Kahlana Barfield Brown had a long road to her position as the editor-at-large of InStyle Magazine but it seems to be paying off.
You read that right, Kahlana, a veteran of the fashion industry, is the fashion and beauty editor-at-large of one of the biggest most circulated magazines for women fashion in the country. It’s not everyday that you hear of a young black woman heading any magazine but especially one in the fashion industry. So how did she get there? Well, the road wasn’t a smooth one. She’s been an intern and has worked her way up to this position that rewards her with a seemingly glamorous life!
When she majored in journalism at Howard University she had no idea how she would break into the fashion industry but she knew it had to be done. She moved to New York after graduation and interned at a magazine while working retail, she told XoNecole. She says she did what it took to survive in New York. She got her foot in the door at InStyle as an intern working hard and getting the exposure she needed.
Fast forward, she didn’t get the job she wanted from InStyle right away but was offered a position after she had already moved back to her hometown of Seattle. She jetted back to take her starter role at the publication and has now been promoted a reported six times at the mag and has the job all fashion girls want.
Kahlana is inspiration for all girls aspiring to break into the small and competitive industry. In her interview with XoNecole she wants all young girls to “ride it out because when you’re doing something you actually love, you’re going to enjoy going to work everyday.”
Source: XoNecole, http://xonecole.com/instyles-kahlana-barfield-on-how-she-rose-from-intern-to-editor-at-large/
TSR intern: @jalenmosby on IG and Twitter.
