Laurence Benaïm

French journalist and author Laurence Benaïm came to prominence writing for the fashion pages of Le Monde in the late 1980s. Her scholarly, cultural and artistic observations make her one of France’s most respected fashion commentators. Founder of Stiletto Editions, fashion curator and expert, lecturer (Sciences Po/ IFM), she is co-president of charity organisation, @lestalentsengagent, and editor in Paris for Editions Assouline.

Benaïm studied literature at Paris’ Sorbonne University before completing a post-graduate course in journalism. She began her career at L’Express, a Parisian newspaper supplement, in the mid 1980s. Benaïm was soon recruited by Le Monde to be a fashion writer for the paper. Benaïm would stay at the paper for almost two decades, during which she was involved with the design of the paper’s Style supplement. 

Benaïm’s journalistic duties at Le Monde did not prevent her from writing several critically acclaimed books, five of which were based on Yves Saint Laurent, including a definitive biography of the designer. 

In June 2009, she was awarded the title of Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French minister of culture and communications.