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Speaker 1: Mayaan.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the ACRO Podcast.

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Speaker 3: I am with Leah Fay Cooper.

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Speaker 1: An icon writer, editor all the amazing things. You have

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Speaker 1: such a great perspective on fashion and culture, so I'm

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Speaker 1: so excited to have you today.

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Speaker 3: Thank you so much, happy to be here.

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Speaker 1: How did your path and fashion start? Where did you

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Speaker 1: get your start and how did it end up where

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Speaker 1: you are now?

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Speaker 3: Well, I grew up loving fashion. I was always very,

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Speaker 3: very very serious about what I wore from a really

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Speaker 3: young age. Yes, very serious. I remember picking out my

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Speaker 3: outfits for the first week of kindergarten and like laying

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Speaker 3: them all out and really thinking hard about it. I

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Speaker 3: love that, and I always really loved magazines. So I'm

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Speaker 3: someone who knew very early on what I wanted to do.

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Speaker 3: You know, I wanted to be a fashion editor, you know,

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Speaker 3: since I was in elementary school, really like as soon

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Speaker 3: as I figured out what it was, and so I

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Speaker 3: was really laser focused on that goal for a long time.

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Speaker 3: I studied English in undergrad and actually my plan was to,

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Speaker 3: you know, like many of my peers, right out of school,

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Speaker 3: moved to New York City, clawed my way into like

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Speaker 3: an assistant job, like start out in a fashion closet

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Speaker 3: at Hurst or Conde or timing at the time where

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Speaker 3: like in style and you know people and all those

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Speaker 3: macs were. But I actually discovered Teach for America when

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Speaker 3: I was in college, and I was really inspired by

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Speaker 3: the program and told myself that if I got in,

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Speaker 3: I was going to be a public school teacher for

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Speaker 3: two years before I pursued my fashion career. So I

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Speaker 3: ended up getting in, and I wanted to be in

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Speaker 3: New York. But my first choice is New York City,

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Speaker 3: assuming that I would get in, and New York's the

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Speaker 3: only city that I'll be called for. So I made

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Speaker 3: my number two a city, yes I mean my number two,

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Speaker 3: a city that was warm but affordable on a teacher's salary,

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Speaker 3: and I chose Houston, Texas. Had never been to Texas

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Speaker 3: a day in my life. I also wanted to teach kindergarten,

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Speaker 3: and I got into the program. I got Houston, Texas

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Speaker 3: High School. Oh wow, so not New York City kindergarten.

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Speaker 3: But it ended up being amazing. It was like the

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Speaker 3: best two years of my life. I had a fantastic time.

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Speaker 3: So I taught high school English for two years in Houston.

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Speaker 3: It was hilarious, amazing. It was you know, fashion has

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Speaker 3: been hard, teaching was much harder, like harder.

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Speaker 2: Teenagers are scarier than both. The only thing I can think.

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Speaker 3: It was it was so hard but also so rewarding

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Speaker 3: and also very hard to leave. Like I definitely like I,

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Speaker 3: I definitely grappled with that decision a lot. But you know,

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Speaker 3: Teach for America has a huge network, and so that

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Speaker 3: was one of the things that made that decision a

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Speaker 3: bit easier is that I knew I could always like

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Speaker 3: be involved in education in some way. So I taught

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Speaker 3: for two years in Houston, and then I ended up

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Speaker 3: getting a job at a local lifestyle magazine in Houston.

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Speaker 3: Houston has a big ladies who lunch, philanthropy, gala restaurant

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Speaker 3: party scene. So I was at a magazine called h

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Speaker 3: Texas for a year and then I moved to New York.

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Speaker 3: I had a very typical first year in New York,

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Speaker 3: where I was going out every night. I say, I

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Speaker 3: like to say I did adulthood in reverse because I

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Speaker 3: was in Houston, and you know, it was very affordable

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Speaker 3: to live there. I was very responsible. I was a teacher,

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Speaker 3: I had a car, I had a nice apartment and

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Speaker 3: I had you know, a four one k all those things,

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Speaker 3: and then I moved to New York and you know, I,

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Speaker 3: like I said, I was a waitress. I was a tutor.

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Speaker 3: I went out every night, like I really was just

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Speaker 3: trying to figure it out.

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Speaker 2: That's New York, does that? Yeah, I have to kind

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Speaker 2: of move here and then just basically party for a year,

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Speaker 2: like okay, where's my life exactly?

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Speaker 3: Yeah. I was writing for Time Out in New York,

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Speaker 3: and then I applied for grad school. I applied to

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Speaker 3: journalism school at Columbia, which anyone listening who's considering journalism school,

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Speaker 3: it's amazing. I got an amazing education there. It's definitely

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Speaker 3: not like a make or break your your journalism career

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Speaker 3: degree by any means. I loved it, but again it's

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Speaker 3: not like there's so many people who are successful in

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Speaker 3: the industry who have not gone to grad school. So,

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Speaker 3: just as an aside, but yeah, I went to journalism

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Speaker 3: school and then yeah, I was just super laser focused on,

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Speaker 3: you know, being a fashion editor, and that's hard to do.

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Speaker 3: You know, the jobs are really few and far between,

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Speaker 3: so I was just taking anything that I could get

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Speaker 3: and it was a lot of part time, a lot

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Speaker 3: of freelance, a lot of you know, so when would

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Speaker 3: go on maternity leave, so I would work for three

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Speaker 3: months at the New York Post, or I was still

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Speaker 3: you know, like writing for very nominal fee at Timeout

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Speaker 3: New York Perier, the water company, like had an editorial

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Speaker 3: platform called Society Perier that I was writing for for

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Speaker 3: a little bit for again a very small hourly rate.

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Speaker 3: I did two like short term stints at Glamor Magazine.

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Speaker 3: Like I was just really you know, writing for whoever

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Speaker 3: I could, and eventually I ended up at StyleCaster. I

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Speaker 3: was doing branded content and this was really like the

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Speaker 3: early early branded content a year, so I was a

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Speaker 3: one woman show. I was like Sacks, for example, would say,

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Speaker 3: you know, we're going to give you guys X amount

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Speaker 3: of dollars and we want you to do an editor

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Speaker 3: shoot of like what we have coming in for spring.

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Speaker 3: And I would say, Okay, these are the editors that

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Speaker 3: are going to be in the shoot. And I'd find

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Speaker 3: the photographer and I'd say, okay, we're going to shoot

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Speaker 3: in the studio, or I'd work with the photographer to

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Speaker 3: find a location. Sometimes I would be in the shoot

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Speaker 3: myself and then I'd write the story. I'd you know,

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Speaker 3: go back and forth with Sacks to make sure that

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Speaker 3: they were happy with the copy, but that it was

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Speaker 3: up to our standard, you know, work with the sales

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Speaker 3: team to make sure they were aligned, and then you know,

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Speaker 3: that story would go live and I would say, presented

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Speaker 3: by Sacks. Now, branded content obviously is like you know,

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Speaker 3: and it's a whole separate department. But I did that

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Speaker 3: for a bit of style caster, and then went to

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Speaker 3: cove Tour, where I started off as features editor, and

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Speaker 3: then I believe I became a senior features editor, and

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Speaker 3: then I became editorial director. I was at covetur for

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Speaker 3: three years until the pandemic, and then I went freelance

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Speaker 3: and was very fortunate that right off the bat I

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Speaker 3: got assigned a story at Vanity Fair and soon became

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Speaker 3: a contributing editor there and was also writing for Harbor's

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Speaker 3: bizarre New York magazine LL Lots of Great Places. Was

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Speaker 3: really enjoying freelance and told myself, you know, or people

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Speaker 3: would always ask like, would you leave freelance? And I said,

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Speaker 3: you know, not really, only unless like Vogue called me,

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Speaker 3: not really thinking that would happen, but lo and behold,

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Speaker 3: Vogue did call me and so I they had a

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Speaker 3: physician that they're creating digital style directors. So my name

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Speaker 3: had come up, and I interviewed for that and got

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Speaker 3: that job and spent two amazing, amazing years at Vogue

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Speaker 3: and just left this past November, and now I am

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Speaker 3: back to the freelance life, working on lots of amazing projects,

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Speaker 3: traveling a lot. So yes, that brings us to today.

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Speaker 1: Oh that's incredible.

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Speaker 3: I love that.

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Speaker 2: It's such a testament to your dedication.

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Speaker 1: And you're like, I said I was going to write

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Speaker 1: for Vogue.

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Speaker 2: I did. I said I was going to be a teacher.

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Speaker 2: I did it. I said I was going to move

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Speaker 2: to New York. I got up and moved to New York.

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Speaker 2: I love that energy.

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Speaker 1: And I feel like women sometimes move with fear, and

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Speaker 1: you weren't moving with fear.

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Speaker 2: You were like I said, I was going to do it,

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Speaker 2: I'm doing it.

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Speaker 3: And I love that.

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Speaker 1: What do you think helped move you forward during that phase?

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Speaker 1: For each chapter where you're pushing and pushing? Do you

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Speaker 1: think it was your drive? Do you think it was ambition?

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Speaker 1: Do you think what do you think really helped you

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Speaker 1: keep everything pushing forward?

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Speaker 3: Constantly, So I think it was a combination of things.

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Speaker 3: One was definitely ambition, is that I just really really

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Speaker 3: really wanted this for myself. And I also, you know,

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Speaker 3: I often tell people that I truly feel like this

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Speaker 3: chose me. And I know that that may sound kind

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Speaker 3: of cheesy, but this is really hard, and like those

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Speaker 3: years between grad school and ending up at Coveteur were

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Speaker 3: so hard, Like I was so broke. And when I

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Speaker 3: say that I applied for jobs at every single magazine

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Speaker 3: that I now work for, like magazines that I've written

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Speaker 3: covers for, magazines that sometimes not reach out to me,

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Speaker 3: and I say, like, I'm actually too busy, I can't

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Speaker 3: do this assignment. For when I say I applied to

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Speaker 3: jobs multiple times, interviewed multiple times, got to the final

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Speaker 3: round several times, and did not get those jobs at

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Speaker 3: every single one of those magazines, like that's hard, Like

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Speaker 3: it was ninety nine percent rejection for years, and that

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Speaker 3: is really demoralizing. And I was broke, broke, broke, broke, broke,

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Speaker 3: So yeah, it chose me, because why would you want

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Speaker 3: to do that? You know, and you know, I cover

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Speaker 3: a family, like you know, my sister who's like so

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Speaker 3: fab is you know has an MBA and you know

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Speaker 3: as an executive, and my little brother has an MBA

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Speaker 3: and works in finance. And my mom was a healthcare

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Speaker 3: executive and my dad was a lawyer, like everyone is

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Speaker 3: in business and chose a much more like a stable

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Speaker 3: career path. So yeah, one it was just like you

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Speaker 3: know that like ambition, I was just laser focused. But also,

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Speaker 3: you know, you know, my support system was great, like

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Speaker 3: I have, you know, my family, Like, yeah, my family

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Speaker 3: is just amazing. Like when I moved to New York,

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Speaker 3: I spent the first like six months i'd say, living

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Speaker 3: with my sister and brother in law in Brooklyn, and

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Speaker 3: they just have been like, you know, my biggest like

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Speaker 3: cheerleaders in support system like ever since then, you know,

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Speaker 3: even you know to this day, Like I spend a

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Speaker 3: lot of time at my sister and brother in law's house,

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Speaker 3: Like I really love being with my family, and my

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Speaker 3: little brother lives here now, and you know, just having

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Speaker 3: like having a community, like I have really really wonderful

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Speaker 3: friends Like that was also you know, like really really helpful.

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Speaker 3: You know, having people around you who celebrated even like

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Speaker 3: the smallest when and who really you know, affirmed like yes,

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Speaker 3: you can do this. I think that was, you know,

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Speaker 3: really helpful.

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Speaker 1: Were you selective really on with what you wrote about

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Speaker 1: or were you open to anything and everything that you

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Speaker 1: could get at that point?

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Speaker 3: I was pretty selective, But I think part of that

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Speaker 3: was because there's some things that I'm just not There's

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Speaker 3: some things that I'm not qualified to write about, you know,

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Speaker 3: like I don't know anything about cars, so I shouldn't

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Speaker 3: be writing about cars, Like I don't you know, personal finance,

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Speaker 3: like you know, everyone has like their beat, their expertise,

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Speaker 3: and so fashion culture, the intersection of fashion and sport.

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Speaker 3: Those are things that I know well that I can

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Speaker 3: write about, like with authority and with confidence. So I

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Speaker 3: would say I was selective in that regard.

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Speaker 1: Yes, do you feel like you had confidence in your

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Speaker 1: perspective or did that take a lot of time.

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Speaker 3: That is taken to I think I'm constantly working on that,

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Speaker 3: and I think every writer, you know should be. I

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Speaker 3: read a lot, which I think is helpful. But again,

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Speaker 3: I really, you know, tried to write what I knew.

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Speaker 1: Did you feel like you had a clear sense of

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Speaker 1: your taste back then or did that come later?

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Speaker 3: So it's funny I look back at you know photos

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Speaker 3: of myself and I'm like, girl, what were you wearing?

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Speaker 3: But at the time I loved it and I was

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Speaker 3: feeling myself, So yes, I think that I all. I mean,

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Speaker 3: like I said, I was always very, very very serious

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Speaker 3: about what I wore. I always knew what I liked.

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Speaker 3: I never really hesitated, and I'm still like that now.

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Speaker 3: It's funny. I was recently on a trip with a

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Speaker 3: friend and we were going to a friend's birthday party

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Speaker 3: and I told her I brought two dresses, you know,

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Speaker 3: come to my room and tell me which one you

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Speaker 3: like better. And she gave me this look that was

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Speaker 3: like why, And I was like, you're right, I don't

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Speaker 3: care which any like better because I don't. And I've

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Speaker 3: always been like that. I prefer to shop by myself.

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Speaker 3: I of course don't mind if people come shopping with me,

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Speaker 3: and I think it can be fun. But I truly,

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Speaker 3: you know, when it comes to what I like and

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Speaker 3: what I wear and my taste, I have never been

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Speaker 3: able to be like influenced by anyone else. I truly

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Speaker 3: could not care less what anyone thinks about what I wear,

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Speaker 3: what I like, or my style. So I've always been

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Speaker 3: I've always been pretty clear and what I like. Now, Yes,

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Speaker 3: in retrospect, there's some things I look back at and

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Speaker 3: I'm like, that looks so insane, But at the time

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Speaker 3: I was feeling myself.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: On that note, what do you do to hone your taste?

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Speaker 1: We talk about on the podcast a lot how taste

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Speaker 1: is your currency, and your taste is really with social

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Speaker 1: media and everything. It's like your taste is what you have,

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Speaker 1: and your taste is what defines you. So what do

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Speaker 1: you do? You said you're not influenced by other people,

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Speaker 1: which I think is amazing. So what do you do

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Speaker 1: to hone your taste?

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Speaker 3: I would say, you know, you mean in terms of

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Speaker 3: my personal style.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, just what you think is what you like, what

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Speaker 1: you think is tasteful, what you think is chic, maybe

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Speaker 1: what you really identify with.

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Speaker 3: So well, I want to say when I say that,

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Speaker 3: I'm not really I wouldn't say that I'm not influenced

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Speaker 3: by other people. I would say that I'm definitely very

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Speaker 3: observant of other people. I'm definitely very obs so, and

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Speaker 3: especially living in New York City, you know, like I'm

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Speaker 3: on the subway, I'm constantly, you know, observing what people

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Speaker 3: are wearing I saw this man. I saw this older

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Speaker 3: gentleman in the grocery store yesterday at Wegman's, and he

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Speaker 3: was wearing a full Canadian tuxedo with like a brown hat.

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Speaker 3: He had this like silver necklace on, and he just

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Speaker 3: looks so cool and you could tell that it was

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Speaker 3: You could tell that he wasn't trying to look cool like.

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Speaker 3: You could tell that he just, you know, he just

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Speaker 3: put that on. And so things like that I pay

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Speaker 3: attention to. And I would say that I also am

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Speaker 3: a huge proponent of mixing and matching things like in

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Speaker 3: my own wardrobe, things that I would never think would

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Speaker 3: go together. I do that a lot. I love I

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Speaker 3: always a dress a girl like. While other you know,

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Speaker 3: kids might have enjoyed, I wasn't like big into riding

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Speaker 3: a bike, er playing with dolls or anything. I've really

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Speaker 3: enjoyed playing with clothes and I still enjoy doing that.

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Speaker 3: I still enjoy just you know, putting outfits together. So

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Speaker 3: that's something that I do. I love to browse as well.

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Speaker 3: And I'm actually not a huge huge shopper, but I

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Speaker 3: love looking at clothes. You know, I have all the

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Speaker 3: apps far fetch net, VESTI Air, the real, real, and

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Speaker 3: that's where my screen time goes. That's that's where most

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Speaker 3: of my screen time is. If you were to look

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Speaker 3: at my phone, it's just you know, scrolling and looking

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Speaker 3: at those. So, you know, I don't know if I'm

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Speaker 3: contradicting myself here. I say that I don't. I don't

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Speaker 3: what other people think of my clothes. And I will

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Speaker 3: say that, you know, trends that are really pervasive, I

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Speaker 3: don't feel a need to follow necessarily. For example, a peplam.

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Speaker 3: I was never a peplam person, and you know, peplums

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Speaker 3: were all the rage and I and they briefly came back, yeah,

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Speaker 3: and I was that just was never for me, and

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Speaker 3: I was okay with that. WEG sneaker. I never owned

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Speaker 3: a Wedge sneaker.

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Speaker 2: Those are also back, clearly.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and listen, some of the girls look really cool

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Speaker 3: in them, but they're just it just was not, you know,

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Speaker 3: for me, and I'm okay with that. But yeah, I

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Speaker 3: definitely look at people and I'm like, oh, wow, like

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Speaker 3: that looks that looks cool. And I would say also

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Speaker 3: older people too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, I like that.

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Speaker 1: I like that because they have there's also like a

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Speaker 1: sense of confidence to like smart older dressing that I love.

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Speaker 1: That it's like, oh, you are owning that, which I love.

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Speaker 3: And I only one more thing is that I'm I'm

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Speaker 3: also a really big proponent of only buying things that

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Speaker 3: you really really love, that you know you're going to

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Speaker 3: wear multiple times or that you're going to have a

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Speaker 3: long time, and also buying things when you see them,

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Speaker 3: like if you can afford them, not I'm not ever

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Speaker 3: scrambling for something to wear to a wedding or a gala.

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Speaker 3: I already have it, because I think that's where you

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Speaker 3: end up buying a lot of things that you don't

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Speaker 3: need or.

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Speaker 1: Don't really like and are only going to wear ones.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and then you have a lot of things that

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Speaker 3: you kind of like have settled for.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's great advice.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, Because so if I see something that I really love,

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Speaker 3: a bab dress that I really love that's for a

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Speaker 3: black tie event, if I can afford it, I buy it.

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Speaker 3: And honestly, every every day is an occasion to be

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Speaker 3: fab So it's fine, you know, if you can afford it,

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Speaker 3: it's in your budget. You don't think that it's wasteful

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Speaker 3: because I certainly don't like to overconsume you know, I'd

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Speaker 3: rather have a few really nice things than just a

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Speaker 3: bunch of stuff. I'm not someone who needs a ton

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Speaker 3: of things. Then you know get it, and that way,

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Speaker 3: like when someone invites you to a gala or a wedding,

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Speaker 3: you have it. You know, you're not running around so

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Speaker 3: like a crazy person. That's me.

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Speaker 2: And then I wear and I'm like, well, I'm never

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Speaker 2: going to touch that again. Yeah, I do that weekly almost. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: that's me. This is great advice.

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Speaker 1: What feels different about fashion today compared to when you

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Speaker 1: started out? In what way the industry like the industry

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Speaker 1: as a whole? And yes, also I want to ask

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Speaker 1: what role do you think editors play now versus what

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Speaker 1: they the role that they played in the past, because

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Speaker 1: I feel like it's changed so much.

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Speaker 3: Well, I will say I think when I was growing up,

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Speaker 3: first of all, there was no social media, and so

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Speaker 3: editors themselves were not really we're far less visible than

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Speaker 3: they are now. You know, like I had no idea

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Speaker 3: what Kathy Horn and Ruth Laferla and Terry Aggins and

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Speaker 3: Rob mccavaughan even looked like, you know, I just knew

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Speaker 3: their byline. So that's something that's very new. Editors themselves

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Speaker 3: being very front facing and being you know, like brands

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Speaker 3: themselves and many you know, also being influencers. That's something

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Speaker 3: that's very new. I think that a lot of unfortunately,

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Speaker 3: I think this is unfortunate that a lot of criticism

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Speaker 3: has gone by the wayside. I think a lot of

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Speaker 3: publications shy away from it. Yeah, you know, much more

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Speaker 3: than they used to, because no one wants to upset brands.

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Speaker 3: You know. The criticism used to be much more critical,

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Speaker 3: for lack of a better word, yep. So that's a

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Speaker 3: big change.

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Speaker 1: And I feel like you can also see where the

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Speaker 1: milk is made more a lot more now. Like fashion

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Speaker 1: used to kind of run on, like like you said,

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Speaker 1: criticism and it just you didn't know where the money

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Speaker 1: came from.

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Speaker 2: It was just like how do they keep this going?

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Speaker 1: How is this house running? How is this publication going?

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Speaker 1: And now it's like, you know exactly who's buying the

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Speaker 1: ad space and exactly where the money.

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Speaker 3: Is coming from. And then it's just way more visible,

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Speaker 3: which I don't think. I don't think that's necessarily a

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Speaker 3: bad thing. I mean, fashion and it's very exclusive for

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Speaker 3: a very long time, and just it's like very unattainable,

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Speaker 3: you know, exclusive world that was reserved for a you know, small, small,

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Speaker 3: small group of very privileged people. And now it's an

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Speaker 3: industry that way more people can participate in, which I

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Speaker 3: think is a good thing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's a good thing as well.

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Speaker 1: What does a day in the life look like for you?

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Speaker 3: Right now?

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Speaker 1: You're an iconic New York fashion editor, You're now freelance,

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Speaker 1: You're doing your own thing. What is what is a

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Speaker 1: day to day?

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Speaker 3: An overstatement? Now I will tell you. I will tell

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Speaker 3: you about a day in real life. Okay. So I

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Speaker 3: am an early riser by habit.

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Speaker 1: No, wait, I love knowing when people wake up.

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Speaker 2: That's my favorite thing.

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Speaker 3: Wait a minute, is it by I'm an early riser

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Speaker 3: by discipline, not by nature. Yes, not by nature. If

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Speaker 3: it were up to me, I would wake up. Who

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Speaker 3: knows when I like? I love sleeping. But yes, by

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Speaker 3: by like discipline, I am an early riser. I am

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Speaker 3: a hot yoga enthusiast. So I normally take a I

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Speaker 3: normally take a seven am class. Sometimes I six point

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Speaker 3: thirty if I'm super ambitious, and then sometimes an eight

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Speaker 3: if I can get away with that. But normally a

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Speaker 3: seven am class. So I'm up at six twenty six thirty,

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Speaker 3: take a seven am yoga class. After yoga, come home, shower,

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Speaker 3: get ready. I have a coworking space in Soho. I

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Speaker 3: am an office person. I really work at home. Like

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Speaker 3: never resonated with me. I always preferred going to the office.

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Speaker 3: I like a separation between work and home. My like

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Speaker 3: home to be for eating and relaxing and TV and sleeping.

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Speaker 3: I also live in a studio that doesn't have a

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Speaker 3: ton of sunlight and doesn't have a great, you know,

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Speaker 3: separate area for working. I bought my desk chair purely

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Speaker 3: for esthetics. It's not comfortable at all. So when I

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Speaker 3: do work from home, i end up on the couch

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Speaker 3: and then I'm like, let me just watch an episode

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Speaker 3: of Sex in the City, and before you know it,

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Speaker 3: I've not gotten any work done. So yeah, so get up,

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Speaker 3: get ready. Sometimes I'm going straight to the coworking space

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Speaker 3: in Soho. A lot of times I'll have a preview,

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Speaker 3: so you know, I'll go look at a collection, or

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Speaker 3: I'll go to a brand's breakfast. I will do something

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Speaker 3: like this, have a meeting or a podcast in then

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Speaker 3: back in the office. It's emails, you know, I actually

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Speaker 3: can you know, walk me through you know today? So

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Speaker 3: I'm here now. After this podcast, I am going to

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Speaker 3: a preview for a jewelry brand. Then I will be

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Speaker 3: at my coworking space where I'll be working on a

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Speaker 3: story that is due by the end of the day.

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Speaker 3: I have a zoom with a publication at four pm

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Speaker 3: for a big project that I am spearheading. And then

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Speaker 3: I am going home to pack for a trip that

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Speaker 3: I am going on on Friday. So there's also a

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Speaker 3: lot of There's also a lot more travel with freelance,

435
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:56,719
Speaker 3: a mix of personal and a mix of personal brand

436
00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:00,399
Speaker 3: trips and then also reporting trips.

437
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:14,560
Speaker 1: Big what does your work look like right now?

438
00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:15,680
Speaker 2: What are you focused on?

439
00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:16,600
Speaker 3: Like? What is? What is?

440
00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:18,720
Speaker 1: What are you really passionate that you want to write

441
00:27:18,720 --> 00:27:19,400
Speaker 1: about right now?

442
00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:25,960
Speaker 3: So I love sports and when I went freelance the

443
00:27:26,040 --> 00:27:30,600
Speaker 3: first time, my first story was for Vanity Fair and

444
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 3: I had pitched a story. This was during the pandemic,

445
00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:36,159
Speaker 3: and it was when the NBA was in a bubble,

446
00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 3: and I had noticed that despite being in the bubble,

447
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:46,399
Speaker 3: and I believe the gentlemen were within Disney World, or

448
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,240
Speaker 3: they were I think in some amusement park. They were

449
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:54,879
Speaker 3: in Orlando, they were still really dressing well for the games,

450
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:59,480
Speaker 3: and a lot of them were in some very exclusive

451
00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,719
Speaker 3: Heart to Get fashion and I thought that that was

452
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:08,639
Speaker 3: I appreciated the commitment to the look. And I also

453
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:11,080
Speaker 3: was just so curious as to how they were getting

454
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,800
Speaker 3: all these fab pieces to Orlando during a pandemic, and

455
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,639
Speaker 3: I really wanted to investigate, like the mail room situation.

456
00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:21,840
Speaker 3: I was like wow, I was like, what is going on?

457
00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:25,760
Speaker 3: Like what is there, you know, a mail room full

458
00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:30,840
Speaker 3: of Rick Owen's garment bags being shipped from Paris or wherever?

459
00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:35,840
Speaker 3: And Manny Fair really they liked the idea, but they

460
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,280
Speaker 3: wanted the story for print. I had pitched it for digital,

461
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,400
Speaker 3: they wanted the story for print, and you know, in publishing,

462
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:45,160
Speaker 3: you know print, we work three months out, so you know,

463
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:47,920
Speaker 3: you file your story and it doesn't come out for

464
00:28:47,920 --> 00:28:52,640
Speaker 3: another three months. So I instead ended up doing a

465
00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:56,560
Speaker 3: more broad story about you know, kind of the state

466
00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 3: of the tunnel walk and you know how NBA players,

467
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:04,560
Speaker 3: you know, were increasingly working with stylists on their game

468
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:11,760
Speaker 3: day looks, and that story kind of like you know,

469
00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,000
Speaker 3: kicks started this like niche for me that I've you know,

470
00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,360
Speaker 3: continued now, and that's that's one of the areas that

471
00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 3: I'm most passionate about covering, is this intersection of fashion

472
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:25,920
Speaker 3: in sport. So that's something I'm really excited about that

473
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,640
Speaker 3: I'm doing a lot of coverage on. I've always been

474
00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 3: very passionate about, you know, black storytelling, you know, as

475
00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:40,640
Speaker 3: a black woman. Last year's Met Gala, it was, you know,

476
00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:46,040
Speaker 3: such an honor to do so much storytelling around that theme.

477
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:50,360
Speaker 3: I wrote. There were four covers. I wrote, the Asap

478
00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,719
Speaker 3: Rocky cover and the Lewis Hamilton cover. I did a

479
00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:58,880
Speaker 3: story where I had Vogue staffers and also friends of

480
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,760
Speaker 3: Vogue submit you know. The theme was you know, the

481
00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:07,160
Speaker 3: black dandy or of the Met Exhibit, and I did

482
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 3: a story where I had Vogue staffers and friends of

483
00:30:09,640 --> 00:30:13,240
Speaker 3: Vogue submit photos of the black dandies in their lives

484
00:30:13,320 --> 00:30:18,640
Speaker 3: along with you know, a brief you know, some writing

485
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 3: about them. And I thought that was like so special

486
00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,720
Speaker 3: and it was really meaningful to a lot of the

487
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:27,280
Speaker 3: people who participated. As a way to you know, like

488
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,720
Speaker 3: honor some of the men in their family. We did

489
00:30:30,760 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 3: a story, a story I assigned on some you know

490
00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,320
Speaker 3: black tailors throughout the country, Wow. And that was another

491
00:30:38,400 --> 00:30:42,360
Speaker 3: one that I really loved. There was a tailor in

492
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,719
Speaker 3: Alabama who he covered and the local news ended up

493
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:53,560
Speaker 3: doing a segment on him, and that again was very

494
00:30:53,640 --> 00:30:58,760
Speaker 3: special because you know, I don't think a tailor in Alabama,

495
00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:03,120
Speaker 3: you know, ever think that you know, he would see

496
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:08,240
Speaker 3: himself on Vogue. Yeah, you know, And so those those

497
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:12,200
Speaker 3: stories are really special. Another one we did for MLK

498
00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:16,040
Speaker 3: Day was we did a shoot at his alma mater, Morehouse,

499
00:31:16,080 --> 00:31:20,000
Speaker 3: which is also my younger brother's alma mater, about just

500
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:24,200
Speaker 3: the legacy of you know, sutorial excellence on that campus.

501
00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:27,800
Speaker 3: You know, the young men there dressed very well and

502
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:32,440
Speaker 3: there are you know, certain occasions where they're expected to

503
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:37,480
Speaker 3: and required to dress really well on campus. And we

504
00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:41,320
Speaker 3: sent a photographer down there to capture that, and I

505
00:31:41,360 --> 00:31:44,360
Speaker 3: love that. So many people asked me who styled that

506
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:49,560
Speaker 3: shoot and my response was nobody, you know, that's how

507
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:54,080
Speaker 3: they dressed. Uh. So that's also something that I've I've

508
00:31:54,120 --> 00:31:57,920
Speaker 3: always been you know, really passionate about as well.

509
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,680
Speaker 1: That's such a beautiful way to interpret and cover that

510
00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:04,600
Speaker 1: met theme. I love that, Like that, wouldn't I feel

511
00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,200
Speaker 1: like everybody always goes so celebrity. And I love the

512
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:09,520
Speaker 1: idea of actually going back to the tailors who really

513
00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,200
Speaker 1: are creating black tailoring, and they really are the ones

514
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:12,760
Speaker 1: that are doing it.

515
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:13,959
Speaker 2: I think that's amazing.

516
00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,720
Speaker 3: Yeah, And can I share one more? The other one?

517
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:22,520
Speaker 3: Another one story that I assigned to Daisy Maldonado was

518
00:32:24,080 --> 00:32:31,280
Speaker 3: young people, amazing young people, young Mexican Americans reclaiming like

519
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:39,400
Speaker 3: their traditional dress, so long braids, gold jewelry, you know,

520
00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:44,520
Speaker 3: in light of the state of the world and you know,

521
00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:52,640
Speaker 3: immigration policies, you know, going back to their roots and

522
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:58,080
Speaker 3: really wearing literally wearing their heritage, you know, on their sleeves.

523
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 3: I thought that it that was a really important story,

524
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 3: you know, she pitched it. It was something that she

525
00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:09,840
Speaker 3: noticed happening within her community, something that she saw being

526
00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:14,680
Speaker 3: shared on TikTok, and it's it's not always easy to

527
00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 3: find like a fashion angle or in our case, a

528
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:26,280
Speaker 3: Vogue angle to cover you know, some things that are happening,

529
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:31,160
Speaker 3: like politically and culturally. And she did that so beautifully

530
00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 3: and brilliantly, And that was a story that I was

531
00:33:34,800 --> 00:33:36,920
Speaker 3: really really proud to publish.

532
00:33:37,160 --> 00:33:40,160
Speaker 1: She's so sweet and likable and talented. Also, she's just

533
00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:43,320
Speaker 1: like a really lovely, like bubbly personality. She's always just

534
00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:45,200
Speaker 1: kind of like she's grateful.

535
00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:46,200
Speaker 2: She really is wonderful.

536
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:48,880
Speaker 1: What is most important to you in this stage? Is

537
00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 1: it the ability to tell those stories? Is it having

538
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,360
Speaker 1: control over what you're writing about. Is it enjoying what

539
00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 1: you're writing about? Is it freedom to travel? What really

540
00:33:58,920 --> 00:34:01,880
Speaker 1: feels like a priority for you right now in your career?

541
00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:06,080
Speaker 3: I would say two things. I would say, One is,

542
00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,319
Speaker 3: you know, telling the types of stories that I just

543
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:15,839
Speaker 3: described to you, you know, you know, stories that platform

544
00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:21,440
Speaker 3: you know, people and voices that aren't often platformed in

545
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,799
Speaker 3: the fashion space. And then I would say after that,

546
00:34:25,080 --> 00:34:29,560
Speaker 3: it would be I guess, you know, reaching behind. I

547
00:34:29,560 --> 00:34:34,040
Speaker 3: think that's that's the term so people, you know, I

548
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,080
Speaker 3: have young people reach out to me, you know, pretty

549
00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:41,799
Speaker 3: often asking for my advice about you know, becoming a

550
00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:47,600
Speaker 3: writer or breaking into fashion, and I, you know, I'm

551
00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:50,280
Speaker 3: unfortunately not able to I feel like I'm not able

552
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:56,919
Speaker 3: to be a mentor, you know, like be a full

553
00:34:56,920 --> 00:34:59,319
Speaker 3: time mentor to everybody. But I do try to be

554
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:04,239
Speaker 3: as helpful as I can, and I think that is

555
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,560
Speaker 3: I think that is very important too. That's something that

556
00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:13,640
Speaker 3: I am trying to really prioritize, you know, I think

557
00:35:14,560 --> 00:35:21,320
Speaker 3: it's important for the industry to have diverse voices, especially

558
00:35:21,360 --> 00:35:25,919
Speaker 3: in the writing space, and with the Internet, we've seen

559
00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:30,200
Speaker 3: this happening, you know, for a long time. But I'm

560
00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 3: very much a writer. I know that reading is not

561
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:36,839
Speaker 3: as popular as it once was.

562
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:40,040
Speaker 1: I'm a big reader, and so I always advocate on

563
00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:42,840
Speaker 1: this podcast for reading a lot I love and.

564
00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:47,440
Speaker 3: I think that well, I mean, I know that, you know,

565
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:51,920
Speaker 3: the caliber of writing that I grew up reading, the

566
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:56,840
Speaker 3: caliber fashion writing that I grew up reading, is really waning, yeah,

567
00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:05,040
Speaker 3: and I find that very trouble. So whenever, you know,

568
00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,719
Speaker 3: I hear from a young person who is very passionate

569
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:13,160
Speaker 3: about writing, that's someone who I really, you know, want

570
00:36:13,400 --> 00:36:16,520
Speaker 3: to help and advocate for. And that's something that I

571
00:36:16,560 --> 00:36:20,520
Speaker 3: am passionate about, you know, promoting, because I do think

572
00:36:20,640 --> 00:36:26,080
Speaker 3: that's important. I love a great video as much as

573
00:36:26,239 --> 00:36:31,840
Speaker 3: the next person. And I am absolutely you know, guilty of,

574
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,440
Speaker 3: you know, having an attention span that has been shortened

575
00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,520
Speaker 3: in this digital age. But I do think it's important

576
00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:45,239
Speaker 3: for people to be well read, and I think it's

577
00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:53,719
Speaker 3: important for fashion journalism to have a high standard, you know,

578
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:56,279
Speaker 3: just as other forms of journalism do.

579
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,280
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it.

580
00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:00,239
Speaker 1: It really can be more cerebral than I I think

581
00:37:00,280 --> 00:37:02,359
Speaker 1: people realize, and there really is like you do such

582
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:05,280
Speaker 1: a good job of looping in all of those elements

583
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:07,520
Speaker 1: and tying things together, which is why you're writing. Really

584
00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:09,680
Speaker 1: spoke to me is it's like it's bigger. It's a

585
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:12,560
Speaker 1: bigger picture, and fashion is a bigger picture. And I

586
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:14,879
Speaker 1: feel like it does get lost because it is very

587
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:16,920
Speaker 1: oversaturated right now, and every video is a.

588
00:37:16,920 --> 00:37:19,080
Speaker 2: Fashion video and there's so much and it.

589
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,840
Speaker 1: Is short, and I am I love to read, but

590
00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:25,520
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, my two second attention, spamily, it's killing

591
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,920
Speaker 1: me these days. What fashion moments or shifts that you

592
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:30,760
Speaker 1: see in fashion right now? Are you loving?

593
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:31,920
Speaker 2: What really speaks to you?

594
00:37:32,600 --> 00:37:36,759
Speaker 3: Well? I mean all the creative director debuts. That was

595
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:42,200
Speaker 3: just dizzying. I was dizzying and that was exciting to watch.

596
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:44,000
Speaker 3: I really enjoyed that.

597
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 1: That was that Yeah, And I liked seeing people respond

598
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,440
Speaker 1: to it, and it really felt like the return of fashion,

599
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,319
Speaker 1: like people wearing things that I'm like, I cannot believe that,

600
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:55,680
Speaker 1: like the mass market wants those shoes, Like that's shocking

601
00:37:55,760 --> 00:37:58,560
Speaker 1: to me that the mass market even gets it. I

602
00:37:58,600 --> 00:38:00,839
Speaker 1: love it. I love it. No, that's a great one.

603
00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:08,640
Speaker 1: We're almost done. You're doing unbelievableness. What do you find

604
00:38:08,640 --> 00:38:11,200
Speaker 1: yourself thinking about more when it comes to fashion right now?

605
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:16,879
Speaker 3: Thinking about more? You know, I love luxury. I do

606
00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:21,560
Speaker 3: love luxury, but I think the price points are getting

607
00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,280
Speaker 3: out of hand. That's something that I've been thinking about

608
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:28,239
Speaker 3: a lot with that's so much. I was looking at

609
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 3: something recently, you know, I was looking at some bags

610
00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:39,440
Speaker 3: recently and I was just insane. I was like, who's

611
00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:40,640
Speaker 3: buying this? Yeah?

612
00:38:40,719 --> 00:38:42,080
Speaker 2: Insane? Insane.

613
00:38:42,239 --> 00:38:44,520
Speaker 1: I was in a store the other day and a

614
00:38:44,600 --> 00:38:46,400
Speaker 1: guy was buying a bag for his wife and the

615
00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:50,279
Speaker 1: girl said it's thirteen thousand dollars and he was like

616
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,799
Speaker 1: his and I was like, oh, it's no, it's bad.

617
00:38:52,800 --> 00:38:54,239
Speaker 1: I was like, that's probably one of the cheap ones

618
00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:55,480
Speaker 1: in here right now. I was like, some of these

619
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,640
Speaker 1: go to sixteen eight. I'm like, it's bonana so expensive

620
00:38:58,800 --> 00:39:02,160
Speaker 1: for like a basic It's like yeah, And I was

621
00:39:02,200 --> 00:39:03,359
Speaker 1: like his poor wife.

622
00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,520
Speaker 3: So that, Yeah, that's something that I that's something that

623
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:07,239
Speaker 3: I can't that.

624
00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:11,720
Speaker 1: I'm yeah, no, I do think it's disturbing the prices

625
00:39:11,800 --> 00:39:13,160
Speaker 1: right Yeah, And it just is not.

626
00:39:14,239 --> 00:39:14,640
Speaker 3: I don't know.

627
00:39:14,760 --> 00:39:17,920
Speaker 1: It just feels targeted, it feels purposeful.

628
00:39:17,920 --> 00:39:20,800
Speaker 3: I don't. I don't like it. Yeah, they.

629
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:34,000
Speaker 1: Do you feel like you have a signature when it

630
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,120
Speaker 1: comes to your personal style or does it shift depending

631
00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:36,640
Speaker 1: on the moment.

632
00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:42,800
Speaker 3: I do, and it has shifted very recently. So I

633
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:50,120
Speaker 3: just started wearing pants. This is very major pants. I

634
00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:54,440
Speaker 3: did not wear pants wow. Ever, it was only in

635
00:39:54,480 --> 00:40:01,000
Speaker 3: a skirt or dress for literally the last twenty years.

636
00:40:01,480 --> 00:40:08,000
Speaker 3: And then I told myself, I said, Leah, twenty twenty six,

637
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:12,640
Speaker 3: you are going to try wear pants. I'd been telling

638
00:40:12,680 --> 00:40:16,040
Speaker 3: myself this for years and I just couldn't bring myself

639
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,560
Speaker 3: to do it. I just could not bring myself to

640
00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:20,319
Speaker 3: do it. And I will say part of this is

641
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:23,080
Speaker 3: because I am six to one and it is hard

642
00:40:23,120 --> 00:40:26,080
Speaker 3: to find pants when you're six one. It's not easy.

643
00:40:26,880 --> 00:40:29,720
Speaker 3: But shout out to Daniel Kalmeyer.

644
00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:31,640
Speaker 2: I was going to say, who's making pants?

645
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:35,840
Speaker 3: Keel Meyer as an amazing pair of jeens. The why Nonah,

646
00:40:36,880 --> 00:40:42,040
Speaker 3: which fit me really really really well. And that is

647
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:46,759
Speaker 3: the gene that that is the gene that made me

648
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:51,600
Speaker 3: like okay, that is the gene that eased me into pants.

649
00:40:51,760 --> 00:40:52,120
Speaker 2: Wow.

650
00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,680
Speaker 3: But yeah, Prior to that, I would say one was

651
00:40:56,719 --> 00:41:00,239
Speaker 3: a crop tap. I love a crop tap. Amazing. Yeah,

652
00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:03,279
Speaker 3: my friends like always associate me with the crop top.

653
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 3: You know, if there's a group chat and everyone's saying,

654
00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:10,799
Speaker 3: what's everyone wearing, someone always chimes in, Lily is wearing

655
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:11,399
Speaker 3: a crop chop.

656
00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:16,840
Speaker 1: This iconic fashion editor is like, and you'll catch me

657
00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:19,200
Speaker 1: in a crop I love that.

658
00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:25,279
Speaker 3: I love wearing crop top under this, so that's very me.

659
00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:26,200
Speaker 2: Give us.

660
00:41:26,239 --> 00:41:30,200
Speaker 3: So I love a crop top, and then a crop top.

661
00:41:30,239 --> 00:41:35,399
Speaker 3: I love a midi skirt, and then I love a platform.

662
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:39,400
Speaker 3: I'm almost always I'm either in if I'm in a

663
00:41:39,440 --> 00:41:43,840
Speaker 3: flat shoe, it's a sneaker. Other than that, I'm in

664
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:49,799
Speaker 3: a heel. And yes, it needs to be. It needs

665
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:53,720
Speaker 3: to be it needs to be three point five wow

666
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:57,160
Speaker 3: at least not a yeah.

667
00:41:59,760 --> 00:42:02,799
Speaker 2: Yeah, I love it. I think that's amazing. Okay, I

668
00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:04,600
Speaker 2: love this. That's great advice.

669
00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 1: And I love hearing where we can get some pants

670
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:10,799
Speaker 1: for the tall girls. I love pants. I would wear

671
00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:14,280
Speaker 1: pants every day to every occasion. I never I despise

672
00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:15,960
Speaker 1: being inn ad dress and I despise me because I

673
00:42:16,480 --> 00:42:17,799
Speaker 1: don't think I've wren a skirt.

674
00:42:17,560 --> 00:42:19,040
Speaker 2: In at least a year.

675
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,560
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, I don't I want pants.

676
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:23,800
Speaker 3: Okay, I don't know if it gives me my strength.

677
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:24,680
Speaker 3: So we are opposite.

678
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,240
Speaker 2: I'm pulling my strength from pants.

679
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:32,040
Speaker 3: Because yeah, we're opposites. I I'm still I'm still adjusting.

680
00:42:32,400 --> 00:42:34,920
Speaker 3: Like today, I have on pants, but you see I

681
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:35,840
Speaker 3: have a dress.

682
00:42:35,760 --> 00:42:38,279
Speaker 1: Over them pants, and address you're like, you know what

683
00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:40,719
Speaker 1: if I have a pan putting into it? I like

684
00:42:40,760 --> 00:42:42,439
Speaker 1: that and that's good styling advice to throw a dress

685
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:43,640
Speaker 1: over some pants.

686
00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:44,560
Speaker 2: What advice?

687
00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:46,879
Speaker 3: I like it? I like it.

688
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:48,920
Speaker 1: What advice would you give to a woman who is

689
00:42:48,960 --> 00:42:51,520
Speaker 1: wanting to break into the fashion industry or someone younger

690
00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:53,440
Speaker 1: who does want to be a fashion editor, someone who

691
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:55,640
Speaker 1: wants to emulate your career. What would you tell them?

692
00:42:55,840 --> 00:42:59,520
Speaker 3: Well, first I would tell them, like I said that,

693
00:42:59,760 --> 00:43:05,520
Speaker 3: if it will likely be very challenging, and especially in

694
00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:11,160
Speaker 3: this era of social media, it looks very glamorous, and

695
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,920
Speaker 3: you really have to remind yourself that what you're seeing

696
00:43:15,880 --> 00:43:20,439
Speaker 3: is a highlight reel, and I try to be cognizant

697
00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:25,520
Speaker 3: of that. You know, when I'm sharing, I actually I've

698
00:43:25,560 --> 00:43:29,960
Speaker 3: actually I'm not great at sharing a ton. There's so

699
00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,640
Speaker 3: many things that I need to share. I'm always sharing,

700
00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:37,359
Speaker 3: like five months after something that has happened. I'm known

701
00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:40,200
Speaker 3: for that. I'm known for being like, hey guys, here's

702
00:43:40,239 --> 00:43:43,360
Speaker 3: what's happened in the past eight months of my life

703
00:43:43,440 --> 00:43:49,040
Speaker 3: and just doing like a thirty slide Instagram story. But yes,

704
00:43:49,280 --> 00:43:53,520
Speaker 3: knowing that it can take a lot of time, knowing

705
00:43:53,600 --> 00:43:57,200
Speaker 3: that there will likely be a lot of rejection because

706
00:43:57,239 --> 00:44:00,799
Speaker 3: the opportunities are just so few and far between, and

707
00:44:00,840 --> 00:44:05,719
Speaker 3: they're really dwindling, and the industry is rapidly changing. So

708
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:10,560
Speaker 3: you know, the route that I took doesn't even really

709
00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:16,720
Speaker 3: exist anymore. You know, like I'm not sure if there

710
00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:23,200
Speaker 3: are jobs that are strictly for the print magazine anymore.

711
00:44:24,120 --> 00:44:29,320
Speaker 3: I'm really not sure if that exists. Maybe it's all social,

712
00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:37,760
Speaker 3: but I'm pretty sure that most editorial jobs are heavily

713
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:44,759
Speaker 3: heavily digital or you know, heavily digital and then like

714
00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,840
Speaker 3: a little bit of print or a fifty to fifty split.

715
00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:54,280
Speaker 3: So you know, you definitely need to be really nimble,

716
00:44:56,880 --> 00:45:02,280
Speaker 3: and I think it does. Yeah, I think it does.

717
00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:08,960
Speaker 3: Like you know, behoove you too, you know, have some

718
00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:12,600
Speaker 3: sort of you know, digital presence, like on your own

719
00:45:13,040 --> 00:45:15,399
Speaker 3: and that doesn't necessarily mean that you need to be

720
00:45:15,480 --> 00:45:24,239
Speaker 3: an influencer. I'm certainly not, but just something that like

721
00:45:24,320 --> 00:45:28,440
Speaker 3: shows your interests, like shows your taste, or shows your writing,

722
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:31,239
Speaker 3: even like you know, a substack.

723
00:45:31,400 --> 00:45:34,359
Speaker 2: I was gonna say, if you have a substack, of.

724
00:45:34,239 --> 00:45:36,880
Speaker 3: Course not I'm oh, no, I like your substack.

725
00:45:37,000 --> 00:45:39,879
Speaker 1: That just course would be unbelievable. I think you would

726
00:45:39,920 --> 00:45:41,000
Speaker 1: have the number one substack.

727
00:45:42,040 --> 00:45:43,160
Speaker 3: Thank you for saying that.

728
00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:44,080
Speaker 2: I think it would be amazing.

729
00:45:44,239 --> 00:45:45,120
Speaker 3: I love substack.

730
00:45:45,239 --> 00:45:48,080
Speaker 1: I know the community is really positive and really directed

731
00:45:48,120 --> 00:45:51,240
Speaker 1: towards writers and people who are like itching to read something.

732
00:45:51,320 --> 00:45:51,719
Speaker 3: It's great.

733
00:45:51,760 --> 00:45:54,920
Speaker 1: It's kind of like collecting everybody who did read print

734
00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:57,640
Speaker 1: and loved print that kind of got thrown the wayside,

735
00:45:57,680 --> 00:46:00,200
Speaker 1: and now it's all video content and they're like to

736
00:46:00,239 --> 00:46:02,399
Speaker 1: read personal essays and we want to we want to read,

737
00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:03,759
Speaker 1: and that's where all the girls go that I want

738
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:04,040
Speaker 1: to write.

739
00:46:04,200 --> 00:46:05,239
Speaker 3: Stay tuned, you never know.

740
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:08,359
Speaker 2: I'm advocating theirs. I'll stack, I really am.

741
00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:11,200
Speaker 1: What do you want the next five years to look

742
00:46:11,280 --> 00:46:11,640
Speaker 1: like for you?

743
00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:18,799
Speaker 3: Well, career wise, there are a few publications Well let

744
00:46:18,800 --> 00:46:22,759
Speaker 3: me think, Yeah, there are a few publications that I've

745
00:46:23,080 --> 00:46:29,560
Speaker 3: not written for yet that I would like too, so

746
00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:33,040
Speaker 3: I want to check those off the list. There's really

747
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:35,520
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna I'm not going to divulge yet, but

748
00:46:35,520 --> 00:46:38,880
Speaker 3: there's really two main ones that I've not gotten to

749
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:44,319
Speaker 3: yet that I would like to And then there are

750
00:46:45,320 --> 00:46:49,560
Speaker 3: some places I'd like to travel that I've never been to.

751
00:46:51,040 --> 00:46:53,680
Speaker 3: And you know, I've been. I've been really fortunate, like

752
00:46:53,760 --> 00:46:56,920
Speaker 3: I have. I've checked a lot of things off the

753
00:46:57,239 --> 00:47:02,799
Speaker 3: career bucket lists. So I'm I'm pretty proud to say that.

754
00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:05,840
Speaker 3: But I think that within the next five years, I

755
00:47:05,960 --> 00:47:10,520
Speaker 3: just want to, you know, continue to tell great stories

756
00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:18,960
Speaker 3: and not burn myself out. I've done that in the past,

757
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:22,800
Speaker 3: and I like to not do that moving forward.

758
00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:26,719
Speaker 1: Fashion loves to burn out, loves to keep going. Is

759
00:47:26,760 --> 00:47:29,640
Speaker 1: there something that I make everybody speak something into existence

760
00:47:29,680 --> 00:47:31,279
Speaker 1: on the podcast? So it can it can be your

761
00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:33,040
Speaker 1: two publications and you don't have to say them. But

762
00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:35,160
Speaker 1: is there something that you want to speak into existence

763
00:47:35,320 --> 00:47:35,880
Speaker 1: here today?

764
00:47:36,719 --> 00:47:42,120
Speaker 3: Honestly, honestly, this date of the world is really bears

765
00:47:42,160 --> 00:47:47,040
Speaker 3: heavy on me and it as much as I love

766
00:47:47,480 --> 00:47:51,360
Speaker 3: my job, it I think it makes every day difficult,

767
00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:53,800
Speaker 3: not just for me, but for a lot of people.

768
00:47:55,160 --> 00:48:00,239
Speaker 3: And so that is what I would like I like

769
00:48:00,360 --> 00:48:07,080
Speaker 3: to speak peace into existence. I love that. That is what

770
00:48:07,120 --> 00:48:10,279
Speaker 3: I'd like to speak peace into existence. As much as

771
00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:16,040
Speaker 3: I love fashion and as much as I love my

772
00:48:16,200 --> 00:48:23,920
Speaker 3: work and as passionate as I am about it, I

773
00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:30,240
Speaker 3: am also very very very passionate about politics and equity

774
00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:43,359
Speaker 3: and healthcare and education and human rights. And I am

775
00:48:43,640 --> 00:48:55,360
Speaker 3: just really like deeply disturbed and really very worried about,

776
00:48:56,160 --> 00:48:58,960
Speaker 3: you know, the state of not just our country, but

777
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:05,000
Speaker 3: like the world at large. And I would like to

778
00:49:05,120 --> 00:49:11,120
Speaker 3: speak peace into existence. That's beautiful.

779
00:49:11,520 --> 00:49:14,440
Speaker 1: I appreciate that perspective, and thank you. I love that

780
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:18,160
Speaker 1: I'm speaking peace into existence with you as well. Last question,

781
00:49:19,239 --> 00:49:21,120
Speaker 1: who do you think is the ultimate girl and why

782
00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:22,040
Speaker 1: does she inspire you?

783
00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:29,000
Speaker 3: The Ultimate girl is my sister Shire Smart. She is stunning.

784
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:34,040
Speaker 3: She is an Ivy League graduate from the University of Pennsylvania.

785
00:49:34,320 --> 00:49:37,840
Speaker 3: She has an NBA from the Stern School of Business.

786
00:49:38,239 --> 00:49:45,120
Speaker 3: She is a C suite executive Wow at Vox Vox

787
00:49:45,200 --> 00:49:48,840
Speaker 3: with a V just not Fox. Do just have to

788
00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:56,200
Speaker 3: make sure some people miss here. She is a fantatastic

789
00:49:56,360 --> 00:50:01,240
Speaker 3: mom closet mom of all time to my niece and

790
00:50:01,360 --> 00:50:03,600
Speaker 3: my favorite people I've ever met in my life where

791
00:50:03,600 --> 00:50:09,359
Speaker 3: I'm obsessed with she just she's just so cool. I mean,

792
00:50:09,400 --> 00:50:13,480
Speaker 3: I've looked up to her my entire life. She really

793
00:50:13,760 --> 00:50:17,520
Speaker 3: does it all. Like she's an amazing cook. Her home

794
00:50:17,760 --> 00:50:26,160
Speaker 3: is gorgeous, like she like is grated interiors. She's fun

795
00:50:26,719 --> 00:50:29,720
Speaker 3: like she like can go out and have a great

796
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:34,640
Speaker 3: time but also be like Martha Stewart at home. You

797
00:50:34,640 --> 00:50:37,000
Speaker 3: should see the dyed eggs she made. Oh my gosh,

798
00:50:37,000 --> 00:50:40,400
Speaker 3: they're like I don't know what she did. She like

799
00:50:41,040 --> 00:50:46,200
Speaker 3: wrapped them in like rosemary or something so that she

800
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:48,799
Speaker 3: like wrapped them in rosemary and then dyed them in

801
00:50:48,960 --> 00:50:53,960
Speaker 3: like onion peel and orange rines or something so that

802
00:50:55,239 --> 00:50:56,120
Speaker 3: the white.

803
00:50:55,760 --> 00:50:57,680
Speaker 2: Space was like I love it.

804
00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:03,960
Speaker 3: Leaves anyway, She like extremely fat, Like makeup always looks great,

805
00:51:04,200 --> 00:51:10,799
Speaker 3: hair always looks great. She's an amazing wife. She's a

806
00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:14,520
Speaker 3: true like big sister, you know, like she's always had

807
00:51:14,560 --> 00:51:20,320
Speaker 3: to be the responsible one, and she's taken that role

808
00:51:20,880 --> 00:51:25,120
Speaker 3: really seriously and really embodies it. I think both my

809
00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:31,479
Speaker 3: younger brother and I just you know, owe her such

810
00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:35,839
Speaker 3: a debt of gratitude for really just like guiding us

811
00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:40,400
Speaker 3: and like leading us and picking us up when we're

812
00:51:40,719 --> 00:51:43,560
Speaker 3: when we've you know, been down, like I said when

813
00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:48,120
Speaker 3: I when I moved to New York, like I was broken, homeless,

814
00:51:49,200 --> 00:51:53,200
Speaker 3: And you know it's really it's really a large part

815
00:51:53,320 --> 00:51:58,279
Speaker 3: because of her that I have been able to her

816
00:51:58,400 --> 00:52:03,319
Speaker 3: end and her meganficent husband, Keith. You know, it's in

817
00:52:03,440 --> 00:52:08,440
Speaker 3: large part, you know, because of them, that I've been

818
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:15,040
Speaker 3: able to uh pursue these very like ambitious, audacious, you know,

819
00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:18,359
Speaker 3: New York City dreams because they've just been you know,

820
00:52:18,480 --> 00:52:22,880
Speaker 3: like so supportive. I'm you know, at their house still

821
00:52:23,200 --> 00:52:25,720
Speaker 3: every weekend, you know, eating all their food and drinking

822
00:52:25,719 --> 00:52:32,799
Speaker 3: all their wine. My sister is about She's an ultimate girl.

823
00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:33,520
Speaker 3: She's so cool.

824
00:52:33,640 --> 00:52:35,440
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh. I hope my little sister talks about me.

825
00:52:36,120 --> 00:52:36,919
Speaker 3: I'm sure she does.

826
00:52:36,960 --> 00:52:38,480
Speaker 2: I hope she does. But I got to call her

827
00:52:38,520 --> 00:52:40,480
Speaker 2: after this. That's making me emotional. That's so beautiful.

828
00:52:40,480 --> 00:52:42,440
Speaker 1: That's That's what the whole spirit of what this is

829
00:52:42,440 --> 00:52:45,160
Speaker 1: about is the women that you know, led us to

830
00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:46,719
Speaker 1: where we are and made it so we could be

831
00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:49,120
Speaker 1: who we are. Because everyone's inspired by some woman and

832
00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:51,799
Speaker 1: some woman has you know, done something for us in

833
00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:52,200
Speaker 1: our time.

834
00:52:52,239 --> 00:52:52,640
Speaker 3: I love that.

835
00:52:53,239 --> 00:52:56,360
Speaker 2: Do you want to shout out your socials at.

836
00:52:56,200 --> 00:53:00,840
Speaker 3: Leah face on Instagram. I'm a very serious about my

837
00:53:00,960 --> 00:53:06,080
Speaker 3: middle name. Love. So my grandmother, my mother's mother, her

838
00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:11,279
Speaker 3: name was Fairy Lee Walker. I love that. I mean,

839
00:53:11,320 --> 00:53:12,400
Speaker 3: now that is iconic.

840
00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:13,320
Speaker 2: No, that's iconic.

841
00:53:13,640 --> 00:53:18,000
Speaker 3: That's iconic. Her name was Fair Lee Walker, but she

842
00:53:18,080 --> 00:53:22,239
Speaker 3: went by Fay. And so that's where my middle name

843
00:53:22,239 --> 00:53:27,400
Speaker 3: comes from. And you know, when you know, my parents

844
00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:31,719
Speaker 3: found out that I was coming along, my mother said

845
00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:34,959
Speaker 3: that she wanted my middle name to be Fay. And

846
00:53:35,920 --> 00:53:40,400
Speaker 3: you know, she asked my father what he thought, you know,

847
00:53:40,480 --> 00:53:43,640
Speaker 3: it was a pretty first name that went with fay.

848
00:53:43,760 --> 00:53:47,759
Speaker 3: He said Leah. So that is why my name is

849
00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:53,160
Speaker 3: Leah Fay Cooper. And I remember growing up it was

850
00:53:53,360 --> 00:53:56,280
Speaker 3: like cool to not like your middle name, or people

851
00:53:56,320 --> 00:54:02,400
Speaker 3: thought their middle name was embarrassing, and I always thought

852
00:54:02,440 --> 00:54:05,520
Speaker 3: the opposite, Like I always really liked my full name,

853
00:54:05,640 --> 00:54:10,960
Speaker 3: and I felt like Fay was, you know, Fay was

854
00:54:10,960 --> 00:54:13,799
Speaker 3: the one that I actually had an actual connection to.

855
00:54:14,040 --> 00:54:16,560
Speaker 3: My grandmother died before I was born, so I never

856
00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:20,440
Speaker 3: had the opportunity to meet her. And you know, my

857
00:54:20,480 --> 00:54:24,040
Speaker 3: whole life, my mother and everyone who knew her, you know,

858
00:54:24,120 --> 00:54:26,960
Speaker 3: all my aunts and uncles, my whole mother's side of

859
00:54:27,000 --> 00:54:30,759
Speaker 3: the family, family, friends, everyone just talked about how fabulous

860
00:54:30,800 --> 00:54:33,400
Speaker 3: she was, and you know, she was just this amazing,

861
00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:40,279
Speaker 3: amazing woman. So I've always been very adamant about using it.

862
00:54:40,680 --> 00:54:45,680
Speaker 3: And I remember when I was in college, my mom

863
00:54:45,760 --> 00:54:50,040
Speaker 3: came to visit me and I wrote, you know, I

864
00:54:50,080 --> 00:54:53,799
Speaker 3: had like a column in my school paper and I

865
00:54:53,920 --> 00:54:56,760
Speaker 3: used my full name, like Lea Fa Cooper and so Pete.

866
00:54:56,800 --> 00:55:00,440
Speaker 3: My friends called me Lea Fay. So in college, a

867
00:55:00,440 --> 00:55:03,719
Speaker 3: lot of people started calling me Lea Fay. And she

868
00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:06,799
Speaker 3: noticed that and she got really emotional and she was like,

869
00:55:06,880 --> 00:55:09,400
Speaker 3: oh my goodness. She was like, you know, when you

870
00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:12,680
Speaker 3: were a baby, I really wanted to call you Lea Fay,

871
00:55:12,760 --> 00:55:15,360
Speaker 3: but I just thought it was like so old fashion,

872
00:55:15,640 --> 00:55:17,799
Speaker 3: Like I could not do that. I thought it was

873
00:55:17,840 --> 00:55:21,359
Speaker 3: so old fashioned and so southern. And she was like,

874
00:55:21,400 --> 00:55:24,600
Speaker 3: I cannot believe that you like that, and I cannot

875
00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:28,520
Speaker 3: believe there are people calling you Lea Fay. And I

876
00:55:28,560 --> 00:55:30,839
Speaker 3: was like, yeah, I love it. And so a lot

877
00:55:30,880 --> 00:55:32,400
Speaker 3: of my friends get a kick out of it. I mean,

878
00:55:32,440 --> 00:55:35,320
Speaker 3: I go by both lots of people just call me Leah.

879
00:55:35,360 --> 00:55:37,640
Speaker 3: But I have a lot of friends who, you know,

880
00:55:38,000 --> 00:55:39,600
Speaker 3: when they see me or they call me. They're like

881
00:55:39,680 --> 00:55:44,319
Speaker 3: Lea Fay, Lea Fay. So yes, I love my name

882
00:55:44,920 --> 00:55:48,440
Speaker 3: and very long way of saying once again, my Insta

883
00:55:48,719 --> 00:55:52,920
Speaker 3: is at Leah fay see.

884
00:55:52,640 --> 00:55:54,719
Speaker 1: I love it and hopefully your future substack will be

885
00:55:54,800 --> 00:55:55,600
Speaker 1: named that as well.

886
00:55:56,239 --> 00:55:58,960
Speaker 2: I am at Bailey Tee Taylor. We are at It

887
00:55:59,120 --> 00:56:01,279
Speaker 2: Girl the series. Leah Fei, thank you so much for

888
00:56:01,360 --> 00:56:01,879
Speaker 2: joining us today.

889
00:56:01,920 --> 00:56:03,480
Speaker 1: It was such a pleasure to have you and we

890
00:56:03,560 --> 00:56:05,479
Speaker 1: will be back next week with another A girl.

891
00:56:05,560 --> 00:56:07,879
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me, big girl.