Why Does Vanity Fair Staff Only Care About Radhika Jones’ Fox Print Tights?

Radhika Jones, who is taking over as editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair, has the kind of resume that all of us want to have one day. She has a BA degree from Harvard and a PhD from Columbia. She oversaw the New York Times’ book section as editorial director, and served as the deputy managing editor of Time.

Now, Jones is the first Indian-American woman to become editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair and the second woman to lead the magazine after Tina Brown in 1992.

But guess what happened when Jones went to visit the magazine’s staff at their swanky office in downtown Manhattan? Apparently, all that mattered was Jones’ attire. To be specific, her fox tights and an “iffy” shift dress with some zippers. At least that’s what an article on Women’s Wear Daily would like us to believe.

An article that has been doing the rounds on social media, cited an anonymous fashion editor who said Jones had an ‘interesting’ sense of dressing.

“She seemed nervous. The outfit was interesting,” the staffer noted. According to the fashion editor, the incoming editor wore a navy shift dress strewn with zippers, a garment deemed as “iffy” at best.

Incidentally, the staffer didn’t have anything to say about the new boss’s admirable literary accomplishments, or her plans and vision for the publication.

It was Jones’ choice of clothing that became the talking point.

The fashion editor was also wondering if Jones’ welcome basket should include a new pair of tights.

At this point, you are forced to wonder if Vanity Fair is run by a group of talented professionals or the characters from ‘Gossip Girls’. But then, you blink an eye and realise this is what the world looks like. No matter where in the world you are, or how talented you are, or how much you have achieved, all that matters is your fox print tights.

Shauna, a Twitter user, pointed out a whole lot of things about Jones, that (we are hoping) the staff of Vanity Fair just didn’t know.

Vogue’s iconic editor Anna Wintour called Radhika Jones “fearless and brilliant” in an interview and said that she hopes her “intelligence and curiosity” will define the future of Vanity Fair.

And despite all this, Jones will reportedly be earning just one-quarter of Graydon Carter’s former salary, on which she is tasked with revamping and revivifying a marquee title in a rapidly shifting media landscape.

Jones “is being hired at a significantly lower salary than her predecessor; her rumored starting salary of $500,000-$600,000 a year pales by comparison to Carter’s reported $2 million deal,” reported NY Post.

Pamela Paul, Editor of New York Times Book Review Editor, the former boss of Jones said hiring her “was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” And new boss hired her because she’s “very, very smart.”

Here’s more power to you, Radhika Jones. Walk in those damn fox printed tights everyday if you wish to!