Anyone who has been in class with Vanessa Friedman at TSNY is already privy to her elegant carriage, and her inherent glamorous demeanor—even in chalk- covered sweat pants. If you could see her in her “regular” environment, at the main offices of The New York Times, you’d be even more impressed that the willowy woman we usually see flying through the air is a force to be reckoned with on the ground, as well. Vanessa serves as Fashion Director for that prestigious publication, and I got to sit down with her recently to talk about her post—a position that came as a bit of a surprise to her.
“It was Fashion by Mistake!” she laughs, adding “But I did always want to be a writer.” As such, Vanessa was no stranger to fashion publications having written for The New Yorker and Vogue (among other major publications), but that was mostly about books, movies and theater.
It wasn’t until after she got married and moved to England that she began to actively pursue freelance writing opportunities.
“I sent a cold pitch letter to the Financial Times, and (they) seeing that I had written for Vogue and Vanity Fair assumed I was a fashion writer.” Thus began her journey in editorial fashion, as the FT was launching a new section devoted to style; Vanessa became the first person to hold the fashion editor position in 2003. Her 11-year tenure at FT was a great opportunity to cut her teeth in the business, and to “write about the things that really interest me. Fashion was the perfect Trojan Horse,” she says, to write about everything from identity politics to gender stereotype, entertainment and philosophy. “I like when designers have ideas. And what I really like is how people use clothes to express identity, or culture,” she said, and not just in the world of fashion; she follows politics closely. Public figures and politicians are always up for dissection, as Vanessa figures out “…how a person is using clothing to manipulate the opinions of people around them, to get what they want. Which we all do.”
And how did trapeze come to be a fashionable fit in her lifestyle? “I was a totally uncoordinated child,” she volunteers, “but when we moved back from England, my second child, Miranda was in the first grade, and was invited to a party at STREB, in Brooklyn. At the end, the parents got to try it and I thought ‘this is totally fun!’ It’s a great equalizer between parents and children ; being bigger doesn’t get you that much more.” She stuck with it, first with her children and then on her own, and eventually ventured over to TSNY (“There were more adults, which I liked.”) as well as occasionally flying elsewhere when traveling. “I discovered this highly connected trapeze subculture, where I get to meet fascinating people from different walks of life, all with their own stories, whom I really admire and who are flying role models for me. I really like the community it creates.”
“It was Fashion by Mistake!” she laughs, adding “But I did always want to be a writer.” As such, Vanessa was no stranger to fashion publications having written for The New Yorker and Vogue (among other major publications), but that was mostly about books, movies and theater.
It wasn’t until after she got married and moved to England that she began to actively pursue freelance writing opportunities.
“I sent a cold pitch letter to the Financial Times, and (they) seeing that I had written for Vogue and Vanity Fair assumed I was a fashion writer.” Thus began her journey in editorial fashion, as the FT was launching a new section devoted to style; Vanessa became the first person to hold the fashion editor position in 2003. Her 11-year tenure at FT was a great opportunity to cut her teeth in the business, and to “write about the things that really interest me. Fashion was the perfect Trojan Horse,” she says, to write about everything from identity politics to gender stereotype, entertainment and philosophy. “I like when designers have ideas. And what I really like is how people use clothes to express identity, or culture,” she said, and not just in the world of fashion; she follows politics closely. Public figures and politicians are always up for dissection, as Vanessa figures out “…how a person is using clothing to manipulate the opinions of people around them, to get what they want. Which we all do.”
And how did trapeze come to be a fashionable fit in her lifestyle? “I was a totally uncoordinated child,” she volunteers, “but when we moved back from England, my second child, Miranda was in the first grade, and was invited to a party at STREB, in Brooklyn. At the end, the parents got to try it and I thought ‘this is totally fun!’ It’s a great equalizer between parents and children ; being bigger doesn’t get you that much more.” She stuck with it, first with her children and then on her own, and eventually ventured over to TSNY (“There were more adults, which I liked.”) as well as occasionally flying elsewhere when traveling. “I discovered this highly connected trapeze subculture, where I get to meet fascinating people from different walks of life, all with their own stories, whom I really admire and who are flying role models for me. I really like the community it creates.”