Switching roles from journalist to journalist

– Chloé Prat interviewing Bronwyn Cosgrave

A month ago, I became friends with bestselling author, journalist, and film producer Bronwyn Cosgrave. I reached out to her on Instagram, seeing she was friends with fashion journalist Dana Thomas, whom I had met during the book signing “Gods and Kings.” Dana’s famous book captures life moments of Galliano and Margiela and inspired my first thesis when I was a journalist student at la Sorbonne. It helped me convey how American flappers like Josephine Baker used fashion to emancipate from patriarchal norms. Dana and Bronwyn have been working together for a long time, and they share a common passion for fashion and writing.

As I researched Bronwyn works, I was inspired by its diversity and consistency and asked her for journalistic advice. A few weeks later, Bronwyn opened her world to me, leading to a call-interview between two continents: America and Europe. Bronwyn works in New York, and I am based in Paris, so we talked within a six-hour time difference. She was looking at the afternoon sun while I was contemplating the hidden Parisian moon.

Our interview unfolded into a debate. I asked questions about her work, from her journalistic debut to her present projects, while she wanted to know more about my journalistic work and projects. Staring at the New York sun, Bronwyn took me back to her beginnings, reminiscing her life in London.

Starting as newspaper reporter in London Bronwyn soon learned the importance of multitasking. To make a living, she juggled a full-time job for The European newspaper with freelance work for magazines. “I’d be working at a newspaper, then working at night or on the weekends freelancing, writing articles,” she says.

Being in a competitive industry, Bronwyn also insisted on the importance of connecting with others and supporting fellow journalists. “Writing articles is a team effort,” she states. “I do like working with other people because it can fuel your creative spirit and make you happy,” she adds.

Bronwyn also produces documentaries including series which will air next year on YouTube and director Reiner Holzemer’s adaptation of Dana Thomas’s bestselling book about fashion and sustainability, Fashionopolis.

In addition, Bronwyn is a public speaker. “I am open to every opportunity,” she says. Working on different projects is key in the fashion industry, especially if you want to make your job viable.

The secret to keep these projects going is to give different voices to one project and diversify formats. Bronwyn confides, “You can realize an article or a book, and it becomes either a documentary or a podcast.” By doing so, she explores all forms of journalism, video journalism, written journalism, audio journalism, keeping a meaningful industry alive.

I confess to Bronwyn that I have always loved writing and podcasting. I find it very fulfilling. I mostly write and talk about the cultural and social stakes of fashion on my online magazine La Fashion Bubble. One of my latest articles was on German high-end fashion and its influence on Berlin Street style. I decided to write about Germanic designers because I feel that not many people know about their influence on today’s fashion. I also recorded fashion podcasts, one of them focusing on Yves Saint Laurent and his relation to art, which also aired on the radio. And, I have a manuscript in the oven showing how fashion travels in time and space.

“When you’re writing a book you’re either in a library or a room. While it’s very rewarding, it’s also very lonely,” she states.

To make your career last as journalist, Bronwyn suggests keeping conversations going. A project is a journey, and once you’ve made a project with someone, you can work on another one when the time is right. Bronwyn says: “Time is the friend of the creative professional.”  And what a better way to learn than from each other?

Header image: courtesy of @cosgravebronwyn

To support my work feel free to subscribe here: