Simone Oliver
Fashion & LifeStyle Editor
Digital Strategist
Simone Oliver is an editorial and strategic thought-leader with experience in editing fashion, beauty and lifestyle across platforms. She specializes in conceiving and shaping stories, while working across departments to deliver engaging content. Simone has a proven track record of developing editorial tone, scope and voice in early stage environments and has continuously produced and shepherded the creation of diverse, robust and sellable packages/products.
Most recently, Simone was named Global Editor-in-Chief of Refinery29, the lifestyle and entertainment site that covers culture and social issues through a femme lens. She is tasked with reinvigorating the brand, now owned by the Vice Media Group, and growing around pivotal issues that impact young women — reproductive rights, pay equity, wellness, social justice and evolving styles of self-expression. Simone leads the R29 brand across the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Germany.
Before jumping back into journalism, Simone worked on the Global Media Partnerships team at Facebook to lead the platform's work with magazine and lifestyle publishers; her work later extended to Instagram. She spent three and a half years collaborating with and guiding partners on driving editorial and business value on Facebook and Instagram through building, reaching and engaging audiences, and pushing the envelope for innovative content.
Before bringing her editorial expertise to Facebook, Simone was Allure magazine's Digital Director, where she shepherded the brand's website redesign and led its digital reinvention. She was responsible for all content and brand extensions, and helped push its digital properties to the next level.
As the Digital Director, Simone was a critical member of the brand's senior editorial and management team, responsible for growth in audience, brand visibility, commerce and innovation. Upon joining the brand in April 2016, she built and led a team to execute an expansion strategy in partnership with sales, print editors and key corporate groups. This resulted in unprecedented digital growth. While there she developed a new editorial voice, led branded/sponsored campaigns and integrated edit with commerce initiatives. Under Simone's leadership, Allure introduced a range of new video franchises that proved to be successful across distribution channels.
Before being recruited to Condé Nast/Allure, Simone spent almost 13 years at The New York Times, and before departing the paper, she was the Growth Strategy Editor for the Fashion & Styles, Food, Travel sections, as well as T Magazine. She worked among a core team of editors on the Audience Development and Engagement desk who were tasked with the strategic transformation of The New York Times into a digital-first publication in thinking and practice. While on the Audience team, Simone created and edited the NYT Living newsletter, a curated digest of fashion, style, travel and food stories, which won a Webb’s in 2016.
Leading up to her move to Audience, Simone was the Digital Fashion Editor at the Styles section, where she spearheaded the digital expansion of the Styles department, playing an integral role in defining the section’s digital content strategy. She ran day-to-day operations of the section’s expanding multi-platform content, packaging and sharing and managed major enterprise pieces, seasonal and event coverage while spurring innovation on a countless number of projects.
She was also the editorial lead for The Collection, the first Times fashion iPad app; adapted Bill Cunningham’s On the Street column into a video feature; and was co-creator of Intersection: Where Culture Meets Style, a street style video series that explores personal style in the varied parts of New York City and around the world.
In 2011, Simone started The Times’s first Instagram account (@NYTFashion) and worked with the Styles photo editor and web producer to cultivate its rapid growth. As a socially-driven storyteller, she continued to hone the paper's social strategy within the lifestyle sections and lead experiments on emerging social platforms.
Simone has written, edited and commissioned articles on topics ranging from fashion and beauty trends to social media culture. She's passionate about storytelling and style, and her work is a marriage of the two. Mentoring and coaching are also among her passions; and she participates on panels discussing fashion and style, digital publishing and social media.
Building on her experience and passion for social storytelling and strategy, Simone joined Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School journalism program in 2018 as an adjunct, teaching Social Platforms, Processes and Perspectives.
She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, young daughter and infant son.
Most recently, Simone was named Global Editor-in-Chief of Refinery29, the lifestyle and entertainment site that covers culture and social issues through a femme lens. She is tasked with reinvigorating the brand, now owned by the Vice Media Group, and growing around pivotal issues that impact young women — reproductive rights, pay equity, wellness, social justice and evolving styles of self-expression. Simone leads the R29 brand across the U.S., Canada, U.K., France and Germany.
Before jumping back into journalism, Simone worked on the Global Media Partnerships team at Facebook to lead the platform's work with magazine and lifestyle publishers; her work later extended to Instagram. She spent three and a half years collaborating with and guiding partners on driving editorial and business value on Facebook and Instagram through building, reaching and engaging audiences, and pushing the envelope for innovative content.
Before bringing her editorial expertise to Facebook, Simone was Allure magazine's Digital Director, where she shepherded the brand's website redesign and led its digital reinvention. She was responsible for all content and brand extensions, and helped push its digital properties to the next level.
As the Digital Director, Simone was a critical member of the brand's senior editorial and management team, responsible for growth in audience, brand visibility, commerce and innovation. Upon joining the brand in April 2016, she built and led a team to execute an expansion strategy in partnership with sales, print editors and key corporate groups. This resulted in unprecedented digital growth. While there she developed a new editorial voice, led branded/sponsored campaigns and integrated edit with commerce initiatives. Under Simone's leadership, Allure introduced a range of new video franchises that proved to be successful across distribution channels.
Before being recruited to Condé Nast/Allure, Simone spent almost 13 years at The New York Times, and before departing the paper, she was the Growth Strategy Editor for the Fashion & Styles, Food, Travel sections, as well as T Magazine. She worked among a core team of editors on the Audience Development and Engagement desk who were tasked with the strategic transformation of The New York Times into a digital-first publication in thinking and practice. While on the Audience team, Simone created and edited the NYT Living newsletter, a curated digest of fashion, style, travel and food stories, which won a Webb’s in 2016.
Leading up to her move to Audience, Simone was the Digital Fashion Editor at the Styles section, where she spearheaded the digital expansion of the Styles department, playing an integral role in defining the section’s digital content strategy. She ran day-to-day operations of the section’s expanding multi-platform content, packaging and sharing and managed major enterprise pieces, seasonal and event coverage while spurring innovation on a countless number of projects.
She was also the editorial lead for The Collection, the first Times fashion iPad app; adapted Bill Cunningham’s On the Street column into a video feature; and was co-creator of Intersection: Where Culture Meets Style, a street style video series that explores personal style in the varied parts of New York City and around the world.
In 2011, Simone started The Times’s first Instagram account (@NYTFashion) and worked with the Styles photo editor and web producer to cultivate its rapid growth. As a socially-driven storyteller, she continued to hone the paper's social strategy within the lifestyle sections and lead experiments on emerging social platforms.
Simone has written, edited and commissioned articles on topics ranging from fashion and beauty trends to social media culture. She's passionate about storytelling and style, and her work is a marriage of the two. Mentoring and coaching are also among her passions; and she participates on panels discussing fashion and style, digital publishing and social media.
Building on her experience and passion for social storytelling and strategy, Simone joined Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School journalism program in 2018 as an adjunct, teaching Social Platforms, Processes and Perspectives.
She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, young daughter and infant son.