Leandra Medine

Leandra Medine
Born December 20, 1988 (Age 27)
New York City
Nationality American
Occupation Fashion blogger[1]
Years active 2010–present
Known for Founder of The Man Repeller
Notable work Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls.
Spouse(s) Abraham "Abie" Cohen (m. 2012)
Website The Man Repeller

Leandra Medine is an American author[2] and fashion blogger best known for The Man Repeller,[3] a humorous website for serious fashion.[4] She explained the title of her blog to the Daily Mail: "Good fashion is about pleasing women, not men, so as it happens, the trends that we love, men hate. And that is fantastic."[5]

In 2012, Medine was featured in Forbes's "Top 30 Under 30" as one of the year's "most influential trendsetters,"[6] while The Man Repeller was recognized in TIME's "25 Best Blogs of 2012",[7] and received "Best Overall Blog" at the 2012 Bloglovin' Awards.[8] In that year, Medine also topped Adweek's "Fashion Power 25" which recognizes those "who truly mattered in fashion and style," beating the likes of Lady Gaga, Michelle Obama, and Anna Wintour."[9] In 2013, Medine was featured in Fast Company Magazine's "100 Most Creative People" issue.[10]

Early life and education

Medine was born and raised in New York City, the daughter of Mois and Lyora "Laura" Medine. She is of Turkish Jewish and Iranian Jewish descent. Medine attended the Ramaz School on the Upper East Side.[1][11][12][13] Medine has three brothers: Haim, Henry and Mark.[14]

In May 2011, Medine obtained her undergraduate degree from The New School, where she majored in Journalism.[15]

Professional

Online career

Medine's first foray into blogging began in 2009, with her first humor blog, Boogers + Bagels, hosted by web-publishing service, blogspot. The name of the blog arose from an anecdote which Medine shared on the blog, in which she explains that "I was enjoying the fantastic weather while looking devilishly handsome clad in a Madewell Chambray light wash shirt with ripped Levi's denim shorts"..."Anyway, I stopped at Bagel Bob's to get a bagel and eat it in Washington Square Park. So I got it and I ate it and while I was eating it found a booger on my cream cheese. Boogers and bagels".[16]

The blog covered such content as new fashion trends ("Obsession du Jour: Safety Pins"), personal anecdotes ("Mama's Home!"), feminism ("Daily Dose of Didion"), and humor ("Confessions of a Watch Stacker"). Medine's writing in Boogers + Bagels was infused with the signature humor and reference to style that has come to define her blogging and garner her large and growing social media following. The blog's final post was published on April 19, 2010, shortly after the launch of Medine's second, and most famous, blog, The Man Repeller. Prior to the completion of Boogers + Bagels, Medine had started to incorporate "Man Repelling" terminology into her Boogers + Bagels blog posts, with such articles as "Daily Man Repeller" and "Man Repeller Du Jour" percursing her ultimate transition to The Man Repeller. blog.

Medine started The Man Repeller blog in May 2010 as a hobby. The idea for the blog came during a trip to Topshop with friend Rachel Strugatz, now a reporter at Women's Wear Daily. Medine recalled, "We were laughing at how everything was so man-repelling: acid-washed harem pants and enormous shoulder pads, and I just said, ‘That’s it! That’s the blog,’"[4] In an interview, Medine went on to explain, "Man Repelling isn't about getting dressed and saying 'How am I going to repel a man today?' It's about dressing for yourself and liking what you're wearing."[17]

Only three days after its launch, The Man Repeller blog was featured on the viral fashion blog Refinery29, accelerating its rise to public prominence.

2011–Present

As of August 2016, Medine's audience included more than 363,000 Twitter followers,[18] 1,500,000 Instagram followers [19] and 300,000 Facebook followers.[20] In its early years, the blog solely consisted of Medine, but now, she employs eleven full-time employees to assist her with social media, graphic design, content strategy, and marketing.

Articles now branch beyond fashion, covering such topics as current events and lifestyle. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Medine said "I think my readership has evolved with me"... "I hope [The Man Repeller] keeps evolving with me and takes on a different identity every time I want it to. And every time the readers want it to." [21] In August 2016, ManRepeller.com updated their mission statement to the following: "...Man Repeller isn’t just a website. It’s an award-winning multi-media business and a global community of bright, interested and interesting people who know that fashion, humor and intelligence are not mutually exclusive. Our founding tenet is the belief that style is a meaningful form of self-expression. And the most empowering thing you can share is your point of view: through clothes, through words, through whatever wacky and wonderful shape it might take. It’s by offering up our genuine selves that we can actually connect with others..."

In September 2012, during an appearance on Bloomberg Television's Surveillance Midday, Medine announced that she was working on a book which would consist of a collection of essays.[22] In September 2013, the book, entitled Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls. was released by Grand Central Publishing. In his review of Medine's book, Simon Doonan, creative ambassador of Barneys stated: "Leandra is a sick, twisted fashion addict and guess what? There is no rehab. As this book shows, she is doomed to be stylish and groovy and hilarious for the rest of her life.”" [23]

Medine has collaborated with designers on limited collections of clothes and accessories, including Gryphon, shoe companies Del Toro and Superga, jewelry line Dannijo, and clothing line PJK. Additional brand collaborations include Michael Kors, Maje, BaubleBar, Stuart Weitzman, and Saks Fifth Avenue.[24] She is close friends with Dannijo founders Danielle and Jodie Snyder, as well as designers Rosie Assoulin[25] and Rebecca Minkoff, the latter of whom helped Medine to design a motorcycle jacket for her 2012 wedding to Abie Cohen. In her book, Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls., Medine says: "With the help of a designer friend, Rebecca Minkoff (I realize how pretentious this sounds, but I did wear a moto jacket over my wedding dress, after all), I created the alpha jacket in a perfect hue of eggshell white organza equipped with many obligatory gold zippers and buttons." [26] Additionally, Medine walked in Rebecca Minkoff's Fall 2011 Runway show.[27]

In 2012, Medine signed with the Creative Artists Agency, an entertainment talent agency headquartered in Los Angeles, California. In an interview with The Business of Fashion, Medine said: "I think they are great at representing individuals and they know how to execute. We have the ideas, we just need an execution plan and that's where they come in really well." [24]

Personal life

In December 2011, Medine announced her engagement to Abie Cohen, a financial advisor at UBS, whom she had met when she was 17 years old.[28][29] The announcement of the engagement, made through Medine’s Twitter account, took followers by surprise, as Medine had never explicitly mentioned the presence of a significant other on her blog. Her Twitter pronouncement read: “So, funny story! I got engaged last week!”. Following Medine’s pronouncement, many responded negatively, questioning her commitment to the principles of “man repelling” outlined in her blog. The Huffington Post wrote: “What happens when the Man Repeller no longer repels men?”,[30]

In Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls., Medine outlines the period of personal doubt that followed the social media backlash to her engagement. "The ridicule paralyzed me. I understood why people were upset.", Medine recalls. "I was delivering insight on fashion and projecting information onto people"..."telling them to be confident and cool and dye their hair pink when ultimately, maybe, I was doing the same things only because I had the comfort of a man who loved me behind me. And that wasn't fair."

Relatively quickly, however, Medine's relationship with her followers recovered. "As with everything else on the internet," Medine says, "the rage died down to make room for the next marginal scandal. And when that happened after a considerably long four days of beating myself up over getting engaged and really wondering if maybe I couldn't have it all-- would I have to sacrifice my blog for my man or my man for my blog-- the insecurities finally melted away and I felt like I could enjoy my engagement." [31]

They were wed in June 2012 at The St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan.[32]

She currently resides in the New York area with her husband.

In 2013, her brother Haim launched jewelry line Khai Khai and her mother Laura launched jewelry line The Laura Medine Collection.[33][34]

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/16/fashion/16MANREPELLER.html
  2. ↑ "The Coveteur". Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  3. ↑ The Man Repeller
  4. 1 2 Aleksander, Irina (15 December 2010). "Fashion Triumph: Deflecting the Male Gaze". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Abraham, Tamara (11 October 2012). "'Man Repeller' Leandra Medine FINALLY introduces her husband - and the 'simple' bridal look she chose to wed him in". Daily Mail Online. London. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
  6. ↑ "Olsen twins, Alexander Wang and the Man Repeller labelled Forbes' most influential trend-setters as they land 30 Under 30 list". The Daily Mail. London. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "25 Best Blogs 2012". Time. 22 October 2012.
  8. ↑ Bloglovin' Awards
  9. ↑ "Fashion's Power 25 | Adweek". Adweek. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  10. ↑ Fast Company
  11. ↑ http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/02/man-repeller-leandra-medine-profile.html
  12. ↑ http://www.luckymag.com/blogs/luckyrightnow/2013/08/leandra-medine-seeking-love-finding-overalls
  13. ↑ http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/59677/the-man-repeller-reflects-on-fashion-week
  14. ↑ Kopun, Francine (9 September 2010). "The Man Repeller: How Style Can Be a Girl's Worst Friend". Toronto: The Star. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  15. ↑ Urken, Ross. "Daily Style Phile: The Man Repeller Leandra Medine". Gust of a Guest. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  16. ↑ http://boogersandbagels.blogspot.com/search?q=bagel+bob%27s Boogers and Bagels" An Anecdote
  17. ↑ Pauleanna Reid
  18. ↑ https://twitter.com/ManRepeller Twitter: @ManRepeller
  19. ↑ http://instagram.com/manrepeller Instagram: @manrepeller
  20. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/manrepeller Facebook: The Man Repeller
  21. ↑ http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2013/09/leandra-medine-man-repeller-book-interview Vanity Fair: Q&A: Fashion Blogger Leandra Medine on The Man Repeller, Her New Memoir, and Why Blog Posts Are Like One-Night Stands
  22. ↑ McCall, Tyler. "The Man Repeller's Leandra Medine Talks Her First Book, Due Out Next Year". Fashionista. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  23. ↑ http://www.manrepeller.com/seeking-love-finding-overalls The Man Repeller
  24. 1 2 http://www.businessoffashion.com/2012/07/the-business-of-blogging-the-man-repeller.html Business of Fashion: The Business of Blogging | The Man Repeller
  25. ↑ "What's So Alluring About a Woman Known As Man Repeller?". The Cut. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  26. ↑ Medine, Leandra. "The Big White Dress (And an Organza Jacket)." Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls. New York: Grand Central, 2013. 230. Print.
  27. ↑ http://www.style.com/fashionshows/review/S2012RTW-RMINKOFF Style.com: Rebecca Minkoff
  28. ↑ Nisita, Lexi. "Leandra Medine of The Man Repeller Wedding". Refinery29. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  29. ↑ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/10/the-15-most-cringe-worthy-bits-from-man-repeller-seeking-love-finding-overalls.html
  30. ↑ Krupnick, Ellie (15 June 2012). "PHOTOS: The Man Repeller Ties The Knot". Huffington Post.
  31. ↑ Medine, Leandra. "The Peplum." Man Repeller: Seeking Love. Finding Overalls. New York: Grand Central, 2013. 189-192. Print.
  32. ↑ Wicks, Amy. "The Man Repeller's Leandra Medine Talks Weddings, Cake". Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  33. ↑ http://boston.racked.com/archives/2013/09/13/meet-haim-medine-racked-young-gun-and-khai-khai-designer.php
  34. ↑ http://www.elle.com/news/fashion-style/laura-medine-jewelry-interview

External links

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