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‘The best fashion journalism is social observation’: Media interview with Caroline Leaper, deputy fashion director at The Telegraph

Staying ‘in fashion’ can be a tricky business. Caroline Leaper, deputy fashion director at The Telegraph, has made it her career for the last ten plus years. She has covered major fashion shows, designer debuts, and royal weddings. The enduring fascination for Caroline over the years has been supermodels, leading to her new book ‘Supermodels Discovered’.

We caught up with her to discuss the book, her career highlights, how the fashion industry has altered over the years, and what impact AI is having.

You’ve been writing about fashion for just over a decade – how has the industry changed during that time?

Both the subject matter and the way it’s covered have changed dramatically. I started out working on fashion magazines (InStyle and Marie Claire) before joining The Telegraph in 2017. Both of those magazines have since ceased printing. At the start of my career, the high street was thriving and the media message was ‘shop, shop, shop’ – now readers are more discerning and want to buy with sustainability in mind. The fashion press has both led that shift and responded to it. 

What inspired your new book ‘Supermodels Discovered’? 

I’ve always been fascinated by supermodels – their beauty and the incredible photographs they feature in, yes, but also all of the noise around them. The question that fans and journalists love to ask every model, no matter what stage they are at in their career, is ‘how were you discovered’? Many of the most famous women in the industry were plucked from obscurity and launched global careers seemingly overnight. Of course, there is always more to those stories, and I hadn’t before seen a book that told them. I wanted to tell several model discovery stories, across several decades, to also show how modelling has evolved over time alongside pop culture, fashion, photography, technology, etc.. I hope that readers can dip in to read individual ‘chapters’ on their favourite models, or might read it as ordered chronologically, to appreciate  and enjoy that evolution.

You interviewed a number of supermodels about their discovery – how did you approach these meetings, and what were some of your favourite moments during this part of the research?  

There are nine original interviews in the book – with Claudia Schiffer, Amber Valletta, Beverly Johnson, Pat Cleveland, Halima Aden, Stephanie Seymour, Janice Dickinson, Karen Elson, and Coco Rocha. I wanted this element to add another dimension to the stories, and each supermodel shared truly personal anecdotes from the earliest parts of their career. I found that all of the interviewees had incredibly detailed memories of the moments that changed their lives – Claudia can recall the exact song she was dancing to, and what she was wearing, when an agent approached her in a Dusseldorf disco, while Pat reminisces about mastering her statement catwalk flair on the top of some town hall tables in 1966. I think the Q&As bring the book to life.

How was the book writing process, and are you planning to write any more? 

I took almost a year to write it during evenings and weekends, whilst continuing to work at The Telegraph in my role as deputy fashion director. I was a bit obsessed. My favourite activity was searching newspaper archives to find the first ever interviews that each supermodel did, typically with local hometown papers. These were brilliant sources as they were so unfiltered – names such as Cindy Crawford talking about what it was like to detassel corn in DeKalb, Illinois, before she had a chance to model for a local boutique. When so many stars are guarded by publicists now those early interviews seem very refreshing and revealing. 

What have been some of the journalistic highlights from your career so far?

The best fashion journalism is social observation – who’s wearing what and why. I’ve loved covering so many big events over the last decade – royal weddings and political inaugurations, red carpet parades, even sporting events. There are plenty of stories that readers might not have thought there could be a fashion angle to – and yet often fashion becomes the most fascinating part of the story. 

What is your take on the use of AI in the beauty and fashion industries – is it a positive or negative trend?

It’s still early days but there have been some really interesting experiments so far – brands from Mango on the high street, to designer labels such as Etro, have replaced models with AI figures for advertising campaigns. I’d argue that there could never be an AI supermodel, though – the fashion industry is full of unique characters, and it’s their personality that makes the public interest in them so enduring. 

Describe what it’s like to cover fashion week(s) across the world – what is a typical day like?

It’s a part of the job that I have always really enjoyed. Being in the room when a new collection is unveiled is a huge privilege – whether you’re seeing a young designer’s work for the first time, or reporting on an over-the-top spectacle from an established brand. The days are long (shows typically run every hour on the hour, often from nine ‘til nine) and the workload stacks up because you generally need to file a news story straight after the event. But we have a lovely fashion team at The Telegraph who I enjoy digesting it all with. Of course, it’s a great time to do some supermodel spotting too.

Supermodels Discovered is available to buy now. Keep up with Caroline’s work at The Telegraph by following her on Instagram and on X (formerly Twitter). 

If you’re a journalist that would like to chat with us about the state of journalism or your career in the industry so far then you can contact us via news@responsesource.com

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