Robin Givhan’s fashion criticism may, on the surface, cover gowns and heels, but her writing tells a much deeper, more nuanced story about culture, politics, race, and gender.
A fashion editor for the Washington Post, Givhan uses fashion as a backdrop to tell stories about the world around us. In 2006, she won a Pulitzer for “her witty, closely observed essays that transform fashion criticism into cultural criticism.” Her prize-winning pieces included essays analyzing the attire in the film “Hotel Rwanda” and the sartorial choices of Trekkies and “Star Wars” super fans.
Givhan earned a degree in English from Princeton University and a Master’s in journalism from the University of Michigan. The Detroit native spent seven years writing about nightlife for the Detroit Free Press before joining the Washington Post in 2006. In 2009, Givhan moved from New York City to Washington, D.C. so she could closely cover First Lady Michelle Obama and the cultural shifts inspired by the First Family.
Givhan has been vocal about the need for more diversity in the fashion industry.
“We have a lot of stories about the importance of diversity in sports, but I don’t think that we view fashion through that same lens,” Givhan told the Chicago Tribune. “If we did, there would have been much greater outrage, because we could go through an entire fashion season and see 10 models of color on 200 runways.
“If we are not represented by the fashion industry, which determines standards of beauty and what it means to be feminine, what it means to be masculine, then it means that there are whole segments of the population that are undervalued,” Givhan continued.
Givhan’s first solo book, “The Battle of Versailles: The Night American Fashion Stumbled Into The Spotlight And Made History,” was released last year.
