John Burr Fairchild (March 6, 1927 – February 27, 2015) was the publisher and editor in chief of ''
Women's Wear Daily
''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion".Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides infor ...
'' from 1960 to 1996 and the founding editor of ''W'' magazine in 1972.
Life
Fairchild was born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Glen Ridge. His father was Louis Fairchild, who joined WWD in 1924, and Louis's father was Edmund Fairchild, the founder of
Fairchild Publications
Fairchild Media is a publisher of fashion trade magazines, websites, and conferences for the fashion, retail and beauty industries. Fairchild Media brands include ''Women’s Wear Daily'', ''Footwear News'' (FN), ''Beauty Inc'', ''M'' and ''Fairch ...
. John was a direct descendant of Vice President
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
. He graduated from
Kent School
Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States.
Acade ...
in
Kent, Connecticut
Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located alongside the border with New York, the town's population was 3,019 according to the 2020 census. Kent is home to three boarding schools: Kent School, the Marvelwood School ...
in 1946 and
Princeton
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...
. He had a brief tour in the Army but did not see combat. In 1949, while at Fairchild's Paris office, he met his future wife Jill.Meryl Gordon, "Fashion's Most Angry Fella", ''Vanity Fair'', September 201 full text /ref>
Fairchild died on February 27, 2015 at age of 87.John B. Fairchild Dies at 87 /ref>
Career
He became the European bureau chief of Fairchild Publications in 1955, the publisher of ''Women's Wear Daily'' in 1960 and the founder of ''W'' in 1972. He wrote a column for the back page of ''W'' under the pseudonym Countess Louise J. Esterhazy. Under his control, ''Women's Wear Daily'' was transformed from a negligible trade journal into a notorious, influential and controversial fashion publication that became known as the "bible of fashion".