Derek Charles Blasberg (born April 22, 1982) is an American writer, socialite, author, and television personality who works in the fashion industry.[1][2] As of 2018, he is the head of fashion and beauty partnerships at YouTube and is a senior staffer at Gagosian.[3]

Derek Blasberg
Derek Blasberg in December 2012
Blasberg in December 2012
Born
Derek Charles Blasberg

(1982-04-22) April 22, 1982 (age 41)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materNew York University
OccupationJournalist
Years active2000–present
WebsiteDerekBlasberg.com

Early life and family edit

Blasberg was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Bill Blasberg, a certified public accountant, and Carol Blasberg, the managing editor of the medical journal The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.[4][5] In 2000, Blasberg graduated from Affton High School, where he was salutatorian of his class.[6][7]

Career edit

College years and early career edit

In 2000, Blasberg moved to New York City to attend New York University. He graduated in 2004.[8]

During college, Blasberg worked at the model agency Elite Model Management writing bios for models. He got the job by befriending a model who lived in his dorm.[9] He worked a similar position for European agency Models 1 during a semester abroad in London.[9]

Blasberg had a part-time position at W magazine during his junior year of college.[10] In his senior year, he began working as an assistant at Vogue magazine and continued working there full time after graduating college.[2][9]

Writing edit

From 2006 to 2010, Blasberg was the Editor at Large of Style.com, where he wrote a column called "The Blasblog."[8][11]

In 2008, Blasberg edited Influence, a fashion and art tome conceived by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.[8]

From 2009 to 2012, he wrote a column called "Fast + Louche" for Interview magazine. Blasberg co-wrote several of the New York City editions of the Louis Vuitton Travel Guides.

In April 2010, Blasberg's debut book, Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady, was published.[8][12] It was a collection of humorous essays about etiquette and was on The New York Times best sellers list for several weeks.[2] In October 2011, Blasberg published a follow-up to Classy called Very Classy: Even More Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady, which was an expanded and updated version of the original.

In 2014, Blasberg worked at the Gagosian Gallery as a senior staffer.[2][13] In this position, Blasberg wrote the "In Conversation" series for Gagosian Quarterly.[14]

Before joining Vanity Fair in 2015, Blasberg was the Editor at Large of Harper's Bazaar.[15] Blasberg was an Editor at Large a V and VMAN. He was the founding U.S. Editor of the London-based arts publication Garage Magazine where he wrote a column called "Emails from the Edge."

In 2015, Blasberg published Harper's Bazaar: Models, a survey of the most important models and iconic images in fashion history, which has a foreword that was written by Karl Lagerfeld.[16]

Television edit

Starting in 2015, Blasberg hosted several Vanity Fair magazine web series, including "Conversations In The Backseat," where he has interviewed Reese Witherspoon, Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Maria Sharapova, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.[17]

He was also the host of the popular series "Derek Does Stuff With a Friend", which was one of Conde Nast Entertainment's first franchises.[18]

Since April 2016, Blasberg has been the host of the CNN International show, CNN Style.[19] CNN Style focuses on covering fashion internationally, but also includes art, architecture, and design. CNN Style was created 15 years after the long-running Style with Elsa Klensch.[20][21]

Fashion consultant edit

As a fashion editor, Blasberg has collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld, David Bailey, Terry Richardson and Marilyn Minter. Blasberg has worked as a consultant on creative projects for fashion brands that included Chanel, MAC Cosmetics, Opening Ceremony, where he had a stationery line the "Handwritten Letter Helper,"[22] and Tiffany's.[6]

Personal life edit

Blasberg lives in New York with his long-time partner, Nick Brown, a venture capitalist. On May 18, 2021, Blasberg and Brown became fathers to twins: a boy named Frederick Noah and a girl named Elizabeth Grace, who were born to a surrogate.[23]

Filmography edit

  • 2010-2012: America's Next Top Model (TV Series) – 2 episodes: "Patrick Demarchelier" and "Georgina Chapman"
  • 2012: 24 Hour Catwalk (TV Series) – Judge[24]
  • 2012: Fashion Fetish (Short Film) – Concept, Script, Actor[25]
  • 2012: Sh*t Fashion Girls Say (Short Film)[26]
  • 2014: The Approval Matrix (TV Series) – Panelist
  • 2015: Fashionably Late with Rachel Zoe (TV Series)
  • 2015: Love Advent (TV Series short)
  • 2015-2016: Vanity Fair magazine's "Conversations in the Backseat" – 2 seasons (11 episodes)[17]
  • 2016–present: CNN Style with Derek Blasberg (TV Series)[20]
  • 2017: Odd Mom Out (TV Series) – 1 episode: "M.F.A. in B.S."
  • 2018: Ocean's 8

Works and publications edit

Books edit

  • Olsen, Mary-Kate; Olsen, Ashley (2008). Blasberg, Derek (ed.). Influence. New York: Razorbill. ISBN 978-1-595-14210-8. OCLC 185026578.
  • Blasberg, Derek; Corral Design, Rodrigo (design by) (2010). Classy: Be a Lady Not a Tramp. New York: Razorbill. ISBN 978-1-595-14279-5. OCLC 428024029.
  • Blasberg, Derek; Corral Design, Rodrigo (design by) (2011). Very Classy: Be a Lady Not a Tramp. New York, NY: Razorbill. ISBN 978-1-101-56295-6. OCLC 773693658.
  • Blasberg, Derek; Lagerfeld, Karl (foreword by); Bailey, Glenda (introduction by) (2015). Harper's Bazaar: Models. New York, NY: Abrams. ISBN 978-1-419-71786-4. OCLC 921844617.

References edit

  1. ^ McLean, Gareth (4 September 2016). "Mr Likes: how Derek Blasberg became the Gatsby of the Instagram age". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b c d Swerdloff, Alexis (10 August 2016). "Derek Blasberg Is the Truman Capote of Instagram". New York.
  3. ^ "YouTube Hires Derek Blasberg to Lead New Fashion and Beauty Partnerships Division". The Business of Fashion. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  4. ^ Wilson, Eric (14 April 2010). "A Talent to Amuse". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Golfar, Fiona. "Derek Blasberg: The Social Network". Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  6. ^ a b Bass, Debra D. (20 October 2014). "21 Questions with Derek Blasberg". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  7. ^ "2018 Affton Hall of Fame Inductees". Gotsch Intermediate. Affton School District. 27 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d Aboutaleb, Britt (12 May 2010). "Life With Derek Blasberg!". Fashionista.
  9. ^ a b c Wilson, Eric (15 April 2010). "A Talent to Amuse". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  10. ^ Manoff, Jill (22 February 2012). "Top of the Classy". Alive.
  11. ^ Blasberg, Derek (6 April 2010). "How Do I Break Into the Fashion Business?". Teen Vogue.
  12. ^ "24 Hour Classy People". Interview. 14 January 2011.
  13. ^ Tell, Caroline (22 September 2015). "Forget the Party Boy: Derek Blasberg Has a New Business Model". The New York Observer.
  14. ^ Blasberg, Derek (8 December 2015). "In Conversation: Dasha Zhukova". Gagosian Quarterly. Gagosian Gallery.
  15. ^ Fernandez, Chantal (31 August 2015). "Derek Blasberg Leaves 'Harper's Bazaar' for 'Vanity Fair'". Fashionista.
  16. ^ Blasberg, Derek (8 September 2015). "Your First Look At The New "Harper's Bazaar: Models" Book". Harper's Bazaar.
  17. ^ a b "Conversations in the Backseat". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  18. ^ Katy Perry Goes Undercover as an Art Exhibit at the Whitney Museum | Vanity Fair, retrieved 2019-12-27
  19. ^ Ivory-Harte, Joel (31 March 2016). "CNN Style Launches on TV Show With Sheikha Al Mayassa, Tracey Emin, Rita Ora and Lewis Hamilton" (Press release). CNN.
  20. ^ a b "Meet CNN Style TV's host: Derek Blasberg". CNN Style. CNN. 5 April 2016.
  21. ^ Bobila, Maria (31 March 2016). "Derek Blasberg Gets His Own TV Show With 'CNN Style'". Fashionista.
  22. ^ Phelan, Hayley (13 December 2012). "Derek Blasberg On His New Opening Ceremony Stationery Line and the 'Dos and Don'ts' of Letter Writing". Fashionista.
  23. ^ "Derek Blasberg & Nick Brown Are New Dads!". Guest of a Guest. 2021-05-27.
  24. ^ Hogan, Kate (1 December 2011). "Exclusive Sneak Peek: Alexa Chung Brings the Drama on '24 Hour Catwalk'". People.
  25. ^ Zhukova, Dasha (28 June 2012). "Dasha Zhukova – Fashion Fetish" (Short film). SHOWstudio. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.
  26. ^ "Sh*t Fashion Girls Say" (Short film). The Platform. 15 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12.

External links edit