Suzy Menkes and Gladys Perint Palmer, Academy of Art University executive director of fashion
“Suzy Menkes has a strong presence, not only in her writing, but in person. Her confident speaking tone has a reassured resonance tempered by a charming smile.” Mignon A. Gould, Editor of The Chic Spy
Suzy Menkes has captured an audience of fashion-enthused readers who crave her witty sartorial writings.
From “Prints in the Cyberage,” which discussed how prints and patterns for textiles have taken on a new appearance in the digital age, to “Ralph Lauren: New in an Old World,” in which she wrote about Lauren’s restoration of a town house store in Paris — it’s evident that the prominent fashion journalist is on the pulse of what’s happening in the fashion world.
The Paris-based journalist, who is the fashion editor for the International Herald Tribune (the global edition of the New York Times), can often be seen sitting front row, center, at high-profile fashion shows. And for designers, this can be the highlight of their show — for Menkes to pen her critique of their collection.
Her journalistic style is unmistakable for a witty prose that practically dances off the paper. Phrases like “The cauldron of cyberspace wizardry has bubbled up” (Prints in the Cyberage) and “foot-tapping surge of freedom” (American Women on the March), are examples of mastery in her craft. She was even named an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contribution to journalism.
This week, the well-known journalist — for the second year in a row — visited the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where she spoke with fashion journalism students. She also participated in a panel discussion called “If Fashion is for Everyone, is it Fashion?” with Gladys Perint Palmer, the executive director of fashion at the Academy, before a packed auditorium of faculty and students.
Claudia Paolinelli, Taylor Roark, Philip Washington, and Shaneia Caldwell (Academy of Art University journalism students who participated in the roundtable discussion and symposium)
During the roundtable discussion, the students shared their backgrounds and career aspirations and were given the opportunity to ask Menkes about her role as a fashion journalist. During the discussion, Menkes spoke candidly about a variety of topics ranging from the impact of social media on fashion, to the inspiration for past articles she has written, such as “American Women on the March,” a review of an exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum.
“It’s not about fashion, it’s about the woman,” Menkes said about the Met’s Costume Institute exhibition, “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” which is a visual foray into the history of liberation for women through the display of fashions from periods 1890-1940.
Gladys Perint Palmer and Suzy Menkes during panel discussion at Morgan Auditorium
At the “If Fashion is for Everyone, is it Fashion?” symposium, Menkes answered questions running the gamut from how she uses her journalistic intuition to decipher what her audience wants to know, to how the lack of diversity in the fashion industry can be remedied.
With her British poise, Menkes didn’t miss a beat. She was diligent and made a point to address each student who had a question for her. In a couple of instances, she even asked students their opinion in regards to the question that they had posed.
Note: As part of BritWeek San Francisco, Mayor Gavin Newsom declared May 6, 2010, Suzy Menkes Day in San Francisco.
(Photo credits: Thechicspy.com)Chicly Yours,
The Chic Spy
