The cover of the May 1997 issue of ELLE Japon proudly proclaimed, "ELLE has changed!" Opening the book, one finds a "Dear Readers From Editor" page, where newly appointed editor-in-chief Akiko Mori delivers a message to her as yet unmet readers: "We will compile vivid perspectives from around the world to provide women with the information they need to "live today to the fullest and enjoy tomorrow with a positive, free-thinking approach and a focus on interpersonal communication." Until then, ELLE Japon (now known as Time Hachette Japan) had earned a certain level of acclaim by emphasizing a French flair modeled on the French edition, for better or worse. However, Hachette, the parent company, had been continuing to reassess its global strategy since the success of the US edition of ELLE in 1985, and ELLE Japon needed a secret plan to achieve further growth. So, then-President Masayo Ishibashi and the international director at the French headquarters selected Akiko Mori for the role. "When I frankly asked the French director what he wanted from an editor-in-chief, he said, first and foremost, business success. In response, I told him that if I were editor-in-chief, I would completely change the way things were done! I would do things that were considered taboo at ELLE. I accepted the role with the determination and understanding to transform ELLE," says Mori. The inaugural issue featured a bold feature that highlighted the differences between the two luxury brands, Hermès vs. Chanel, and featured a live report on the haute couture collections and included a Paris brand guidebook as an appendix. This was around the time that Tom Ford had taken over at Gucci, making the position of creative director well-known. Other fashion houses were also rapidly changing designers. "When I became editor-in-chief, the fashion world was undergoing great change. John Galliano was appointed designer at Dior, and Alexander McQueen was appointed designer at Givenchy, competing with each other for creations. Louis Vuitton began its ready-to-wear line and Marc Jacobs was selected for the position. Nicolas Ghesquière, who was appointed to Balenciaga, was also popular with young people. It was a time when the industry was moving dynamically and new developments in the brand business were beginning, so as a fashion magazine, ELLE wanted to be one of the first to convey that excitement. By increasing the amount of information and adding depth, we wanted to cover Japanese women from one end to the other, from friendly Parisian brands to haute couture."

And so began a new ELLE Japon that no one could have imagined.

(Continued from June 12th. Mori's "ELLE Japon" becomes even more distinctive.)