Photo: Joe Schildhorn/BFA.Today we see another big shake-up in the world of fashion journalism following last week's Suzy Menkes news. Vanessa Friedman, currently the fashion editor for the Financial Times, has been named fashion director and chief fashion critic for The New York Times. Friedman will leave the post she's held at FT since 2003 and go on to "lead global fashion coverage for both The New York Times and International New York Times on all platforms," according to a statement from NYT.
Jill Abramson, The Times' executive editor, said about the hire, “I’m thrilled to welcome Vanessa to The Times. She is the perfect journalist to be our leading voice on global fashion.” Prior to Friedman's position at FT, she'd launched U.K. InStyle, and she contributed to The Economist, The New Yorker, and Vogue. She replaces the formidable Cathy Horyn, who resigned from her role at The New York Times in January to care for her partner, who was having health problems.
Meanwhile, Alexandra Jacobs, currently an editor for NYT's Styles section, has been promoted to fashion critic and fashion features writer. Friedman and Jacobs join a strong team of fashion journalists — whether either one will be the lightning rod for controversy that Horyn sometimes was remains to be seen.
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