Cathy Horyn

Background

Raised in Ohio, she started her career in 1986 working in journalism, at The Detroit News. Cathy Horyn then moved to Washington, D.C. in 1990 and worked at The Washington Post in fashion. She went to work for The New York Times in 1998. Magazines and newspapers to which she contributes include Vanity Fair, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and International Herald Tribune. She is known for her sharp, unflinchingly acerbic reviews, which resulted in her being banned from numerous designer shows, most notably Giorgio Armani and, as of 2012, Hedi Slimane's Yves Saint Laurent show in Paris.

Career

In 2002, she received the Eugenia Sheppard Award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America for questioning the work and exposing the deal-making of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

In January 2010, Horyn was widely 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 2010, Horyn also wrote a critical article on Jersey Shore TV star Snooki, in which she described Snooki as a "turnip turned on its tip." She wrote that talking with her "is a little like getting down on your hands and knees with a child" and noted that Snooki had reportedly "read only two books in her life."

Horyn's review of Chelsea Clinton's choice of gown and attire for her wedding stated: "Ms. Clinton's dress, on the other hand, suggested a completely different relationship [than other wedding gowns Horyn had reviewed] with fashion — even, perhaps, an ambivalent one."

Lady Gaga wrote a column for V Magazine in 2011 questioning the opinions of some critics' superiority over the general people's opinions, as well as their not actually being interested in the arts but in simply criticizing, where she referred to Horyn as a predictable critic like many others.

In September 2012, Horyn's scathing 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 be 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 further criticized Horyn's unprofessionalism, speculating her profession to be a publicist masquerading as a 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 [a] Saint Laurent [show] but 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.

Education

Horyn did her undergraduate studies at Barnard College and earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.