Unstitched: Alison Veness-McGourty - publisher and editor of 10

FOR more than 10 years Alison Veness-McGourty has been a frenetic force in Australian fashion.

FOR more than 10 years Alison Veness-McGourty has been a frenetic force in Australian fashion, as editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar Australia from 2001 and launching the local edition of the weekly magazine Grazia in 2008. In the Park Street, Sydney, offices of ACP Magazines Veness-McGourty had a reputation for perfectionism that could see the shape of a magazine transformed moments before deadline to meet sudden shifts in trend. At the beginning of 2010 Veness-McGourty's life was suddenly transformed with her departure from Grazia, and she emerged only recently from her self-imposed exile from the front row to launch the Australian editions of 10 and 10 Men magazines. The magazine hits stands next year with the website launching this week.

I don't really feel as though I left the industry. I took a break and went to the US and saw lots of people. I'd always worked since I left college, solidly and quite intensely, through Harper's Bazaar and Grazia. And Grazia was full on - working on a weekly publication. I felt like I needed a break and I needed a break from ACP.

I was going to do an English degree when I left school. In the end I found out about the London College of Fashion. I couldn't believe that it existed - that all the things that I loved so much like writing, photography, literature, art and fashion could be studied together and that I could produce things. That was such a buzz and that's never gone.

I've always loved dressing up at this most basic silly, girly, gorgeous level. I love seeing great design. I love seeing a good collection. The thrill of seeing what designers do is exciting.

I learned a lot working on Fleet Street. When I got to Australia Karin (Upton Baker, managing director of Hermes Australia and former editor of Harper's Bazaar) taught me polish. I had that quirky UK thing going on, which I still have. I was pretty raw. She set very high standards.

There's a great spirit of helping each other in the UK. People have respect for each other. There's competition but it's not quite as cut-throat as here.

There's nothing quite like 10 in Australia. A lot of publications are very commercial and cover off so many different areas. 10 is all about fashion. It comes from the designers' perspective. It's not split up into fashion, beauty, interiors, art and culture. It's all part of the one conversation. I think Australian consumers want to have that conversation.

Print is being challenged by online and every social media button in the world but people still want it. People of all ages want the beauty of a printed magazine.

It's not about putting Australians in it, to be an Australian magazine. People don't want to have endless features on the designers we know and love already just for the sake of it. It's about having a great international product. We just want to know what's hot in design from New York, Paris or Australia. There will be no special pleading for Australia.

At the London shows you see designers and you go "that's just as good as what I see at Australian Fashion Week". I think we really beat ourselves up here and give ourselves a tough time. A lot more credit is due to Australian fashion than is given.

It's scary. Starting a publishing company is a big thing. Anybody who has their own business will understand that it's a roller-coaster ride of emotions. Everything rests on this. I have investors involved. It has to be a success. It will be a success.