Elaine Welteroth: Modern Renaissance Woman in Print and Media

The fashion industry consists of a lot more than simply just clothes. In fact, there is a whole
slew of moving parts that bring the end goal of the consumer viewing and in effect, purchasing
these pieces and becoming aware of the designers that produce them. One of the most
important and perhaps polarizing positions in the industry is that of the fashion journalist. The
fashion journalist is constantly describing and telling readers what is new, or what is about to be
hot. Over time, fashion journalists have been the gatekeepers for how news and opinions on
fashion make it out into the world, but in their own unique ways and styles, almost forms of
fashion themselves. Though she is known for being the first and youngest Black woman to sit
at the helm of a Vogue publication, Teen Vogue, Elaine Welteroth is a pioneer of fashion and
fashion journalism in more ways than one; her talent and push for self-worth, both in and out of
the industry knows no bounds.

Born to a Black mother and a white father in Fremont, California, and the eldest of two siblings,
Welteroth was equipped to take charge and create space and opportunity for girls like herself at
a very young age. Like many Black girls, and especially Black girls who were interested in the
fashion industry, there was not, and often still is not, a role model to whom aspiring writers can
look up to. Welteroth aimed to change that. She was interested in stories and storytelling and
made that her goal; she graduated from California State University-Sacramento with a degree in
mass communication/media studies and a minor in journalism. Her charisma and passion for
her passions and studies was evident from the start.

Moving to New York and settling down in the various boroughs over time, Welteroth broke her
way into the fashion journalism industry. As many do, she held some odd jobs before her first
“writing job,” an unpaid internship at the notable Ebony Magazine. A magazine that created
huge conversations about Black designers and models over time, it provided the perfect place
for Welteroth to get her feet wet as a journalist. One of her first assignments before securing
this internship following a cold call to Hariette Cole was assisting on a cover shoot of tennis star,
Serena Williams. Cole was so impressed with Welteroth’s professionalism at her age that she
was given the internship, and later, promoted to the position of Cole’s assistant. All in all,
Welteroth served as the acclaimed Ebony Magazine’s Beauty and Style Editor from 2008 to
2011. While her talent and class and charm were realized here, Welteroth was just getting
started.

There are many places in certain industries that, when one gets there and works there, they
know that they have made it. Condé Nast is one of these places in the industry of fashion. And
after an already immensely successful beginning to her career, in September 2011, Welteroth
joined Glamour Magazine for a brief time as the Beauty and Style Editor, then the Senior Beauty
Editor. Most notably and known, however, in October 2012, she took on the position of Beauty
and Health Director, garnering her the title of the first and youngest African American woman to ever serve in ever serve in said position, and then after, she was named Editor of Teen Vogue in 2016. The beginning of this milestone in the fashion industry and the world also turned a new page for Teen Vogue: Welteroth gave the magazine new meaning, and shifted the focus of the almost
tired publication to new and important topics that girls should be focusing on, such as politics,
mental health, and most specifically, diversity. The first issue that was published during
Welteroth’s occupancy at Teen Vogue bore a headline stating, “Cultural Appreciation: Real
Girls, Real Beauty, Real Talk,” featuring Willow Smith on the cover.

Welteroth also began a Teen Vogue book club, where she and other popular, young, celebrities
of color promoted books that told the stories of racial hardships and successes. She made
politics appealing, in addition to important, through her Facebook livestream in December of
2016; encouraging viewers to learn from and engage with political texts by black women.
Welteroth not only changed the contents of Teen Vogue, making it more digitally-focused, but
also she changed the viewpoint of the brand’s social media, specifically, Instagram. She gave
the publication more of a real, adult voice and energy by posting behind-the-scenes photos, as
well as her own personal photos, as well as casual style photos and selfies with celebrities;
giving the account a less-fabricated vibe.

While Welteroth was in office at Teen Vogue, in addition to all of the above, she also had the
magazine, and herself, featured on an episode of Black.Ish, as well as has been praised for
“trea[ing] teenagers like rounded human beings with agency and intellect” by Slate, as well as
recognized for providing representation in Vogue’s younger sister magazine by writer Laura
Witt. Most importantly, According to Condé Nast, subscriptions for Teen Vogue increased
535% while Welteroth had control of content.

The written word may be Welteroth’s first calling, however, she has made many prominent
speaking engagements in her field, as well, including springboarding a conversation at the 2015
New York Fashion Week about the diversity of fashion, beauty standards, and cultural
appropriation in the industry along with former model and current activist, Bethann Hardison, as
well as various other conferences. Welteroth’s success is endless and gratifying and
charismatic, and she has been noticed for it. In 2016, Welteroth was named 47th in The Root’s
list of 100 influential African-Americans. Finally, in 2017, she was officially named Teen
Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief in 2017.

All good and prolific things must come to an end to make way for the new and the uncharted. In
early 2018, following the elimination of the Teen Vogue print edition, Welteroth decided to leave
Teen Vogue and Condé Nast as a whole; moving into the media side of fashion, and notably
serving as a judge on Project Runway. As the career pivot could have seemed shocking or
random, it actually proves that Welteroth was on the cutting edge of fashion and the industry as
a whole; knowing before many that fashion would take a turn to being more digital, rather than
print-forward. Welteroth is still one of the most vibrant and loud and positive voices seen on
social media; through her voice and her styles alike.

Welteroth’s successes are endless; and despite writing them down, it is almost impossible to
convey the magnitude of influence Welteroth has had on the fashion industry, but more
importantly, her influence on Black and women and girls of color and their inclusion and impact
on beauty, fashion, politics, and literature. Her cutting-edge approach to tired fashion magazine
publications, not to mention her inclusion of important topics in magazines aimed at younger
girls, as well as her pivot to digital fashion make Welteroth a true Renaissance woman. By: Emily Goldberg