Known for her vibrant, concept-driven fashion and beauty editorials as well as her iconic portraits of celebrated personalities, Phyllis Posnick has enriched the pages of American Vogue for the past 30 years.

Throughout her tenure at Vogue, she has collaborated with renowned photographers Anton Corbijn, Mikael Jansson, Steven Klein, Annie Leibovitz, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and Tim Walker, creating provocative, beautiful, and sometimes shocking editorial shoots.

After graduating from Syracuse University, Phyllis began her career at British Vogue with editor Beatrix Miller. She moved back to New York to work with Grace Mirabella at American Vogue, first as fashion associate, then as Beauty Editor. In 1988 after subsequent positions at Calvin Klein and Glamour, Phyllis joined Anna Wintour at American Vogue as Executive Fashion Editor until November 2018.

In 2009, Phyllis edited Extreme Beauty in Vogue, chronicling the extraordinary imaginative and contemporary ideas of beauty from within the pages of Vogue, the book was published in conjunction with the exhibition of the same title Phyllis curated in Milan. A selection of Phyllis signature work appears in 2012’s Vogue: The Editor’s Eye, which celebrated the pivotal role of the editor’s that have shaped America’s sense of style since the magazine’s launch 120 years ago. In 2016, Phyllis published "STOPPERS", Photographs from My Life at Vogue, a visual record of stories from her work with photographers such as Steven Klein, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, and Tim Walker and is punctuated with her personal memories and irreverence.

Currently as Contributing Editor to American Vogue, Phyllis’s arresting images continue to appear in the magazine, and she is now working on other editorial and consulting projects.

Images courtesy of Conde Nast.

Joshua Woods

Marfa Journal #20

Joshua Woods