PROfile: Giannie Couji
By: The Kelly Initiative
Tags: Style, Giannie Couji, Black Lives Mater, The Kelly Initiative, Fashion

(photo: Ubikwist magazine shot by Chris Craymer)

by Britnie Dates

Vision in the Voyage

Worlds open wide through the power of story; speaking (as we recently did) with Giannie Couji serves as a most compelling testament to this assertion. The founder and Editor-in-Chief of Ubikwist Magazine — an independent publication celebrating culture and diversity — Couji gives style-passionate readers a glimpse into the work and lives of fascinating individuals across a wide array of sectors around the globe. A voracious reader in her youth, her love of compelling language remains central in her work, shaping her decades-long career in fashion to this day. Accordingly, each themed Ubikwist edition interweaves a curation of seemingly disparate stories in its telling of one beautifully cohesive tale. This alchemy is no fluke; the mix is informed by Couji’s own multifaceted interests and life; she’s a magazine publisher, a model, a muse, and increasingly, a major voice in the dialogue concerning Black equity in fashion industries. Her journeys have taken her from the Caribbean to NYC, by way of Paris then London where she honed her craft at publications like Femme and i-D respectively. In her current New York state-of-mind, she’s finding breakout success in front of the camera; yep, that’s her being lensed for Vogue Italia and gracing a Rachel Comey lookbook. Through it all, she’s pushed the industry to evolve in more inclusive directions and now its conversations seem to be finally catching up to her. Not that she’s slowing down anytime soon.

We’re fascinated by the first professional steps that truly inspiring people take as they enter the industry. Can you share with us how you began your career?

I got in the belly of the beast straight away. I didn’t become an assistant right away, but I was the person in charge of receiving and returning the clothes from the shoots. I did it for almost two and a half years, but it was really good schooling because it really teaches you to be organized. When you have, for example, four or five fashion editors shooting at the same time, believe me, you’d better be organized. Because sometimes they swap stuff between them and they don’t tell you so you’re going crazy looking for a piece from that person and it’s like no, it’s with the other person. So I did that for about two and a half years and when the assistant I reported to was leaving, I was offered that main assistant role. That was in 1988 or 1989.

Styling is where you really began to make a name for yourself within the industry; what is it about styling that initially captured and held your attention?

I think, originally, haute couture captured my attention. Because when I was going to school, in Paris, I used to cut pictures. Especially of Black models because they were like the queens of the haute couture catwalks. So I used to cut the pictures and glue them in the back of my book at school. So sometimes I was like I wanted to dream and I was just looking at those pictures, you know? That started when I was around 14 or 15 years old. They looked so elegant and amazing and they were doing like Yves Saint Laurent, Ungaro—all those girls (especially the Black girls,) they were running the catwalk at the time.

Skin, Tricky, Tasha Tilberg, and Angela Davis cover Ubikwist. (photos: Ubikwist Mag)

You were born in Martinique. Can you tell me a bit about growing up on the island?

I don’t think anyone can have that sort of upbringing now. I was brought up by my grandmother, so it was very free. After school we used to go to the beach and swim and come back and play in the street and you know, we never really locked the doors. I grew up in a very safe environment. And I was always curious; I still am to this day. I always had my head in a book. Maybe because I was growing up on a small island, I knew there was better — probably not better, but I knew there were bigger things outside the island. So I was always an avid reader since I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. It was kind of a way to dream as well. You know, transforming my imagination.

You mentioned being raised by your grandmother. Can you paint a picture in our minds of who she was?

For me, she was a force of nature. A mix of Wonder Woman and Indiana Jones- she was fearless. I think it was so amazing to witness because she was really tiny. She was super skinny and she had six kids: five girls and one boy. I remember as a kid, we were at home and one day she came back and she had this massive snake that she had found on the way home and killed. She came back home with it like a trophy. That’s why I was like, kind of like Indiana Jones. As a kid, for me, she was like a superwoman.

She was very witty; she was very funny but she was also very frank and honest. And I think I got that from her. And my mom is pretty much like that. I mean pretty much my aunties, I mean the whole family is like that. We get it from her. I think my grandfather was a little more diplomatic.

Was fashion a part of what you found special about her?

I think she was a very stylish person. When she was dressing up she was dressing up to the T. She was always immaculate. And I think I got my passion for handbags from her because she would never leave the house without a handbag. You know West Indian women- it was all about the handbag, always. She was a very beautiful woman, very stylish. Even if she was in a casual dress, just hanging out at home, she was still looking super chic.

Do you draw on her grandmother’s influence in your work?

I am always inspired by her. But when I was growing up in Martinique, fashion never crossed my mind. I wanted to be a doctor, and after that, I wanted to be a lawyer, and after that a translator. And after that, I’m like “Ok, I love to dance, I want to be a dancer.” But that came later when I moved to Paris. And my mom, coming from the West Indies — I think your parents are looking for your best interests and when I said I want to be a dancer, she said, “Oh no, that’s not a proper job.” For her it was like, doctor or accountant.

Totally! What did your mother do for a living?

My mom was an accountant. So I thought, I guess I’m going to get into accountancy. So I studied — I didn’t get my degree but I studied for almost two and a half years. In Paris, I met a woman through a friend of mine and she said she was a stylist. And for me, a stylist was a designer, someone who designs clothes. And she said, “No, I’m not a designer. I’m actually the one choosing the clothes for fashion shoots. “ She was a freelance stylist, working for Vogue Sport at the time. And we kind of lost touch. When I was studying accountancy, I realized that’s not what I wanted to do. And so a couple of years after I met her, I was flipping through one of the biggest magazines in France called Femme, which doesn’t exist anymore. And she became the fashion director of that magazine and I thought, ‘You know what? I’m just going to give her a call to see if she’s looking to add someone to a team. And I called and asked if she remembered me and she said, of course, I remember you. And I said I’m looking for a job, I don’t really want to be an accountant anymore. She was like I can’t offer you a paid job but I can offer you an internship and I said when can I start and she said ok, you start tomorrow.

Couji shares a candid with actress and Ubikwist cover-subject, Indya Moore. (photo: Giannie Couji’s Instagram)

You have a rare perspective, having spent time on both sides of the camera; on top of all your work behind the scenes, you’ve also been tapped as a model for a slew of publications and brands. What’s it like to stand on both sides of the lens?

When I’m in front of the camera I’m working with a team, so I totally forget that I’m a stylist. I’m a model so I don’t get involved with anyone’s business so this is different entirely for me. As a stylist, I love working, I love doing research, watching movies, pictures, getting inspired, and stuff. And I love the whole process of being a stylist. I like both because I like the concept of teamwork. I love teamwork. You can create, regardless of being a stylist or model, you can create beautiful images together. I really like that; I really appreciate the effort of everyone getting involved.

Was your experience as a stylist and editor an impetus for starting Ubikwist as an independent publication?

Absolutely. It was one of the main reasons. Because I’ve been in fashion for so long and I witnessed a trend and I was like, ‘I don’t like this trend at all.’ When I started in the 80s, there was a lot of diversity, lots of models of color. And suddenly, I don’t know if it was because of the grunge movement, but suddenly in the 90s, it was so difficult to get — you know I was a contributing fashion editor for i-D from 1994–2010, but it was like a nightmare just to get a black model. I used to call agencies, and they would have maybe, maximum, four or five Black girls on their roster. And I used to say, “How come you have like 100 caucasian girls or 50 caucasian girls and you only have like 2 Asian and 3 or 4- and they’re like, ‘Oh, you know, the clients don’t book them.’ And I’m like, “Yea, but it’s up to you to educate your client because that’s really racist! You’re telling me that Black women don’t buy fashion, they don’t buy cosmetics…is that the message you want to send?” So it was very frustrating and upsetting. The idea of creating a magazine came to me while I was living in London. I lived in London until 2008; I moved to New York in 2009. I had this idea and I pitched it to a friend and he was kind of lukewarm about it. So when I arrived in New York I pitched it to another friend, and he was really into it, but he would say, “Next year, next year, next year.” And after waiting almost five years, I was like you know what, it wasn’t the plan, but I can’t wait another four years to launch a magazine so I’m just going to do it by myself. With no knowledge in publishing. I mean, I had friends who worked in it so I asked them for advice. But I never did a magazine. I worked in magazines, but to be that involved, like a boss, it was something new.

Tell us about launching; what was the path to getting Ubikwist off the ground?

I launched in 2014 but it was like a test issue. That issue wasn’t even sold in stores, it was like issue-0. I showed it to a few people who tried to discourage saying publishing’s extremely difficult. And I’m like, “you know what? I don’t want to live with regret, that’s the last thing. I’m going to try and if I fail, I fail and if it works, it works.” And I was really lucky because with the first issue, one of my very good friends, his boyfriend was working for MAC and I showed him issue-0 and he really, really liked it and really wanted to help. He was like you know I love the magazine, I love the message and I would like to help. So I was really lucky. MAC Cosmetics sponsored the first and second issues. So we were able to get it printed.

The magazine is primarily self-funded with additional support from gracious friends who are donating through crowd-funding…but it’s mainly self-funding. But everyone, all my friends in Paris are like, “You have to do a French version!” And I’m like, “yea, but it costs money you know? (laughs)” I’m already struggling to do the English one. But that’s in the plan for the future when we get the financing, we will definitely do a French version because I think people really like the magazine over there.

Why was it important for you to start Ubikwist specifically as a printed publication?

I always say, call me old school but for me — I mean Ubikwist is both print and digital — but for me (I’ll speak for myself), I don’t think you get…it’s not the same feeling when you read a digital magazine and when you flip the page. If I have to choose, I would choose print for sure.

Ubikwist brings together creatives from all spheres to celebrate their personal stories in a real way; you felt print was the sort of medium for sharing that personal of a message?

Yes, Absolutely! Definitely. Some people buy a magazine and after they finish with it they throw it away. But most [Ubikwist] readers say they see the magazine almost like a book, like a collector. I have this woman who emailed me once and I think she’s one of the biggest fans because each time we do lots of different covers- sometimes we do four and sometimes we do 6. Because I also want to give readers the choice. And so some people, you know, it’s the same content inside, but they just buy the four or six different covers. Which is great!

What’s great is the way you mix fashion, culture, and politics throughout the publication. Finding Angela Davis on the cover of a magazine that’s also chronicling fashion and connecting the dots between these seemingly disparate worlds, that’s certainly not common.

You know what? When we first started in 2014, I think we were the only magazine doing that. You have to reflect the world you’re living in, that’s the way I see it. And the world is not only about fashion. So it’s as simple as that. I know a lot of magazines have taken years to wake up to that, but now look at Vogue. Look at Harper’s Bazaar. All these magazines, they’re trying to be more into social issues, activism, which is great. It doesn’t stop us from making people dream about fashion.

Couji gracing Rachel Comey’s F19 presentation. (photos: Rachel Comey)

Amid these shifts toward a more politically conscious fashion dialogue, have you found your footing within the industry?

I think I had the voice, it just took a while for people to hear it. But I think I always had the voice. It’s only in the last few years that people started to pay attention. But I’ve been working in the fashion business for almost 34 years now, so I’ve been around the block, as they say [laughs.] It’s only in the last three or four years that people suddenly have been like, “Oh, she’s here!” But like I say, “better late than never,” you know? But it’s also about everything happening in America, with Black people getting killed by the second. So me, personally when I arrived [in America], I knew racism existed. I wasn’t naive. It exists in Europe, in Paris, and in London. But I think it’s a different racism in Europe than here. When I arrived, I was just shocked at how many Black people were being killed and no one was getting convicted or going to prison. It’s crazy. And so I was kind of revolted by that. And so I started posting things on Facebook and on social media, on Twitter and Instagram and I was never scared to raise my voice about it. It was never a trend for me — I’m consistent about it and I will be until I die.

With Ubikwist, what is the story you want to tell? That you hope people walk away with when reading?

I want them to see that it’s a magazine with integrity and we support Black people and indigenous people of color, which is the main focus. In fashion, in music, in film, in art, in design, in all of those mediums. For me, it’s not only a fashion magazine; I see Ubikwist more as a cultural platform. My background of course is fashion, but I don’t only see it as a fashion magazine. It’s fashion/culture.