Didder Rønlund, Danish fashion journalism’s ‘grand old lady’ has been honoured with a Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog. It happened when Queen Margrethe II, in keeping with tradition, took advantage of her birthday to grant decorations.

In the setting to the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog it said: “She (Didder Rønlund, ed.) paved the way for countless generations to work in this field and is a crucial factor that Danes became internationalized, compared to the great world stylists, and fashion industry as a both artistic and cultural phenomenon. ”

Didder Rønlund was the first European journalist who was sent off to New York to cover the fashion week and at the age of 83 she is still an active fashion journalist.

I was so lucky to meet Didder in an interview to Elle, which was a fantastic and unforgettable experience. I was invited to tea and sandwiches in her cozy apartment and to witness her talking about her fascinating life, both privately and professionally, her joie de vivre and unique personality was an experience I will never forget.

Warm and heartfelt congratulations Didder!

Twin magazine

I just red an interesting article on WWD underscoring the notion that creativity thrives in tough times, and that the credit crunch has spawned a new wave of independent style magazines in Europe.

Against a ravaged media landscape that has seen many titles close or downsize comes a wave of buzzy new titles, including Twin, Glass, Perfect, Test, Grey and Candy, the latter billing itself as the world’s first “transversal” style magazine celebrating transvestites, transsexuals, cross-dressers and androgyny. Limited to 1,000 copies, the first issue features never-before-seen shots by Bruce Weber of Candy Darling taken in the Seventies.

Perfect magazine

Penny Martin, a professor at the London College of Fashion (and whom I used to assist at SHOWstudio.com) and editor in chief of the new biannual print magazine The Gentlewoman (sister publication of Fantastic Man), which launched last month (read the earlier blog), noted a spate of new titles often follows a recession. “I’m not at all surprised that interesting publishing projects are cropping up in tough times,” said Martin, mentioning i-D, The Face and Blitz at the start of the Eighties and magazines such as Dazed & Confused and Ray Gun at the start of the Nineties.

Of the new league of magazines, several are the fruits of editors already holding down major day jobs — and many resemble coffee-table books rather than something you toss in your handbag. Cover prices range from around $11 to $30.

“It’s not about the latest fashion trends of the moment, but more of an inspirational book for people in the fashion field who are passionate about photography and imagery in general,” said Martin. “It’s for the people who make the trends, not those who follow them.”