Cathy Horyn
Critic at large for The Cut, New York magazine
Cathy Horyn is an American fashion critic who served as chief fashion critic of The New York Times from 1998 to 2014 and has been critic at large for New York magazine's The Cut since 2015. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential and independent voices in fashion criticism.
| Role | Critic at large, The Cut |
|---|---|
| Since | 2015 |
| Previously | Fashion critic, The New York Times, 1998 to 2014 |
| Born | 1956, Coshocton, Ohio |
| Award | CFDA Eugenia Sheppard Award |
Who is Cathy Horyn?
Cathy Horyn is an American journalist, born in Coshocton, Ohio, in 1956, whose reviews have shaped how the industry judges runway collections for more than three decades. She studied at Barnard College and earned a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. Her reputation rests on close observation, historical knowledge and a willingness to criticise powerful houses.
Career
Horyn began as a fashion reporter at The Detroit News from 1986 to 1990 and then covered fashion for The Washington Post from 1990 to 1995. In 1998 she joined The New York Times, succeeding Amy Spindler as the paper's fashion critic. During more than 15 years at the Times she wrote over a thousand pieces and ran the influential blog On the Runway, which brought same day runway commentary to the paper's website.
She stepped down from the Times in early 2014. In 2015 she joined New York magazine as critic at large for The Cut, where she continues to review collections and write long form profiles of designers and executives.
Influence on the fashion business
Horyn is often described as the leading fashion critic of her generation. Her reviews matter commercially because buyers, executives and investors read them as an independent assessment of a designer's direction. Her work is associated with several recurring themes:
- Holding major houses to account for creative choices
- Championing young and independent designers early in their careers
- Placing collections in historical and business context
- Defending critical independence when access is restricted
That independence has occasionally led to conflict. Some designers, including Giorgio Armani and Hedi Slimane during his time at Saint Laurent, at times excluded her from their shows, a dispute that was widely reported as a test of the relationship between brands and critics.
Horyn is also an author. She wrote Bare Blass with the designer Bill Blass in 2002 and published a book on the fashion illustrator Joe Eula in 2014. In 2002 she received the CFDA's Eugenia Sheppard Award for fashion journalism.
Why it matters
As brands increasingly control their own media and rely on paid influencers, Horyn's career is a reference for what independent criticism contributes to the fashion business: an informed outside view that helps the market separate genuine creativity from marketing.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Cathy Horyn?
Cathy Horyn is an American fashion critic. She was the fashion critic of The New York Times from 1998 to 2014 and has been critic at large for New York magazine's The Cut since 2015.
Why was Cathy Horyn banned from fashion shows?
Some designers, including Giorgio Armani and Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, at times excluded Horyn after critical reviews. The episodes were widely reported as examples of tension between brands and independent critics.