Laura Brown is a journalist, creative consultant and host. Editor in Chief of InStyle from 2016 to 2022, she ushered the magazine vibrantly through a divisive administration, social unrest and an unprecedented pandemic. Laura reinvented InStyle, embracing a diverse readership with the slogan, “Everybody’s In.”

Laura is the founder of LB Media, a multi-platform media company encompassing everything from screen to sound and even luxury collaborations. Some of her recent collaborations have included Away luggage and a collection with fashion brand Sézane as well as working with Exceptional Alien, a travel industry startup aiming to combat AI-generated fake reviews flooding the tourism sector by providing users with authentic recommendations from the world’s leading creators. She is also executive producing a film about the fashion world for HBO.

Her upcoming book All the Cool Girls Get Fired is a blueprint for a new way to think about job loss, offering an empowering mindset shift and a pragmatic roadmap for what to do after being fired; from managing your money to legal recourse, navigating healthcare, mental health, networking, recruitment and more. 

Laura is the (RED) Creative Council chair—an organization created by U2’s Bono in 2006 to fight AIDS—with an overall mission to fight global health crises. She also works with nonprofits such as Choose Love, supporting refugees and displaced people globally. She sits on the boards of ‘me too.’, The Fashion Trust U.S., SeeHer, Foot Soldiers Park and the One Love Foundation.

While at InStyle, she expanded the brand’s sphere, giving voice to new fashion, celebrity and activist leaders, particularly with the bold platform, ‘Badass Women.’ Her social media sensibility extended the voice of InStyle beyond the page. Under Laura, InStyle was the first American fashion magazine to ban fur and exotic skins in 2018, and also the first to sign the 15% Percent Pledge. Her unifying voice—most literally on her podcasts—attracts women from all worlds with an inclusive, warm and witty worldview.

Before joining InStyle, she was Executive Editor of Harper’s BAZAAR. During her tenure at BAZAAR and InStyle, Laura received numerous magazine awards: The 2016 ASME Fashion Cover of the Year for BAZAAR’s cover of Rihanna in a shark’s mouth; InStyle’s Best September Issue 2017 award by The Daily Front Row; 2018 ASME Fashion Cover of the Year for InStyle’s inaugural Badass Women cover starring Serena Williams; the Australian Fashion Laureate for Lifetime Achievement in 2019; Hottest Design/Photography in a Magazine for Adweek’s Hotlist 2020; Editor of the Year, The Daily Front Row 2021; Hottest Cover of the Year (Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland), AdWeek 2021 and the ASME for Best Profile Photograph, 2022.

Prior to InStyle and Harper’s BAZAAR, Laura was Articles Director of Details and Senior Editor at W. She earned her B.A in Arts and Communication from Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia.

Topics:

  • Laura Brown invites you to leave behind the safety of your comfort zone and step into the boundless possibilities that await you. In this talk based on Laura's upcoming book, she shares a powerful mindset shift and pragmatic roadmap for what to do after being fired, from managing your money to legal recourse, navigating healthcare, mental health, networking, recruitment, and more. Drawing from her own experiences of turning life’s setbacks into opportunities, Laura will share stories and insights from her own journey of being fired from InStyle magazine and how to transform career mishaps, unexpected changes, and even life’s most challenging moments into the next big thing

  • You might be familiar with Australia-born fashion journalist Laura Brown and her "Ladies First" podcast where she picks the brains of legendary ladies like Brooke Shields, Tarana Burke, Jen Aniston, Salma Hayek and many more. The common denominator, however, is not just celebs for celebs sake. It’s that they’re trailblazers who were the first to accomplish something in their field—and the ones who have something to say about it. The crux of each episode comes with Laura’s prompt for her guest to recall the first time they “owned their shit”. (We strongly recommend the episode with Jen Aniston!).  

    You could sit around talking about women empowerment, “leaning in” and complaining about the patriarchy, but Laura would prefer to take another approach:  Stand taller, square your shoulders and set your boundaries. You’ll never forget that first time you really, truly “Owned your shit”.

    In this topic, Laura dives deep into how women can stand up for themselves, find self-worth, and launch themselves ahead. A self-proclaimed “self-propelled little engine”, Laura shows audiences the importance of celebrating both your smallest victories and your biggest losses (and limitations), because—no matter where you’re from or who you know—there is no such thing as perfection and being your authentic self is truly how you own your shit. 

  • As the former editor-in-chief of InStyle Magazine, Laura Brown has much experience for what it’s like to complete a high-end production in a pressured environment—much like the ever-changing landscape of live events. Having interviewed dozens of women on her podcast and hundreds of interviewees for publications over her multi-decade media career, Laura is well-suited to moderate, interview or lead a conversation on the largest stages and in the smallest rooms. Laura’s determination, self assurance and openness are infectious and help create unique experiences with those she’s interviewing for the audience, whether live or pre-recorded.

Twitter: @laurabrown99

Instagram: @laurabrown99