Booth Moore, wearing Grover Road Opera Coat, attends the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art’s Grit to Glamour Party on October 26, 2022. Photo by Shane Drummond
As a brand storyteller specializing in the intersection of fashion and entertainment, Booth Moore has interviewed hundreds of designers, CEOs, and celebrities, synthesizing their visions for readers and customers. An international authority and dynamic public speaker on celebrity, fashion, and Style, Moore has appeared on CNN and NPR, in print articles, and on live programs, where she discusses trends, designers, red carpets, and more.
Booth Moore’s career path is a testament to her dedication and adaptability. She spent 6 years at WWD, initially as the Executive Editor, West Coast, before transitioning to a role as the Executive Editor.
WWD recruited Moore from the Hollywood Reporter, where she held the title of Style and Fashion News Director for two years. Moore covered the collections, led the Style vertical, and wrote about the connection between Hollywood and Fashion, contributing to both the magazine and online.
Booth wears Dries Van Noten cape and clutch, getting ready for WWD’s inaugural Style Awards 2025. Photo courtesy Booth Moore
For years before that, Moore was at the LA Times, where she was the fashion critic and founding editor of their “Image” section. Moore was the first, if not one of the first, to do a story on the red carpet, “Pay For Play.” The red carpet has become a big business for stars and brands, and almost nobody wears anything they are not paid to. In the interim, Moore has taken the time to write three books on Style.
“Big business and big corporations have taken over, which has made the pressure for profits so much more intense. The speed at which creative directors are expected to create sensational and best-selling products and capture everyone’s attention and imagination has quickly accelerated. There is not as much leeway to take your time to develop. It has to be instantaneous”. – Booth Moore
Moore has much to say about the current state of fashion and the speed at which everything changes. She sees the upheaval in fashion as mirroring our times. Booth feels that much of what is happening is because fashion is now moving at the speed of pop culture.
Booth Moore dressed in Dries Van Noten for two evening events in Los Angeles. Photograph by Sela Shiloni
Moore got the journalism bug while writing for her high school newspaper. Born and raised in New York, she attended Chapin and received her BA in history from Duke. Being based in LA has afforded Booth easier access to happenings on the West Coast and allowed her to get to know the agents, stylists, and entire scene.
One of the highlights of Booth’s career is witnessing the rise of LA as a style capital. LA was once seen as a “second city,” but no longer. When Booth started at the LA Times, she could not get into the Balenciaga show, which was designed by Nicolas Guesquiere.
Booth had a heated conversation about why LA was important, explaining that people there spend a lot of money on clothes, etc. A few years later, Balenciaga opened a store on Melrose Place, and they wanted her to cover it.
Loewe Fall 2025 Ready-to-Wear Photo by Launchmetrics Spotlight for The Impression.
Fashion musical chairs are THE inescapable story in fashion right now. The talk quickly turned to Jonathan Anderson leaving LOEWE, the assumption that he will be going to Dior (which is in dire need of an injection of creativity), and the rumors that Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez would become creative directors at LOEWE which was confirmed on Monday. No surprise there.
“Loewe developed incredibly under Jonathan Anderson. The marketing, the craft, and his collaboration with celebrities have been the best in the business, and Jonathan’s sense of humor is needed in fashion right now.” – Booth Moore.
In 2019, Booth wrote a column about how fashion was stuck in the “Hollywood remake mentality.” Numerous franchises and luxury brands have house codes (Chanel’s camellia, for example). People keep rehashing and regurgitating them, which can be exciting or very dull.
The discussion turned to Matthieu Blazy, Chanel’s new creative director. Moore feels that unlike Lagerfeld, one of the leaders in commodifying luxury, Blazy will want to push back and focus more on craft, which will likely be a turning of the page for fashion. “They will need the bags and familiar codes to sell and make money, but maybe it will be less about merchandise product forward,” opines Moore.
There is so much turnover with creative directors and new debuts. The challenge for designers is how to strike the right balance by being reverent to the past while bringing something of themselves and something surprising to the equation. In Moore’s opinion, Sarah Burton fully understood that assignment with her debut as creative director at Givenchy for fall 2025.
Booth getting ready for WWD’s Live on the 2025 Golden Globes Red Carpet wearing a Diotima Vest and Banana Republic Gown
In New York, Booth is partial to Diotima, a favorite of hers, and Luar and Willy Chavarria, who are dedicated to the Latin American experience. Finding new talent is one of the most rewarding aspects of Booth’s work.
Josh Tafoya designs, joshtafoya
Moore recently discovered Josh Tafoya, a finalist for the LVMH Prize, when covering the Indigenous collections in Santa Fe. Tafoya from Taos, New Mexico, specializes in traditional weaving with a punk rock spin.
President Donald Trump & Bernard Arnault – photo by Michael Buckner for WWD,
Among the “crazy stories” Booth has loved covering and reporting on is when Bernard Arnault and Donald Trump met at the Louis Vuitton factory in rural Texas, “Trump and Arnault Meet in Rural Texas,” October 17, 2019.
Rick Owens with Michele Lamy in front of his first studio in Hollywood, November 18, 2019, Photograph by Emily Malan for WWD.
Another great memory is when Rick Owens returned to LA for the first time in 16 years, and they rented a little bus and drove around to his old haunts, “Moore From L.A.: Rick Owens Isn’t Over L.A. Yet,” November 18, 2019.
Booth Moore, wearing Dries Van Noten, attends Levi’s Haus of Strauss Paris x Shiong Turnini at Hotel Liberal Bryant, Paris, September 24, 2024, photo Zach Hilty of BFA
When I asked about Moore’s most memorable fashion shows, she said there are too many to count, but high on her list is any Prada, Miu Miu, or Dries show because she wanted to wear so much of it. Ditto Phoebe Philo for Celine, which was such a moment in fashion time.
Alexander McQueen was the consummate showman who embraced art and technology. The Hussein Chalayan spring 2007 mechanical dress show was just a tech marvel. Any Iris Van Herpen show is because of her incredible future-thinking technique; any Alber at Lanvin show is because of his tender approach.
The final Tom Ford Gucci show, with the rose petals raining down, was a moment that an American had scaled the heights of European fashion. Booth loved Alessandro Michele’s Gucci show on Hollywood Boulevard, which was as cinematic as they come.
The infamous Galliano spring 2006 collection with a diverse runway cast. The Karl-era Chanel supermarket show was such a feat, and we all sneaked away with groceries, the iceberg show, the farm show, the carousel show, and more.
Because Moore had covered 9/11 for the LA Times while in NY for fashion week, the Givenchy post-9/11 show was held on the pier, where we saw the beams of light where the towers fell as the show ended.
She also loved many indie NY moments, like the Miguel Adrover show with goats, the Imitation of Christ’s “Funeral Parlor” show, and the Raf for Calvin show with popcorn all over the floor. She also loved Oscar and Kors shows in the heady late 90s/early 2000s, when Bryant Park was the best scene ever.
As for the future of fashion magazines, Booth observes that it’s all about smaller niche titles and self-published substacks, which enable you to have your own magazine and be your own self-publisher. Booth believes that in order to keep customers engaged, brands will need their own media companies to produce copy, film, and music like Saint Laurent Productions.
Booth Moore wearing Proenza Schouler Photo Courtesy of Booth Moore.
Meanwhile, Moore is keeping busy. This week, she will address the Arizona Costume Institute with a talk at the Phoenix Art Museum. At the beginning of May, Moore is off to Atlanta to judge the SCAD Senior Thesis project. Booth enjoys public speaking and moderating panels—”a great experience at WWD”—and is comfortable doing it.
I’m excited about the future; I’m excited to use my brain in a new way, to be more involved with strategy and creative and not locked in a box,” says Booth, who hopes to leverage her experience to pivot into brand strategy and content management.
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