Cathy Horyn Leaves The New York Times After 15 Years

[Cold]

Cathy Horyn Resigns
By Alexandra Steigard

Cathy Horyn, the longtime fashion critic of The New York Times, has resigned, WWD has learned.

The Times was expected to reveal her resignation today. A Times spokeswoman confirmed her resignation.

Horyn is understood to want to spend more time traveling. Her resignation comes amidst major changes at the Styles section of The Times, which also saw the departure of Eric Wilson to In Style and the additions of John Koblin and Matthew Scheier as reporters.

wwd.com via mistress_f

Cathy Horyn is leaving the paper “to spend more time with her partner, Art Ortenberg, who has had health problems,” Executive Editor Jill Abramson and Styles Editor Stuart Emmrich tell staffers in a memo.

______________

It is with both deep sadness over her departure and immense gratitude for the legacy she leaves behind that we announce that Cathy Horyn, the paper’s chief fashion critic since 1999, is leaving The Times. Cathy’s reasons for leaving are personal ones, to spend more with her partner, Art Ortenberg, who has had health problems, and whom she feels would benefit greatly from her increased presence at home.

How do we measure the impact that Cathy has made at The Times? Is it in the 1,123 bylined pieces she has written in the past 15 years? The promising designers she discovered, the unoriginal ones she dismissed, the talents that she celebrated in ways that illuminated their creative process for a readership that ranged from the executive offices of LVMH to the bargain shoppers at Barneys Warehouse? We do so in all of those ways to mark the work of a woman who is the preeminent fashion critic of her generation and who has set an almost impossible standard for those who may follow.

Cathy’s is a unique voice in the fashion world, one that was immediately announced by one of her very first reviews in The Times, of the couture shows in Paris in January, 1999. Here is how she led off that piece:

Just about everyone who comes to the haute couture collections knows that Nan is Nan Kempner, that Deeda is Deeda Blair and that Liliane Bettencourt, who was seated Wednesday in the front row at the Yves Saint Laurent show and wearing an orange muffler, is the richest woman in France. They may or may not know that the youngest couture customer at Givenchy is all of 8, or that Dodie Rosekrans, the San Francisco art patron and couture stalwart, recently bought a full-size guillotine covered with the Chanel logo for her home in Venice. But give them time. Paris is probably the only place on earth where the world’s rich, titled and tucked can always count on being connected, if only through clothes.

How can you not be immediately hooked? Times readers were, and have continued to be for the past 15 years. But Cathy was more than just a fashion critic. She was also a superb reporter, one who used fashion as her lens to look into broader cultural themes, most recently in her riveting A1 piece on Jackie Kennedy’s iconic pink suit, worn the day her husband was assassinated in Dallas and today shielded from public view, along with her blood-stained stockings, in a climate-controlled vault on the outskirts of Washington.

Cathy will be sorely missed by all of us in Styles and by the paper as a whole. But she is not leaving us completely: She will continue to work on a project that is dear to her heart: A book to be published by Rizzoli that chronicles how The New York Times has covered fashion from the 1850s to the first decades of the 21st century. No doubt it will be a great read.

Fondly,
Jill and Stuart

poynter.org

 

[Koibito]

This explains why there's no review of her in ss14 couture fashion week. I'm gonna miss her words.

Hope she will be back someday.

 

[VogueDisciple93]

I will miss her dearly. An icon in my eyes.

 

[Luxx]

There are only a handful of fashion reviewers who give real reviews and they're dropping like flies lately. This makes me sad, Cathy was and is incredibly good at what she does and in a world inundated with opinions hers was one of the few that was actually worth reading - she will be missed.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

She actually inspired me to start writing. I am sad to see her go, she was the best imo

 

[Miss Dalloway]

I wont miss her snark or meanness that is for sure! That said, i thought she could be a wonderful, and very knowledgeable journalist, i disagreed with some of her reviews, but this is surprising she is leaving.

 

[MulletProof]

Sad... she was the only journalist in an outlet as huge as The New York Times with the right amount of ethics to exercise and invite real criticism in an industry that needs it like no other. All we're left with now is people dressed in silly seasonal uniforms presenting themselves as journalists in order to use means of communication as a public way to strengthen their social network and pave their way up, via compliments, clapping like fools and not questioning a single thing that hits their eye.

It's crazy how all the good ones are slowly exiting...

 

[Marc10]

Oh wow this is really sad for me too. Cathy is probably my favorite fashion jornalist alongside Tim Blanks, reading her reviews were always a pleasure and a study and it will be really odd going through Fashion Week without them. Wish all the best for her and her partner, and deeply wish to see her back at writing in the future.

On a sidenote, I am however happy to hear that Eric Wilson is out. He was always a waste of space and attention.

 

[StoneSkipper]

Sad... she was the only journalist in an outlet as huge as The New York Times with the right amount of ethics to exercise and invite real criticism in an industry that needs it like no other. All we're left with now is people dressed in silly seasonal uniforms presenting themselves as journalists in order to use means of communication as a public way to strengthen their social network and pave their way up, via compliments, clapping like fools and not questioning a single thing that hits their eye.

It's crazy how all the good ones are slowly exiting...

You nailed it. Cathy was one the few who actually gave a real opinion about anything, and she will be sorely missed.

 

[HeatherAnne]

She definitely played favorites, but I will still miss her insight. She was always able to a) give collections a historical context and, likewise b) pack her reviews full of information that people wouldn't be able to access from simply viewing the collection -- the latter of which seems to be the current dummy-method of reviewing collections. She also largely refrained from the snark, except when she was expertly sticking it to someone like she did Slimane's first run at Saint Laurent which still makes me laugh. Horyn was a class act, and I doubt anyone will ever top her. I wish her and her partner the best.

Eric Wilson, however, GOOD RIDDANCE.

 

[softgrey]

exit- stage left...
i wish her well...
i hope she will do some freelance writing after awhile...
but if she chose to go live on a farm and raise sheep, i would just be happy for her...

 

[Scott]

will be sorely missed. one of the last remaining journos who was truly honest,who never wavered her authenticity in a growing mass of sycophants and panderers. i guess suzy menkes is about all we have left these days.

 

[Sensation]

Sad to hear. I'll miss reading her reviews.

 

[YoninahAliza]

I'm a bit sad to hear that Cathy is leaving the New York Times, I cannot tell you how often I've found insight and wisdom from her words, she always looks at fashion with fresh eyes. She's truly a fantastic fashion journalist, very honest and good at her job. I hope that this isn't the last we hear from Cathy (and I have a feeling she might pop up from time to time) but most of all, I hope she enjoys whatever's next for her.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

Too bad. But she was lovely while she lasted and tongue-lashed a little...
May her time with her partner result in health and happiness for both.

 

[Creative]

She was one of the most biased journalists ever. I won't miss her.

 

[Luxx]

I wonder if this will open the door for Robin Givhan at the Times.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

I wonder if this will open the door for Robin Givhan at the Times.

That would be a dream, if anyone had no shame in calling out designers and putting criticism where it needed to be its definitely Robin. I don't ever remember reading articles and thinking she was showing favoritism. I love Cathy but she did have her favorites that she defended each season regardless of the clothes they put out

 

[SugarMe]

Well with Robin contributing to The Cut and The Washington Post, might that be some kind of conflict? I'm not sure it would happen anytime soon. One can dream, though!

 

[Littleathquakes]

She was among the few handful whose opinions I actually cared for. Sadly there does not appear to be a junior class of fashion journalists waiting for their chance in the light now that there is a vacancy. I hope all the journalistic hacks take center stage and overrun the show, eventually to the point where it self implodes and a new day begins.