Even if you don’t know the difference between a Balenciaga and a Valentino you probably know fashion is a huge business. Fashionistas like magazine editors, style reporters, bloggers, and influencers definitely know the difference between Balenciaga and Valentino. They can spot trends that the public will embrace and they can make or break a fashion designer. And even if we flick through a copy of Vogue, watch Project Runway, and follow popular fashion blogs, the inner sanctum of fashion is one closed to many of us. Just what is it like to be in the rarified world? Fashion journalist Amy Odell knows, and she gives us the inside scoop in her book Tales from the Back Row: An Outsider’s View from the Inside of the Fashion Industry.
With a degree in journalism and literature from New York University, Odell got a job with New York magazine’s newest online blog The Cut. This was when blogging was still quite new, and we still had no idea fashion bloggers would become as big as they are and hugely influence the world of fashion.
Though Odell had very little experience in media and in fashion, The Cut somehow thought she was up to the task. Odell began to attend fashion shows (often as far away from the back row as possible), met models, designers, influencers, and other fashion journalists like herself. She learned a lot and grew as both a journalist and in her knowledge of the fashion industry.
Odell did have her missteps. She learned to never shop while high because you may make some unfortunate fashion purchases. For some reason Alexander Wang sweatpants aren’t very impressive, and they actually offended Odell’s then boyfriend, now husband. And then there was the time she asked various celebrities like Jay Z on what they smell like at a fragrance launch.
But Odell also had her triumphs. Italian fashion journalist and Editor-at-Large of Japanese Vogue, Anna Dello Russo acted as a mentor to Odell and even taught her how to pack. Odell got the scoop on how Victoria Secret models got in tip top shape for the now defunct Victoria Secret Fashion Show. And in one glorious moment, got to interview with Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, who comes across as much warmer than her The Devil Wears Prada doppelganger, Miranda Priestly.
Odell’s career went from strength to strength. She’s been the editor of Cosmipolitan.com and an editor at Buzzfeed. She’s also been published in Time, Business of Fashion, and Refinery29. Her biography of Anna Wintour has been recently released.
For the most part Tales from the Back Row is a fun and interesting read. Odell is no cold and imperious fashion diva. Nor is she over the top outrageous like Diana Vreeland. She’s sort of like your friend from college who spills the tea on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the fashion industry. We learn fashion isn’t always glamorous and a great deal of talent and hard work go into everything from a fashion show to a fashion magazine. Tales from the Back Row is an open book on anyone interested in fashion whether one wants to make it a career or as a casual observer of the stylish and chic.
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