But I think when you step into this discipline, you always have to be thinking about the person that you're speaking to. And that requires empathy that comes from different disciplines, from understanding that people might not understand a certain in joke that you have, that you cannot be condescending to people even if you're explaining something to someone. You have to be open and human and conversational. And that requires you to step outside of your bubble constantly. Most of the people that I work with did not start in fashion. A lot of people came from political science, from law, from politics, from other forms of media. That is what makes them good at their job. So if you want to step into the fashion industry, be interested in things that aren't fashion, being interested in fashion is a prerequisite of working in this industry. What else are you going to bring to the table? Right? Lean into your weirdness, lean into your hobbies. All of that is crucial.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (49:01)

I absolutely love that insight and I think that people could take that whether they're working in product marketing, whether they're working, even us, as a podcast, you know, media business. I think not centering yourself in everything is so integral, and I love that insight. Well, we obviously all want insight into the Vogue office. What are the hottest trends that are on rotation in the office right now?

Gladys Light (49:25)

Oh, my gosh.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (49:27)

Tell us what shoes we need to be wearing, what jackets we need to be wearing.

Gladys Light (49:31)

Oh, my gosh. Okay. Well, I'm currently trying to get the rest of the team onto Vibram Five Fingers. I usually am the freaky footwear gal. I have loved tabbies for years when they're blue and up. It was very lovely because now other people could also be the subject of weird stares on public transport. But Five Fingers are amazing. They're so comfortable. I know that they're a bit weird, but I'm really backing them. Not everyone on my team is on board. I will say it's a work in progress, but that's the one trend that I'm trying to get everyone on. A lot of people in the office wear black. That is our unofficial uniform. Uniform. Unofficial uniform, exactly. It's maybe because when we go to events, we want to blend into the background and we're always working in a dungeon anyways, so we might as well dress for the environment. But I feel like it's. It's either all black, we all wear the same pair of, like, low rise jeans. I'm basically in a very typical office outfit and when I do want to dress up, I put on a suit. And I think that's something that me and my colleagues, Will and Charlie do a lot as well. We do a. We do a shirt and tie and pat and loafer situation. That always makes me feel like I'm Spickens fan.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (50:47)

Can I ask, is there a jean that is on heavy rotation? Like, is there a brand or a style? I know you said low rise, but is there a brand that everyone's wearing?

Gladys Light (50:54)

So there. A few years ago, everyone owned the same Pair of Zara jeans. I think it was maybe five to six people in the office with those same pair of jeans. These jeans that I have on are the only jeans that I have in my closet.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (51:13)

I just moved house and there were honestly, maybe 40 pairs of jeans. And I feel like I'm really outing myself here.

Gladys Light (51:20)

But no, that's normal. I feel like that's normal. One pair. I'm so I only have one pair of jeans. I only have. I have a small closet. I only have one pair of jeans. These are nudie jeans, and they're amazing because you can adjust the length of them. And because I'm the size of a thumbtack, I can finally get jeans that I don't need to hem as a five foot three.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (51:43)

Consider me shopping nudie.com later today. What is your trend prediction for 2026?

Gladys Light (51:50)

I think trends are very difficult because there are trends that we predict off the Runway and off celebrities, and then there are trends that you actually see real people wearing in real life. I think those are very two different spheres. I think that often when you're in fashion, you can be in the business of just saying random things are trends, because you saw it three times on the Runway and no one in real life actually wears it or knows what you're talking about. I think that something that has been popping up a little bit is last year, fashion got very, very historical in the sense that people were, you know, maybe sick of the last few decades that we've been passing through over and over and over again. So now we're going all the way back to the 1400s. So Juliet veils were huge in weddings last year, and there were a lot of square necklines, a lot of bishop sleeves, a lot of corsets. And I think this year we'll see a little bit more of that, but I think it'll evolve into something a little bit more contemporary and maybe a bit more armored. So all of these big bangles that everyone has been wearing and now, you know, obviously transforming into silver cuffs and big chokers and all of that statement jewelry that's seems really protective, but it also feels a little bit out of time and a bit old world. So I think keep an eye on that.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (53:14)

Okay? I love that hot tip prediction. It is funny. It felt very cerulean sweater vibes. Then for you to go, it's trickled all the way from here. 1400s. You mentioned you have one pair of nudie jeans in your wardrobe, which I am still very much stuck on. But what is your current MVP in your wardrobe.

Gladys Light (53:33)

Oh, my current mvp. So, okay, can't say my vibrant five fingers because they've already said that, but they are definitely being reworn over and over again.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (53:41)

Hey, it can be your mvp. Speak your truth.

Gladys Light (53:44)

Yeah, true. I think. Well, look, my current MVP is. It's always my rotation of work bags. So there is one work bag that I use basically every day. It's a long line east to west suede bag from Visturcy, which is an Australian brand, Shout Out. Monica, who founded it, they do the most incredible selection. I love that bag in particular. And I also have a semi work, semi party bag, which is my. Has been my MVP for years. It's a Fendi baguette that I got at a sample sale for $200. I'm so sorry, where at a Fendi sample sale?

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (54:25)

Were you in Australia?

Gladys Light (54:26)

Yes, I was at their office and they were doing sale of all their old stock. And I found a cow print, like, furry cow print baguette with a turquoise buckle off of their Runway with Marc Jacobs. And it was 200 bucks.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (54:44)

I don't identify with envy often, but I think that has changed right now. That is arguably the steal of a lifetime time. Was that a Vogue invite?

Gladys Light (54:54)

I think, yeah, that's definitely a Vogue. Work perk is getting to go to sales.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (54:58)

I love that you're like, that's my work party bag. I mean, that's just incredible. I'm like, okay, what other perks have we got that maybe we haven't covered? Last few questions. And I think this is one that's burning for me because I think when you work in media and you work amongst culture, it's hard to separate person and profession. As you said, it's such a big part of who you are. You must consume so much meat media. How do you curate your own feed? And do you have an account that's dedicated to following along for things and then, I don't know, maybe like, hobby cross stitching. I've brought up cross stitching so many times in the last few episodes. Don't know why. That's where my mind always goes to. But do you have a separate feed for work and one that you view content with at leisure, or are you like, we are one of the same?

Gladys Light (55:41)

Oh, absolutely. Separation. I think this goes back to what I was saying before about making sure that your personal interests are so vastly different from what you do that it makes the job better. So my feed for work is on the work account. Like, I am just on the work account. The Whole time I follow everyone that I want to on there and that's where I get the news, the creators, the content, the updates that I need in order to be good at my job. And it's, it's mostly, it's mostly fashion, it's mostly celebrity. It won't step outside of that. My personal algorithm is, is completely different. I spend so much time on YouTube, so my YouTube algorithm and you know what, my algorithm in general, I've very, very specially curated it to be for exactly my tastes. So just to give you an insight, I used to have a Tumblr fan blog for Lord of the Rings, Doctor who, Sherlock Marvel. So at heart I am, am a fan girl. And that translates into a very eclectic array of creators that I follow on YouTube. If you don't watch Jenny Nicholson, please watch Jenny Nicholson. So her videos are anywhere between two to six hours long and she does deep dives on everything from Disney theme parks to Christian musicals. At some point, they're the most fascinating things ever. It's just her in her bedroom. She just speaks at you. It's incredible. I watch a lot of posts. Poker, a bit of golf. I am really into the traders at the moment. I love to run and I box and I draw. So those are like a few of my hobbies if I skim the top. But yeah, I want to keep it fresh and fresh and new and weird.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (57:26)

I can imagine if someone was logging into the work account and you were letting your personal interest there, they'd be like, why is Dr. Who and the PGA Tour on my feed? Gladys, I have to say, you are quite literally the most multi dimensional person I've ever pleasure of sitting with for an hour. I love discovering these character arcs about you. My favorite thing to do when I meet someone new now is ask them what their most unusual character arc is. Like, what would surprise them most? Like, what would surprise people the most when they meet them?

Gladys Light (57:56)

Oh, that's a good question.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (57:57)

It's a really good opener because you learn very quickly about like a corner of someone. Anyway, I feel like I got to ask you without even asking you.

Gladys Light (58:06)

Oh no, what's yours? And then I'll tell you mine.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (58:07)

Okay, so mine is that. And I think people are always very sweet surprised by this. I love ufc, so I actually went when Ronda Rousey was beaten by Holly Holmes. It's like still one of my.

Gladys Light (58:17)

Oh my gosh. You did?

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (58:18)

Yeah, I was there.

Gladys Light (58:19)

I re watched that kick. I've rewatched that so many times.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (58:24)

It was amazing. I left. I think I spoke about it non stop for two weeks. Anyway, I think that's my most surprising character arc.

Gladys Light (58:31)

I think everyone needs a few weird character arcs. Maybe I. So I. I did fencing for six years. That's probably a little bit out of the blue. And so sword fighting. And I was on the state team for table tennis at one point, but I stopped that. But, yeah, those are my. Maybe those are my two weirdest ones.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (58:49)

So you walked so Marty supreme could run. You were ahead of the trend.

Gladys Light (58:54)

Can I say ping pong? Being cool is everything that year seven me would have dreamed of because I was a massive loser and I loved table tennis.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (59:03)

I have a long running theory that if you weren't cool in high school, you're cool now.

Gladys Light (59:07)

And I don't want to say it,

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (59:08)

but the opposite goes. Last question and my personal favorite. We love a bit of a hot take. It can be controversial, as controversial as you like it to be. But what is your hot take at the moment?

Gladys Light (59:21)

Okay, my hot take is plastic surgery is not feminist. And it doesn't impact whether or not you choose to have plastic surgery individually or you choose to alter your appearance in any way. But feminism and cosmetics are very divorced from each other in what the end goal is. And I think one is individual, one is collective. And I think people have been trying to justify their own individual decisions with their body by saying that it's rooted or it's supported by an ideological movement. But unfortunately, ultimately, it's not feminist in nature. And I think that we all have to be okay with that. I don't know whether I should elaborate.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (60:09)

No, I love that hot take. That is a fantastic one and I think a very topical one right now in the era of seeing a hell of a lot of facelifts on the feed. Gladys, thank you so much for joining us. I think our listeners are going to absolutely love this episode. I think they will be equal parts inspired by everything you've achieved, but also who you are as just a clever, interesting individual. So thank you so much for finding the time to give us this fantastic hour.

Gladys Light (60:41)

Thank you so much for having me. This was so lovely. And we will. When you. When you're up in Sydney, let's please get dinner, girl.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (60:49)

Let's talk F1 and go listen to Haim.

Gladys Light (60:52)

Yes, please.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (60:54)

I can't play tabletop, but I'll try

Gladys Light (60:56)

and watch the ufc.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (60:57)

Oh, yeah, we'll watch the kick again.

Gladys Light (61:00)

Yeah, watch the kick again.

Madison Sullivan Thorpe (61:01)

Have a lovely afternoon.

Gladys Light (61:11)

This podcast was recorded on Wurundjeri Land. Always was, always will be. Aboriginal land.