Emilia Petrarca
Freelance writer based in New York City.
Emilia Petrarca is a writer for hire with almost a decade of experience covering fashion and culture.
Before going freelance in 2023, she held the full-time position of senior fashion writer for the Cut at New York magazine, where she worked for five years contributing to both online and print. Her work has also been published by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Elle, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. She has additional experience with copywriting, consulting, and social media management. Yes, she took that viral video of Larry David at New York Fashion Week.
In September 2023, Emilia launched a weekly newsletter called Shop Rat, which has over 20,000 subscribers.
Past Experience
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New York Magazine
Senior Fashion Writer
2017-2022
Wrote profiles, features, columns, reported news stories, shopping roundups, and humorous blogs for the Cut, mostly with a focus on fashion.
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W Magazine
Digital Associate Features Editor
2015-2017
Wrote culture and fashion stories for the website and briefly managed its social media.
Selected Writing
Covers
- Charli XCX for The Wall Street Journal Magazine
- Gwyneth Paltrow for Cultured
- Marc Jacobs for W China
- Julia Fox for SSENSE
- Demi Lovato for Grazia USA
- Emma Roberts for Grazia USA
- Alan Ritchson for GQ Hype
Features
- What Is It With the Price of Clothes? — Vogue
- The Users Who Overtook the Machine — SSENSE
- It’s Time To Address the Emily In the Room — NYTimes
- Would You Share Clothes With Your Mother? — WSJ
- Dirty Soap: How the Laundress Recall Muddied Its Clean Image — NYMag
- The RealReal Is a Total Mess and I Can't Quit It — NYMag
- Who Is Lisa and Why Is She Saying Gah? — The Cut
- An additional reporting byline on Stella Bugbee’s “Zizmorcore” NYMag cover story, plus an accompanying roundup of the city’s most-worn, and most-coveted merch.
- Does Anyone Want to be an Editor-In-Chief? — NYMag
Profiles
- Designer Profile: Colleen Allen — T Magazine
- A Night at the Door With Disco, the Legendary NY Bouncer — Grub Street
- The Fashion Industry Can't Seem to Get Enough of Carlos Nazario — NYMag
- Chloë Sevigny in Her Lonely City — The Cut
- Simon Porte Jacquemus Isn't Just the Man Behind Your Tiny Bag — NYMag
- The Stylist Dressing the Cut's Favorite Women (and Justin Bieber) — The Cut
- Paris Hilton Invented Everything You’re Doing, and She Knows It for W (plus the accompanying scripted video , which has over 2.3 million views.)
Retail / Business
- Young Phoebe-Philes Have Been Waiting for This Moment — Elle
- Why Aren’t Some Brands Returning to NYFW This Season? — Vogue
- Product Branding Takes a Deadpan Turn — WSJ
- How Resale Saved New York Retail — NYMag
- Butt Cleavage Arrives at the Mall: A Visit to Rihanna's First Store — NYMag
- Meet You on the Corner of Hype and Mercer — NYMag
Trend Reporting
- The Unlikely Return of the Doily — T Magazine
- When Did Olives Get So Fun? — Grub Street
- What Does the "Mob Wife Aesthetic" Actually Mean — Harper’s Bazaar
- What Is a Pickleball Dress? — NYTimes
- I Joost Loove Joots — The Cut
- Why Are Patagonia Baggies So Popular? — The Cut
- What Even Is a Going-Out Top Anymore? — The Cut
Criticism/Analysis
- Who Will Be the J.Crew of the Biden Administration? — The Cut
- Celine, Against All Odds — The Cut
- Is It Any Fun to Shop at New York’s New Mega-Mall? — The Cut
Humor
- The Fascinating Mystery of Anna Wintour’s "Go-To" Lunch — Grub Street
- What Does Your Bag Say About You? — NYMag
- High Fashion ‘Would You Rather…’ — NYMag
- I Dressed Like I Was In The Matrix for a Week — The Cut
- How I Rescued My AirPod Headphones From a Subway Grate — The Cut
- I Think About This a Lot: Chloë Sevigny and Pauly D Sitting Together at a Knicks Game — The Cut
Culture
- The Snob's Guide to Travel Google Docs — Town & Country
- I Hate How Much I Don’t Hate Nick Viall’s Dating Advice — The Cut
- Before We Make Out, Wanna Dismantle Capitalism? — NYMag
- Dimes Square Gets the Publication It Deserves — NYMag
- An Oral History of China Chalet — NYMag
Interior Design: