Phillip Picardi is the former chief content officer at Teen Vogue and Them, a Condé Nast-owned LGBTQ publication he launched in 2017. He is credited with increasing traffic to the Teen Vogue's online platform by 250 percent in his two years as digital editor. In August 2018, he joined Out as editor-in-chief, which he then left in December 2019.
According to Condé Nast in 2017, “traffic to TeenVogue.com has increased to more than 9.2 million unique visitors, up from 2.7 million unique visitors [in 2016], mobile traffic more than doubled with an increase of 109 percent year on year, and video viewers grew 989 percent year.”
After completing a degree at New York University in 2012, Picardi began his career with stints at Racked and Teen Vogue, where he eventually became digital beauty editor. In 2014, he joined Refinery29 as senior beauty editor, but seven months into the job returned to Teen Vogue as digital editorial director.
From 2015, he led the digital team at Teen Vogue, working closely with then editor-in-chief Elaine Welteroth and former creative director Marie Suter. Working collaboratively across platforms, the digital platform and magazine’s focus has turned to politics, social issues and activism, covering the US election in thought-provoking pieces like Lauren Duca’s op-ed, which garnered significant media attention.
“There’s a fearlessness to them that I feel is very much a part of their generation and the girls that they’re talking to,” Anna Wintour said in a statement from Condé Nast. “That fearlessness is why they’re having such a wonderful connection with their community.”
In March 2017, Picardi took on a position at beauty publication Allure, which he maintained alongside Teen Vogue. In October 2017, it was announced Condé Nast would be launching an LGBTQ digital publication titled Them, helmed by Picardi. In January 2018, he became chief content officer at Teen Vogue before leaving for Out later that year.
Out was founded in 1992 with a focus on fashion, entertainment and pop culture, later evolving to cater specifically to gay men. After its peak in the 2000s, the average single copy sales had decreased for the publication. However, in December 2018, Out registered 1.42 million unique visitors to its site Out.com, according to the publisher. Picardi exited Out magazine in December 2019 to pursue a career outside media.
