Robin Givhan on how the best fashion designers reflect shifts in culture

We are thrilled to induct Robin Givhan into the SFJ Hall of Fame at our 2026 national conference from Oct. 22-24 in Phoenix. The honor recognizes journalists who have made incredible contributions to arts, entertainment, culture, lifestyle and narrative journalism.

Givhan spent more than 25 years at The Washington Post as a fashion critic and won the Pulitzer Prize in Criticism for her fashion coverage. She is now a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times. She led the way in seeing fashion through the lens of race and culture.

At the SFJ conference, Givhan will be in conversation with SFJ board member Margaret Myers for a session called “Fashioning a Career in Criticism.”

As a bonus, she answered five questions about journalism to inspire us further!

Robin Givhan. Photo by Kevin J. Miyazaki.

1. What is your earliest memory of journalism?
   It’s probably writing for my high school newspaper and realizing being on the staff gave me permission to ask teachers and the principal a lot of nosy questions.

2. The fashion industry seems to change as much as journalism. What’s something about covering fashion and culture that people may be surprised to learn?
   I think people assume that fashion leads the culture, that designers come up with big ideas and shoppers are bullied into following their lead. Instead, fashion reflects the culture; it magnifies small shifts. The best designers sense something in the air and articulate it before customers are able to. They give people what they want before they know they want it.

3. What’s one piece of sage advice you’d like to share with today’s journalists?
   I’ve never heard anyone say, “Ugh, I hate good stories.”

4. What’s a recent moment of wonder you’ve had?
   I visited Ha Long Bay in Vietnam [a UNESCO World Heritage Site]. Sometimes nature can move you to tears. But honestly, every time I write something and see it published, I’m delighted and I think, “I get to do this.”

5. What does “Reinventing with Purpose” [the SFJ26 conference theme] mean to you? 
   I think it means allowing another aspect of your personality to shine or nurturing an interest that hasn’t been getting its rightful share of your attention. Or maybe it just means rebranding being pushed off a cliff as “taking a leap of faith.”

Register for our 2026 Society for Features Journalism conference here!