Vanessa Friedman is the aficionado of fashion for the New York Times. In her piece, “Marc Jacobs and the Ghosts of Fashion Past and Future,”Friedman posits that fashion is currently MIA due to the “current identity crisis in this country.” Alluding to larger social and political issues and most likely digging at Trump’s presidency, Friedman subsequently (and gracefully!) transitions to discuss the success of Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2019 show.
Friedman opens her articles by setting a picturesque scene or relating to a current event or even a relevant television series before transitioning into fashion. She describes the runway shows she sees in vivid detail: “With long gowns speckled with crystal, sashes draped into a governess bustle at the back. With explosions of elaborately ruched opera coats.”
Ultimately, what sets Friedman’s articles apart is not only her wealth of fashion knowledge, but also her writing abilities, which are undeniably impressive. It is clear that she loves writing about fashion, and she paints a picture quite well.
Friedman also uses visuals to help “paint a picture” – she usually inserts a lot of multi-media into her articles, including slideshows and videos of fashion shows for context.
Friedman’s nut grafs generally relate to fashion on a larger scale and she often drops copious facts about household names without sounding stiff. She also likes to quote household names. She references Tom Ford in one article, “Day clothes don’t really exist anymore. It’s all jeans or workout gear.” In a tweet several days ago, she paid tribute to the late Karl Lagerfeld and shared his famous quote, “I’m very much down to earth. Just not this earth.”
Friedman also likes to ask questions in her articles that make the reader think. For example, another one of her articles is titled “More Women Than Ever Are Running for President. Do Designers Care?” Friedman infuses feminism into her writing, which is one of the main reasons why I admire her so much. She is never afraid to ask questions, ranging from the staples of fashion to the conventions of our society. She enjoys voicing her opinion and making statements that could be viewed as controversial or harsh.