Substack: the new El Dorado for fashion journalists

Can the fashion press reinvent itself? Confronted with the crisis in traditional media, journalists are turning to the paid-newsletter platform Substack, which promises editorial independence and substantial income for the sharpest pens.

Launched in the United States in 2017, Substack is not a media outlet but a platform that allows internet users to subscribe to free or paid newsletters (about six euros a month), with authors receiving the proceeds, minus a 10% commission. Since 2021, Substack says it has added one million paid subscriptions a year, reaching five million by 2025.

The model, simple on the surface, depends on writers’ ability to cultivate a loyal audience. Unlike a traditional media organisation, no salary is guaranteed: income depends directly on the number of paying subscribers. A niche at first, the platform initially drew a few big names from US political journalism, before extending its reach to other sectors such as economics, technology and, more unexpectedly, fashion.

American fashion journalist Louis Pisano, who covers the industry’s inner workings from Paris, was approached in 2019 by the Substack Pro programme team. “I immediately thought it was really great, like a feeling of going back to the blogging days of the 2000s,” he tells AFP. “Above all, finally a space where I wouldn’t have to worry about editors or advertisers- two things I’ve had friction with in the past,” he continues.

His first piece, in February 2025- a lengthy, revealing interview with a former employee of Kanye West’s controversial clothing brand- propelled him into the spotlight.

Meritocracy

“The press doesn’t pay well; magazines are losing their writers- the very people who set the vision,” a fashion journalist who has moved to the platform, and requested anonymity, told AFP. “The potential for growth is unlimited: if I make people want to click, if the vision is right, I increase my subscriptions,” she says.

Since 2022, the number of publications and subscriptions in the “fashion and beauty” category has more than doubled every year, according to the company.

“Fashion and beauty publishers collectively earn more than $10 million a year from paid subscriptions to their Substack platforms,” the American company told AFP in a written statement. For the price of a fashion magazine at the news-stand, where sales are falling, readers can subscribe to one of these newsletters. It is, however, hard to imagine them doing so for several.

“Substack is truly a meritocracy: users are in control. The subscription model rewards creators who honour the trust and attention of their audience, and can help forge deeper bonds than on other social media platforms,” she adds.

In the US, newsletters such as Joanna Goddard’s ‘Big Salad,’ Jessica Graves’s ‘The Love List’ and Emilia Petrarca’s ‘Shop Rat’ have become bona fide media outlets. In France, Bénédicte Burguet Journé’s beauty, nutrition, and personal development publication continues to climb Substack’s rankings, as did- for a time- Inné dans la mode, which specialises in practical tips for copying looks.

Independence

Neither Substack nor the authors contacted would disclose their exact earnings. The company does not share the number of subscriptions per publication. Even so, a calculation suggests that with 3,000 monthly subscriptions at an average of six euros, a “Substacker” earns around 200,000 euros a year.

New York-based writer Jessica Graves, who offers both monetised links to products and in-depth analyses of the sociology of fashion trends, says she earns “over $275,000” with her ‘Love List,’ content that has “survived every format change for 20 years,” from blogs to social media to newsletters.

In Paris, journalist Louis Pisano says he “makes a better living” from his paid newsletter ‘Discoursted’ than from his freelance work.

“It’s an El Dorado, not least because I no longer have to chase late payers,” he jokes. “And then, look at what’s happening to the traditional legacy media: they’re dying, or turning into events agencies, or surviving only to generate sensationalist clicks designed to reassure their advertisers,” he says, convinced that “the future of journalism is independence.”

By Daphné Rousseau