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Lisa Armstrong (writer)

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This article is about the journalist & author. For the make-up artist, see Lisa Armstrong (make-up artist).

Lisa Armstrong is a British author and journalist. She is fashion editor of The Daily Telegraph and contributing editor of British Vogue.[1]

Early life and education

Born in the UK, Armstrong grew up in Dorset in the seventies, where she says that "fashion didn’t really exist".[2] She graduated in 1984 from the University of Bristol,[3] where she studied English and French Literature, then journalism at City University London.[4] In 2011, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Arts London.[5]

Journalism

After graduating, Armstrong was offered a job at Elle UK after her freelance writing work was spotted by the then-editor Sally Brampton.[4] From there she moved to British Vogue, working under Liz Tilberis, and made her way from fashion writer to fashion features director.[4] She was Fashion Editor of The Independent before returning to Vogue under Alexandra Shulman.[4] Prior to her role at the Telegraph, she held the fashion editor post at The Times.[4] Among the numerous publications in the UK, USA and Australia she has written for, Armstrong is a significant contributor to Harper's Bazaar, for whom she published her 2011 style manual.[6] In 2000, Armstrong was the fashion journalist chosen by the Fashion Museum, Bath to choose that year's most representative outfit for their Dress of the Year collection.[7] Although she initially considered choosing Hussein Chalayan's experimental wooden table dress, she eventually decided on a green chiffon dress designed by Donatella Versace and famously worn by Jennifer Lopez.[8] Armstrong used her expertise to argue that this dress, which received a great deal of media attention through being worn by Lopez, Geri Halliwell, and others, represented "some kind of high water mark in the current symbiosis between fashion and celebrity."[8]

She is known for accessibly written articles which show a keen eye and a sense of wit, and for being unafraid to express controversial opinions, such as criticising the Yves Saint Laurent brand for its multiple name changes.[1]

Novels

Armstrong has written four novels. The Economist reviewed her first novel, Front Row, as "sprawling, soap-opera-like," and showing a "superior chagrin" at being so familiar with the fashion industry.[9] In contrast, the Birmingham Post thought it was amusing, affectionate and indulgent,[10] and the Daily Mail called it merrily entertaining, saying Armstrong had "done for frocks what Jilly Cooper did for polo: made a gladiatorial social ritual into something witty and wicked, and mercifully without the embarrassing sex scenes or the excruciating puns."[11] Armstrong herself commented on Front Row: "It would've been hypocritical of me to do a complete annihilation job. I still work in that world and although it can be absurd and stupid sometimes I just found it funnier the more I observed and wrote about it."[10]

Her other novels are Dead Stylish (2001), Bad Manors (2004) and Déjà View (2005).

References

  1. ^ a b "Lisa Armstrong: Fashion Editor, The Daily Telegraph". The Business of Fashion. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  2. ^ Armstrong, Lisa (10 September 2011). "How I became a fashion editor". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Bristol University: Alumni working in journalism". Bristol University. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d e Macalister-Smith, Tilly. "My Fashion Life: Lisa Armstrong". MatchesFashion.Com. MatchesFashion.Com. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  5. ^ "Lisa Armstrong biography". The Telegraph. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  6. ^ Armstrong, Lisa (2010). Mistry, Meenal (ed.). Harper's Bazaar fashion : your guide to personal style. London: Aurum. ISBN 9781845136611.
  7. ^ "Dress of the Year: 2000 - 2009". Fashion Museum, Bath. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  8. ^ a b Evans, Caroline (2007). Fashion at the edge : spectacle, modernity and deathliness (3rd pr. ed.). New Haven [u.a.]: Yale University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780300124675.
  9. ^ "Seriously frothy: making fun of fashion". The Economist. 1 August 1998. Retrieved 6 August 2014. – via HighBeam (subscription required)
  10. ^ a b Rice, Carole Ann (29 July 1998). "Fashion Conscious with a Conscience; It's a Grim Job but Someone Has to Do It". The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 6 August 2014. – via HighBeam (subscription required)
  11. ^ Mather, Victoria (7 August 1998). "Catfights on the Catwalk". The Daily Mail. Retrieved 6 August 2014. – via HighBeam (subscription required)
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