Cathy Horyn (born September 11, 1956) is an American fashion critic and

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who worked for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' from 1998 until 2014 where she had the highly noted and provocative blo
''On The Runway''
In 2015, she was appointed critic-at-large for New York Magazine's website The Cut, reviewing the Fall 2015 womenswear shows in New York and Paris. Horyn was only the second New York Times fashion critic, having succeeded Amy Spindler who retired in November 2003. She is a supporter of Belgian designer Raf Simons.

Background

Raised in Coshocton,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, she started her career in 1986 working in journalism at ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United S ...

''. Horyn then moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1990 and worked on fashion at ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

''. She moved to ''

'' in 1998. Magazines and newspapers to which she contributes include '' Vanity Fair'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' (stylized as ''Harper's BAZAAR'') is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. Bazaar has been published in New York City since November 2, 1867, originally as a weekly publication entitled ''Harper's Bazar''."Corporat ...

'', and ''

International Herald Tribune The ''International Herald Tribune'' (''IHT'') was a daily English-language newspaper published in Paris, France, for international English-speaking readers. It published under the name ''International Herald Tribune'' starting in 1967, but its ...

''. She is known for her sharp, unflinchingly acerbic reviews, which resulted in her being banned from numerous designer shows, most notably

Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...

and, as of 2012, Hedi Slimane's Yves Saint Laurent show in Paris.

Career

In June 2002, she received the 2001 Eugenia Sheppard Award by the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessor ...

for questioning the work and exposing the deal-making of ''Vogue'' editor-in-chief

Anna Wintour Dame Anna Wintour ( ; born 3 November 1949) is a British-American media executive, who has been serving as editor-in-chief of '' Vogue'' since 1988. Wintour has also served as global chief content officer of Condé Nast since 2020, where she o ...

. Horyn's first newspaper job was for ''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgi ...

'' in Norfolk, VA. Following this, from 1986 until 1990, Horyn worked for ''Detroit News'' as a fashion reporter. In 1990, she became a fashion reporter for ''

'', where she worked until 1995. In January 2010, Horyn was criticized when she insinuated in an article that actress Christina Hendricks was large. The photo of Hendricks included in Horyn's article was distorted by being widened, possibly to falsely illustrate Horyn's point. ''The New York Times'' replaced the image, claiming that it had been only slightly distorted inadvertently due to an error during routine processing. In September 2012, Horyn's review of Oscar de la Renta's spring/summer 2013 collection, in which she referred to him as a "hotdog of American fashion," garnered a great deal of negative press. De la Renta responded in an open letter, published in ''WWD'', criticizing the lack of professionalism and the often personal nature of her infamous reviews, saying that if he was a "hotdog," then Horyn might be a "stale 3-day-old hamburger." Horyn later addressed the designer's retort through Fashionologie.com, defending her word choice of hotdog: "I used the term in a professional context, as someone showing off his tricks, like a surfer." In a mock self-made newspaper column published on Twitter, designer Hedi Slimane criticized Horyn speculating her profession to be a publicist masquerading as a ''New York Times'' journalist. In Slimane's letter, he refers to Horyn's preference for designer Raf Simons and adds: "As far as I'm concerned, she will never get a seat at Saint Laurent howbut might get 2 for 1 at Dior. She should rejoice. I don't mind critics 'sic'' but they have to come from a fashion critic, not a publicist in disguise. I am quite mesmerised she did get away with it for so many years." Horyn had written a negative review of Slimane's collection for Saint Laurent, although she was not actually in attendance at the show. Horyn used photographs of the show to write her review. In 2014, Horyn authored a biography of fashion illustrator Joe Eula. Horyn has also served as a contributor for fashion photographer Nick Knight’s ''SHOWStudio.''

Education

Horyn did her undergraduate studies at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

and earned a master's degree in journalism from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Bibliography

As editor

* ''Bare Blass'' (with

Bill Blass William Ralph Blass (June 22, 1922 – June 12, 2002) was an American fashion designer. He was the recipient of many fashion awards, including seven Coty Awards and the Fashion Institute of Technology's Lifetime Achievement Award (1999). Ear ...

), New York:

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

, 2002 (; )

References

External links

Recent and archived news articles by Cathy Horyn of The New York TimesAmazon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horyn, Cathy American fashion journalists Writers from Ohio Living people 1956 births The New York Times journalists People from Coshocton, Ohio American women journalists American women critics Barnard College alumni Northwestern University alumni Journalists from Ohio 21st-century American women