The most exciting names in fashion are now on Substack
From the world’s most influential fashion bloggers and editors in chief to front-row regulars and stylists, here’s why the fashion pack is finding a new home
If you have more than a passing interest in style, you will be aware that the biannual autumn/winter collections have just come to a close. I once knew this because for years I was the editor in chief of Elle magazine in the U.K., where much of my job involved squeezing myself onto teeny-tiny seats from Paris to New York for 30 days straight. These days, I know this because my favorite fashion writers tell me so on Substack.
You see, over the past year, the world of fashion has found its stylish feet right here. The proof? Style and beauty are now one of the fastest-growing and most exciting areas on Substack. I didn’t need to head to Spring Studios in downtown New York to find out what was going on at New York Fashion Week this time around. Why? Because it felt like I was there by reading fashion luminary
’s The Cereal Aisle, in which she disclosed everything from the front-row seating plan to exactly why editors are snooty about NYFW (in other words, the juicy stuff most people won’t print). And as much as I miss Paris Fashion Week, reading the Substack of American Vogue contributor and Paris-based writer , Mon Review, took me right there. The parties, the exclusive dinners, the insider gossip… she scratched a PFW itch even I didn’t know I had.And then, last week, the original fashion blogger,
, joined Substack. Garance was a sensation back in the early days of blogging. She was one of the first fashion bloggers to sit front-row and became almost as famous on the street style scene as the celebrities and models the photographers had jetted in to photograph. She launched her own beauty brand (the very excellent Doré), was hired to do huge ad campaigns for luxury brands, and basically helped elevate the status of the lowly blogger to that of creative superstar. Now, after a period of lying low-ish for a little while, she is back, writing .“I’m happy to settle in a place that values writing and conversation,” she told me. “I feel like it’s giving my voice the home it had been missing for so many years.”
“I’m happy to settle in a place that values writing and conversation,” she told me. “I feel like it’s giving my voice the home it had been missing for so many years.”
Other fashion bloggers who have made the leap include
, whose 2007 style blog transitioned into a website and then into, you guessed it, a Substack. “This newsletter is a nod to and continuation of the original Love List—pared back to the format it began in 15 years ago,” she writes.
But why are fashion folk making the leap now? It’s something even mainstream media have been contemplating.
The answer is complicated. First, there is no longer a comfortable home for much of the work these individuals are doing. Some, like artist and fashion-girl-about-town
, want a place to share photos, shop, and talk (her tagline: “A nice little place to chat that isn’t Instagram”). Others, such as former senior fashion writer for New York Magazine’s The Cut , literally head out to the streets to see what people are wearing—sort of like the good old-fashioned magazine “vox pops” of yesteryear. Dana Thomas, the writer behind the seminal fashion books Fashionopolis and Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano, combines meticulous longform fashion features with her work on sustainability. As a result, it feels part–fashion magazine, part–urgent manifesto. I know of no other publishing home that would allow her both the editorial freedom to say exactly what she wants as well as the space to sufficiently capture the nuance of her argument.
Which brings me to advertising. The days of brands throwing large amounts of money at fashion influencers is in decline. Ask around and you’ll hear pretty quickly how much tougher it is out there to get lucrative sponsorship deals. Paid partnerships, meanwhile, are sporadic at best and compromising at worst. What fashion writers and creatives crave, therefore, is a steady, meaningful revenue stream, delivered by the very people who consume their work: the readers.
Being paid directly by their audience, rather than a brand, also allows many of these writers the freedom to explore the style-adjacent topics they have always dreamed of covering. Fashion journalist
delves into the world of parenting, confidence, and, naturally, winter coats. InStyle’s onetime editor in chief muses on supermodels, female friendships, and quite literally everything in between. The founding editor of Glamour magazine in the U.K., , riffs about success and beauty products in midlife; the former Australian Cosmopolitan editor is live-writing her next book on Substack; and Refinery 29 co-founder covers her magical home renovation, books, and thrifting. Lots of thrifting.
Of course, if straight-up fashion advice and shopping is what you’re after, then don’t worry. There are a bunch of fashion insiders doing that too, updating TV’s early-2000s fashion makeover formats such as What Not to Wear. Onetime Wall Street Journal fashion editor
guides you on the best peacoat to buy for your shape in her hugely popular ; and former Esquire style director does the same for the gentlemen. Stylist to the stars keeps things even simpler, sending out a Friday morning shopping list featuring the latest fashion buys, the newly restocked, and the classics to “buy now, wear forever.” Think of it as a personal shopper for your inbox.But perhaps what feels most exciting about this sea change is what it means for fashion itself. By opening up conversations beyond a caption, readers are finally able to understand an industry that has been shrouded in mystery for years. And frankly, nothing feels chicer than that.
I’ll be hosting a Masterclass in conversation with
, , and on October 30. Writers and creators will learn how to create a Substack that allows you to build your community and earn a steady source of income while doing the work you care about most.
Who are your favorite fashion writers on Substack? Tell us about your publication, or a writer we should know about, in the comments.
If you’re inspired by the fashion writers here, sending your first Substack post is just a few clicks away:
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It’s also important to mention fashion publications outside US and Europe. In Latin America there’s many of us writing in Spanish for our market, and covering local fashion. 🙌 Former fashion journalist for Vogue Mexico here 🙋🏻♀️
The important thing is that fashion is happening on substack! I write in English and Spanish for those that care about fashion but don't necessarily want to be told the same story over and over. Still, every story is important for its readers and that's why this platform is cool. As a community we have a voice and we can use it. @substack let's find ways for this community to find each other.