NEW STYLE: InStyle magazine has poached from The New York Times for the newly created position of fashion news director. Eric Wilson, a reporter and fashion critic on the Styles desk, begins his new role at the celebrity and fashion magazine Nov. 18. Ariel Foxman, the editor in chief of InStyle, said the new position involves writing, editing and “creating multimedia content.” Wilson is tasked with overseeing designer and industry features in print and online.
Wilson, 41, joined the Times from WWD in 2005 and was one of several reporters on the fashion beat while also acting as a companion critic to Cathy Horyn. Recent features covered the overbooked fashion week calendar and the continuing struggles of minority models.
He said he had been looking for a bigger role in fashion journalism than as a reporter. “I’ve been doing fashion journalism for 17 years and I love it so much but I wanted to figure out what would make sense for the rest of my career,” he said. “When I talked to [Foxman] about this, what he had in mind for the position and what I had in mind for my career were the same.”
His mandate is to create “a voice for the news coverage of InStyle,” Wilson said, “coming up with new ways to explain to readers why fashion is important and exciting.”
In recruiting a Times reporter, InStyle’s editorial bench earns some added gravitas. Foxman said of Wilson: “Not only does he bring additional credibility and a journalistic point of view, he also brings an enthusiastic approach to the full fashion calendar, celebrity red carpet and the business itself.”