From Secretary to Editor: A Journey in Journalism

Alexandra Shulman is one of the most influential figures in British fashion. She is the longest serving editor-in-chief at British Vogue, having led the magazine for 25 years before stepping down in 2017. Her career in journalism included time at publications such as Tatler and the Sunday Telegraph. She was later editor of the British edition of GQ, before joining British Vogue where she oversaw an increase in circulation to record figures. Alexandra was appointed a CBE for services to fashion journalism, and is now an author, commentator and writes a weekly notebook for the Mail on Sunday.

On the podcast, Alexandra talks to Katy Balls about the heyday of print journalism in the late 1980s and 1990s, why she thinks that discussion of the death of print journalism might be premature, and she opens up about the controversy that surrounded her handover to her successor. She cites her Adele cover as one of her most memorable during her time at Vogue, and she explains why she thinks expectations around beauty – despite her best efforts at challenging contemporary standards – have gotten worse. 

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.