Aya Kanai Replaces Anne Fulenwider as Marie Claire Editor

Anne Fulenwider is stepping down at the end of the year to launch a women’s health business. 

Marie Claire has a new editor.

Aya Kanai has been appointed editor in chief of the U.S. edition of Marie Claire, taking the reins from Anne Fulenwider, who has been in charge since 2012. She’s stepping down at the end of the year to launch an entrepreneurial venture focused on women’s health.

Kanai has been Hearst Magazines’ chief fashion director since 2016, overseeing the fashion content for Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping and Woman’s Day.

She started her career as a fashion assistant at Teen Vogue. From 2004 to 2007, she was fashion director of Nylon and returned to Teen Vogue in 2008 as the senior fashion editor.  In 2009, she served as the magazine’s West Coast contributing fashion editor and worked independently as a fashion stylist and creative consultant for clients including Cole Haan, Bloomingdale’s and Target. She also worked as style director for Amazon’s Shopbop for nine months back in 2012.

“With 29 international editions, Marie Claire has been about global female empowerment since 1937,” Kanai said. “I’m excited to lead a brand with so many sisters around the world. The Marie Claire woman is confident and clear-thinking, whether it is about her career, the makeup and skin care she uses, the clothes she wears or the technology that powers everything she does. With a growing experiential business, this is a 360-degree brand that speaks to enterprising women on the rise.”

Fulenwider added that her best accomplishment at Marie Claire was building Power Trip – a 36-hour all-female networking trip. Through that, she connected with many start-ups, which inspired to to start her own entrepreneurial venture.

“It’s been fantastic supporting women from the outside in, and now, I’m looking forward to supporting them from the inside out. I’ve had an amazing 25 years in media business and I’m very excited for all that this next chapter will bring,” she said.

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