By Suphattra Fatlowitz
Drexel’s Westphal College brought Christina Binkley and the world of
fashion journalism to the newly finished URBN Center this fall.
Students and professors were jammed into a small lecture hall and
eagerly awaited Binkley’s arrival. Binkley was every bit calm, cool and
collected when she appeared before us.
Binkley
has been with The Wall Street Journal for 18 years, however, she has
only been writing about fashion for about 8 years now. Binkley writes
On Style each Thursday and contributes to WSJ Magazine, Off Duty,
and Weekend as well as other newspaper sections. She admits that she
knew nothing about the world of fashion when she first got the assignment, but her outsider’s opinion
gave her column a fresh take. Prior to writing about fashion, Binkley wrote
about real estate scams, gambling and the hotel industry – quite a
different subject.
One of the perks a fashion
journalist has is the ability to attend Fashion Weeks in New York,
London, Milan and Paris. While there, Binkley attends big name ready-to-wear and haute couture shows, like Vera Wang, Gucci and
Givenchy. It seems as though Binkley has the life everybody in the
fashion industry wants. However, Fashion Week is a grueling time. She said this is the most exhausting and toughest job she’s ever had.
During these five weeks, twice a year, days will last from 9 am – 12
am. The writing doesn’t start until 12 am and then the next day is a
repeat.
Binkley is a self proclaimed “factory
nerd” who visits at least one factory in Europe each time she travels. This fall, she visited the Missoni knitting factory in Italy and said she now understands why the garments are so expensive. They simply take a long time to make, even by maching. She plans to go to a Hermes factory on her next trip. Binkley has
yet to travel to Asia where most of our clothes are being produced.
Her interests lie in rights issues as well as the translation from
designer to production.
After
Binkley’s personal account of how she began in fashion journalism, she
opened up the floor to questions. Here are a few of those questions.
How do you choose which shows to go to? There
are shows I have to go to and shows I want to go to, which are often
different. In Milan I have to see Gucci. I go to major shows every
season. This gives me less time to go out and explore. I’d like to see
smaller designers.
Explain your editing process. I sleep on it and then come back to it.
How do you think up what to write about for the different shows? What do you look for? I
didn’t critique collections for the first couple of years. I didn’t understand it
enough. Now I try to compare lines by critiquing on what they’ve done
in the past. It’s easy for designers to get carried away. In their
mind their client is Anna Wintour, not Neiman Marcus or Saks. I’ll look
for trends consumers want to know about. I rarely downright think
something is ugly. I keep in mind price versus wearability. I hate
criticizing.
What kind of trends besides fabrics and colors are predominant now? Black & white, stripes, checks, volume – sack dresses, sometimes belted, and full skirts.
What’s your favorite fashion blog? The Cut. It gives an insider feel. I ignore some of the most popular blogs.
Are there other parts of the industry you’d like to explore? Asia, production for mass markets, patternmaking.
How do you balance family time with such a busy career? I
live in LA, make sacrifices and have strict rules. There are a lot of
functions I don’t go to unless they’re really important.
What should we (students) be keeping in mind in terms of what to deal with in the industry? People
are willing to work their butts off for nothing. If you’re at an
unpaid internship, don’t stay long. Move on. A lot of fashion students
race out to have the big job before they are ready for it. I get a ton
of pitches a day and I always have to determine if I should waste my
time. I look at where they’ve worked first. I’ll move on if anything
doesn’t hook me. Get experience to build your resume, abilities and
skills.
