The ever-evolving world of fashion has seen drastic amendments when influential and inspiring Fashion Journalists have taken charge of how stories must be narrated.
Fashion became easy and approachable as fashion writers broke down current/future trends to the common mass as a step to help them replicate high-society fashion.
Wondering how to pursue fashion journalism? We’ve got you covered! We’ve covered the basics of fashion journalism and how to become a fashion journalist, so check that out for inspiration!
The role of a fashion journalist is not about writing articles, she is responsible for reporting fashion news, current trends, who wore what, introducing designers, stylists, and photographers to get inspiring stories for readers, conducting interviews, and the list goes.
24 Famous Fashion Journalists in Fashion Industry
We’ve listed the top 24 Fashion Journalists of today, which we all must follow.
1. Anna Wintour
Anna Wintour started her career as a fashion editor. After being fired from Bazaar, she made her way up to being the Editor-in-chief of British Vogue for more than 30 years.
Fashion was a part of her life more than a career or passion, and her attempts to revolutionize British Vogue to make it relatable and approachable have inspired many women!
2. Suzy Menkes
Suzy Menkes is one of the best fashion editors and critics in the world. She has a powerful influence in the fashion industry as it was said that she once challenged Marc Jacobs, the fashion show started 2 hours past the challenge!
Suzy Menkes has invested 25 years of her life being a journalist for the International Herald Tribune industry. Later she’s been a part of different outlets of Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
3. Robin Givhan
Robin Givhan is one of the leading fashion editors and critics for the last 15 years. She is the only journalist who’s won Pulitzer Prize and has worked with various magazines like The Daily Beast and Newsweek.
She’s spent more than 10 years in “The Washington Post”. Her sharp aesthetic of writing combined with valuable fashion criticism is something young journalists lookup for.
4. Franca Sozzani
Franca Sozzani was a rule-breaker fashion journalist who fought against all forms of racism in the world. She’s featured plus size and black models in the issue of Vogue Italia when she worked there. She’s also celebrated African Fashion widely.
5. Venessa Friedman
Venessa Friedman was the fashion editor writing for “Financial Times”. She holds a huge fan following as she’s known for her honest reviews. Her writing styling is simple and understandable which people love. Currently, she’s the chief fashion critic at “The New York Times”.
6. Cathy Horyn
Cathy Horyn is a well-known fashion critic who’s worked at “The New York Times” for 16 years. Being a part of the fashion industry for so long she’s been a part of various fashion magazines like Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and International Herald Tribune to name a few of them.
7. Alexander Fury
Alexander Fury is a men’s fashion critic at Financial times and is fashion features director at Another Magazine. He’s one of the men who’s marked his own fame in a women-dominated peer of editors and his Instagram account is as updated as he is.
In addition, he’s also a part of the British Fashion Council and has been chief fashion correspondent in The New York Times Style Magazine, fashion editor of the Independent, and the Independent on Sunday newspapers.
8. Glenda Bailey
Glenda Bailey is one of the influential fashion icons in the industry. She’s known for her bold ideas and for bringing fresh perspectives to the table.
Bailey is credited to increase the circulation of Marie Claire by 80%.! Currently, she’s the Editor-in-Chief of Bazaar. If you’re a young fashion writer looking for inspiration, she’s the one to follow.
9. Dana Thomas
Starting her career with “The Washington Post”. Apart from being an excellent fashion writer, she’s also written outstanding books. Currently, she’s also an active contributor in various magazines like New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and Harper’s Bazaar to name a few.
10. Anna Dello Russo
Anna Dello Russo is an Italian Fashion Journalist known for outstanding street-style fashion. She runs a blog with other social media platforms. She’s also worked with Vogue Japan and has contributed on a larger scale.
11. Richard Buckley
Richard Buckley was an American Fashion Journalist and writer who worked for Vogue Italia, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Vogue Hommes. He has also been the Editor in Chief of the latter. Also known to be the husband of Designer Tom Ford, he died on September 2021, as he was suffering from Cancer past 30 years.
12. Laura Brown
Laura Brown is an Australian-based Fashion Journalist who is the Editor of InStyle Magazine owned by Dotdash Meredith in the US. She worked for Harper’s Bazaar for 11 years prior to this where she produced more than 100 covers and also collaborated with Sydney-based label Mon Purse designing a series of Handbags for her collection.
13. Lisa Armstrong
Lisa Armstrong is a fashion journalist who currently heads the fashion department in “The Daily Telegraph”. After studying Journalism at City University London, she freelances at Elle UK, followed by being a fashion writer at Vogue UK, The Independent, and Bazaar. She also has been honored with Fashion Journalist of the Year at the Fashion Awards in 2017.
14. Grace Mirabella
Grace Mirabella is the former Editor-in-Chief of Vogue before Anna Wintour in 1971 and 1988. Completing her education at Skidmore College in Economics, she started her career by doing junior positions in retail including at Macy’s. Later she started with a junior position at Vogue where she got gradually promoted until she became the Head Editor.
15. Carine Roitfeld
Carine Roitfeld is a French fashion writer, editor, and stylist at Vogue Paris in years 2001 to 2011. Later she became the Editor in Chief of the bi-annual print magazine CR Fashion Book and involved herself in personal freelance styling and modeling projects. In 2012, she became the global fashion director of Bazaar.
16. Elaine Welteroth
Elaine Welteroth is an American fashion Journalist who started her career with an internship with Cole at Ebony and later became Cole’s assistant. Later, she became permanent Beauty & Style Editor from 2008 to 2011 at Ebony followed by Glamour magazine and has also been a part of Teen Vogue.
17. Derek Blasberg
Derek Blasberg is an American Fashion Editor, tv host, and author who currently works as head of fashion and beauty partnerships at Youtube. After graduating from New York University and starting his journey as he joined the model agency Elite Model Management writing bios for models while he did part-time at W, followed by an assistant position at Vogue.
18. Emmanuelle Alt
Emmanuelle Alt is a French Fashion Writer and now the Editor-in-Chief of Vogue Paris after Carine Roitfeld till date. She completed her education at Institut de l’Assomption, Paris, and she has been a part of Mixte, Elle, and later Vogue Paris started in 2011. Her husband is into the fashion business as well.
19. Susanna Lau
Susanna Lau is a British Fashion blogger/ writer who started her career as a fashion blogger and created “Style Bumble” which has 300k unique visitors per month. Prior to that, she was also a contributing editor at Dazeddigital where she quit pursuing fashion blogging full-time. She has collaborated with brands like GAP, Armani, and Dr. Martens, and generated revenue from freelance writing.
20. Hilary Alexander
Hilary Alexander is a New Zealand British journalist and former fashion director of the “Daily Telegraph”. Named fashion journalist between 1997 to 2003 at British Awards. She is also a freelance host and stylish while working full-time at Hello Magazine.
21. Alicia Drake
Alicia Drake is a British-based fashion editor/ journalist wherein who wrote regularly for publications like International Herald Tribune, Travel and Leisure, W Magazine, and British Vogue, the era that saw the rise of designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint-Laurent.
22. Angelica Cheung
Angelica Cheung is a Chinese Fashion Journalist who was the founding editor-in-chief while Vogue China was just launched. She has also been part of Elle China and Marie Claire Hong Kong. She quit her position as Chief editor in 2020 after serving for 16 years.
23. Lynn Yaeger
Lynn Yaeger is a fashion journalist and contributing editor at Vogue. Being the former reporter of “The Village Voice” where she has served for more than 30 years as a fashion writer. In addition, she’s also been part of Travel & Leisure, Full Frontal Fashion, and The New Yorker, and also curates for the vintage collection of fashion retail Yoox.com.
24. Alexa Chung
Alexa Chung is a British Fashion Writer and host who started her career as a model at 16 with publications like Elle, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl, etc. Followed by being a TV presenter on the side, she worked for brands like Sony Ericsson, Sunsilk, and Urban Outfitters, to name a few. She is also been a fashion writer at Vogue, hosted shows like Next in Fashion with Tan France, and has a fashion retail brand by her name.
Fashion Journalism is becoming a hub for new opportunities as print media shifts towards digital media, there are more job roles and voids for creating own publication house.
Modern Fashion Journalism consists of various key factors like fashion blogging, vlogging, digital magazines, and websites that fuel the rapidly growing fashion industry.
