Dana Thomas is the author of Gods and Kings: The Rise and Fall of Alexander McQueen and John Galliano as well the New York Times bestseller, Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster. She is a contributing editor for T: The New York Times Style Magazine as well as a regular contributor to Architectural Digest. She has written for the New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle Decor and was the European editor of Condé Nast Portfolio. She lives in Paris.
Hometown:
Washington, D.C. and Radnor, Pa.
Education: B.A. in
Print Journalism, American University, Washington, D.C., 1988.
Languages: French
and a bit of Italian.
First job in journalism: National
Desk News Aide, The Washington Post, in January 1988. I was still in college at the time. And I was thrilled.
Countries reported from: France, Italy, Switzerland, Monaco, Spain, Germany, the UK, Sweden, Belgium, China, Japan, Mauritius, Morocco, Portugal, Hong Kong, Brazil.
Year you joined the OPC: 2002.
What drew you to fashion and cultural reporting?: I worked as a fashion model in the early 1980s in Paris, Milan, Germany and New York, to earn money to pay for college. My favorite classes outside of journalism, history and politics were humanities. I had a great hunger to write about politics, but also loved culture, and when I landed in the Style section of the Washington Post under Mary Hadar as a copy aide after my gig on the National desk, it all just seemed to come together – politics, culture, history, and the best writing in the business. Then Nina Hyde, the then-fashion editor of the Washington Post, needed a new assistant. Since I knew the fashion business and spoke French, she hired me. Before then, I had always thought of my time in the fashion biz – from the ages of 16 to 21 – as a means to an end, the end being a journalist. Never did it cross my mind that I could combine the two. Nina taught me that covering fashion was as important a beat as covering politics, business and culture – in fact, it was covering business and culture, and it was and is very political. It’s not about hemlines or Pink is the New Black. It’s a reflection of our society today, who we are, how we see ourselves, what we want to project to our fellow humans. And it’s a $300-billion-a-year global industry. It’s not
frivolous whatsoever.
Major challenge as a journalist: Making a living. I’m not earning much more than I did 15 or 20 years ago – I was until 2007, but then it all came crashing back down. Yet the price of living has doubled – especially in France and the UK. I get requests to write freelance pieces today and am offered 50 or 75 cents a word – from major media outlets. And I’m a 25 year-veteran with 22 years overseas and a New York Times bestselling author. It’s equally frustrating and insulting. I turn them down.
Best journalism advice received: “Always remember: your story is what fills the space between the ads and not the other way around.” So when you have to cut for space, it’s not personal. It’s business. The second: “Write it down. You will not remember.” Absolutely true. I write down everything I see as well as hear: the color of the room, the style of shoes, the music playing. Because we don’t remember those details and that’s exactly what takes writing from bland to beautiful.
Worst experience as a journalist: When Newsweek died. I spent 15 years in the Paris bureau – 1995 to 2010 – writing about fashion, culture, even politics and news when needed, under our wonderful bureau chief Christopher Dickey. It was a dream job in a dream city and we had such a great team, in Paris and New York. Watching that disintegrate in less than two years was devastating. I miss the original Newsweek. And I know I’m not the only one who does.
When traveling, I like to … Arrive the night before, stay in a nice hotel, order room service, take a long bath and get an excellent night’s sleep. After all, I’m a working mother. Room service, a long bath and a good night’s sleep are a treat!
Hardest story:
Emotionally: a piece I reported on the suicide of fashion designer Claude Montana’s wife – that was very dark. Work-wise: The Death of Princess Diana. Months of digging, false leads, rumors, relentless deadlines, and a lot of sadness. That story was exhausting and you never knew whom to believe. We had one source show us as Newsweek’s Paris bureau what appeared to be a doctor’s report stating Diana was pregnant at the time of her death. We had to report it out to see if it was true or if the document was a forgery? Very tricky. I was wishing my grandfather was still around – he had been the questioned documents expert for the Secret Service and CIA back in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. In the end, it seemed false so we didn’t run it.
Journalism heroes: My first boss Ben Bradlee. I adored him. A journalist I never met: Tom Wicker, though his book On Press, which I read in high school, inspired me to pursue this as a career. Anyone who covers war. And Katherine Boo. She reports and writes about what we must know about but want to ignore or avoid. I’ve never met her, though we are the same age and were both living and working in Washington back in the late 80s and early 1990s. I admire her greatly.
Advice for journalists who want to work overseas: Study languages. I started learning French in 6th grade. Know the history of where you want to be posted – far back as well as recent – so you know what you are talking about. Make friends with local (native) journos so they can explain to you how it all really works. And string for as many outlets as you can – even if you are on staff for a news outlet, do occasional glossy pieces (with permission of course). That really lets you spread your wings, writing wise, and gives you a chance to do so much more in your country. Different angles; different points of view.
Dream job: To run a features section or Sunday style magazine of a major U.S. daily.
Favorite quote:
“Elegance is refusal” – Coco Chanel
Place you’re most eager to
visit: The Grand Canyon.
Most over-the-top
assignment: Two weeks at the Venice Film Festival, twice, for Newsweek. Getting paid to spend two weeks in Venice in the late summer? That was pretty grand.
Country you most want to return to: Brazil. I just love Brazil.
Twitter and Instragram handle: danathomasparis