A Feel For Fashion: Lauren Sherman

Amidst the obvious mainstream media outlets that cover fashion, Lauren Sherman's reporting for the buzzy platform, Puck, has become essential reading for industry scoops and incisive insight. Immersed in fashion journalism for more than 15 years, most recently as the Business of Fashion’s chief correspondent and before that as a staff reporter at Forbes, she is both trusted for breaking news and trusted by people who define the news. Other publications where her byline has appeared include the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. Based in Los Angeles where she lives with her husband and son, Sherman has her digital finger on the pulse of news no matter where it is happening. Her debut book, Selling Sexy: Victoria’s Secret and the Unraveling of an American Icon, co-authored with Chantal Fernandez, will be published in October. 

Compared to previous outlets, how does your platform at Puck shape the way you report on fashion? 

At Puck, I'm speaking to people very much inside the industry, but also people very much outside it. Making insider knowledge a must-read to outsiders is the most challenging, and rewarding, part of my job. 

When everyone is breaking the same stories, how do you determine what is worth covering?

If I have something to say, either additional reporting and/or analysis, then it's worth it. 

What excites you in fashion right now? 

Fashion is as big a part of pop culture as music, food and fine art, Hollywood. 

What is one reason to be optimistic about the state of fashion going forward? 

Clothes are not going away, even as our lives become more virtual. 

What would you like or hope to see more of from brands or the industry more generally? 

I'd love for them to worry less about what competitors are doing and more about figuring out what they have to say that is unique. 

In what ways do you think AI might benefit fashion? 

Technology fosters new forms of creativity. 

Who or what will drive the greatest change in fashion this year? 

Whether or not people shop. 

What impact might you hope to have on fashion this year? 

I hope I can help people in the industry take themselves less seriously, and people outside of the industry take those same people more seriously. Fashion is so controlling of its message that those outside the industry often don't get the whole story, and therefore dismiss it as fluff when it's not. 

Can you suggest a fashion mantra for ’24? 

Do what you think is right!

This interview has been lightly edited.