It’s comforting to know that even the most successful writers can fall onto a moment of vacancy, but don’t let that colour your image of Judah. My first impression is that she’s sharp, articulate and incredibly curious; a result of which is that she’s extremely knowledgeable. With over two decades experience of writing about the art and fashion markets, Judah made a name for herself on the editorial team of ArtReview, where she wrote about both fashion and art – a first for the magazine. She’s not a “big breakfast person” so she orders a cappuccino and we get settled in.
“It’s quite difficult because I’m very much in between the two worlds. From the art world perspective, there is a certain degree of,” she pauses hesitantly. “Yeah, I think it’s fair to say that there’s a certain degree of snobbery towards the fashion industry. They come from different impulses, so the art world is very much about looking at things in the long term and building up a body of work over the course of a career, as opposed to changing things season after season.”
She considers both avenues of discourse essential to her working life and is keen to keep them a part of her output, although she considers herself neither an art nor fashion ‘insider’. She’s never reported on fashion shows, but is open to doing so, and has worked across a wide range of publications, writing about travel, photography, design and even cookery. Today, however, she contributes features to Business of Fashion, with whom she is working to develop jewellery coverage, as well as ArtReview, Financial Times and The Independent on Sunday, for which she writes about contemporary art.