Editorial platform Hurs to launch in bid to bring female empowerment back to media

A media platform run by Dutch stylist Bonnie Langedijk is set to launch April 5 with the goal of challenging the way women are currently represented in media.

Hurs will cover everything from fashion and art to travel and food and will include curated product edits and a members club that will allow participants to exchange ideas with women highlighted by the platform.

The site, which said it is created by women, for women, hopes to speak to its readers authentically through multiple channels, including think pieces and newsletters.

Talking with FashionUnited, Langedijk said: "I have been playing with iterations of what Hurs is today for about 2,5 years. I felt frustrated with the way women were portrayed in women’s media. It felt like society had moved forward, but women’s media remained stuck in the past. Additionally the space felt like a sea of sameness. All trying to appeal to everyone, instead of offering something that stood out."

She continued: "The publications that did provide a unique point of view had little to no online presence, which left you not knowing where to go for great content in the time between issues. It was clear to me that there was a gap in the market for a new media company that offered a curated take on all things style while speaking through - not to - women."

“We’ve lived with the inconsistent and one-dimensional way women are spoken to..."

In its manifesto, the company said that despite women increasingly demanding for a more female-friendly space, the media had “lost the ability” to serve them, only celebrating the same few in a bid to benefit from advertising payments.

It continued: “We’ve lived with the inconsistent and one-dimensional way women are spoken to. Accepted how we’ve been portrayed on their pages. That can no longer be enough.”

Langedijk said that she hopes to challenge the way women have previsouly been spoken to, adding: "The Hurs reader is image-driven, informed and intelligent. We tell stories and curate products through the eyes of our community, as they know best what they want. We’re not interested in telling our readers how to dress or what to buy. We simply share our favourite products and stories from where they can make their own decisions."