Second Life

Shan-Lyn Ma, co-founder and co-CEO of wedding registry site Zola, was destined to be an entrepreneur. In fact, her childhood bedroom décor featured a poster of her idol, Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo. After graduating with her MBA from Stanford, Ma pursued her lifelong dream and took a role at Yahoo, first as an intern and later in product marketing. Two years later, she moved over to e-commerce company Gilt Groupe as its first Product Lead. It was during her time there that she founded and ran her own business unit, Gilt Taste, where she worked closely with future Zola Co-Founder Nobu Nakaguchi. Though Ma moved on to a role as Chief Product Officer at jewelry company Chloe + Isabel, she and Nobu were percolating on an idea for a business. During that time, Ma was also spending nearly every weekend at friends’ weddings and was repeatedly met with clunky registry sites. She and Nobu realized this area of wedding planning needed disrupting and they set out to do just that. Zola has now helped over 2 million couples plan their weddings and just recently expanded to include a baby registry service. 

Welcome back! For the first episode of 2024, Editor in Chief Kat Collings and Beauty Director Erin Jahns are here to walk you through refreshing your beauty routine for the new year. While you’re creating your annual goals, why not also start setting healthy habits like tossing your expired makeup or giving your nails a much-needed break from heavy manicures? Erin’s also sharing how to find a skincare specialist that’s right for you, which ingredients and treatments are sure to dominate this year, what hairstyles we can expect to see in 2024, and why she’ll use makeup wipes until her dying day.

Elizabeth Saltzman is the woman behind the impeccable style of some of Hollywood's most talented ladies. Think Jodie Comer, Julia Garner, and Gwyneth Paltrow. However, Saltzman initially wanted to pursue architecture and became involved in the Downtown New York nightclub and art scenes. But, unable to avoid her fashion destiny for long, she took a retail job at the Madonna- and David Bowie–approved fashion destination Parachute. From there, she was recruited to work at Giorgio Armani, where she worked her way up from the stockroom to the public relations department. After a few years, she made yet another pivot into editorial work, quickly becoming a senior fashion editor at Vogue and then fashion director at Vanity Fair. After spending 20 years at some of the most iconic publications and labels in fashion, industry experts suggested she try applying her impressive fashion eye to styling—and her friend Gwyneth Paltrow just so happened to be looking for a stylist. The two teamed up to create stunning look after stunning look, and the rest is fashion history.

Will Kahn is a stylist, editor, and overall jewelry expert whose résumé includes roles such as accessories director at Town & Country magazine and jewelry director at Moda Operandi. But of all his projects and accolades, our favorite is his Instagram account, @willsnotebook. What began with one post documenting Kahn's editorial process—namely, photographing pieces of fine jewelry placed on top of his personal notebook, surrounded by his notes—became a unique, approachable avenue of discovery for people who were curious about jewelry. In this episode, he shares how Lauren Conrad influenced his career path, why you should be shopping vintage jewelry, and what jewelry trends to expect in 2024.

Before becoming an entertainment powerhouse, Brit Marling was headed toward the world of investment banking. But during a college internship at Goldman Sachs, her gut told her that finance wasn’t the field she should be in. With a desire to tell stories, she soon pivoted into independent filmmaking. In 2011, she made a major splash in the entertainment industry when her films Another Earth and Sound of My Voice premiered side by side at the Sundance Film Festival. Both films were nominated for Independent Spirit Awards and picked up for distribution by Fox Searchlight, and in the years following, Brit went on to create massive hits like The East and The OA. Now, she’s evolving her career yet again: In November, Marling made her television directorial debut on the FX murder mystery show Murder at the End of the World starring Emma Corrin. Catch the finale of the series tomorrow, December 19.

Jasmin Larian Hekmat is the founder, designer, and CEO of fashion-girl favorite brand Cult Gaia. Hekmat started Cult Gaia as an accessories line, creating stunning pieces that doubled as objets d’art like the iconic Ark Bag. Eventually, she realized that in order to style the pieces the way she envisioned, she’d need to start designing clothes to go with them, thus the ready-to-wear and lifestyle brand was born. Hekmat's commitment to producing meaningful, artistic pieces has never wavered. Today, Who What Wear Editor in Chief Kat Collings sits down with the designer to talk about Cult Gaia’s Resort 2024 collection, which was recently shown at the brand’s first official fashion show in Los Angeles.

Though Monique Rodriguez always had an interest in beauty, she initially started her career as a nurse. Monique spent eight years in the medical field, but after experiencing a tragic life event, she returned to her passion for beauty to help work through her grief. She began experimenting with hair product formulations in the kitchen, sharing her personal haircare journey and explaining the science behind the ingredients on social media. But when her followers urged her to bottle and sell the haircare mixtures she was creating, Rodriguez realized that her side project had big potential. In 2014, she launched Mielle with one product, a mint almond hair oil, and since then, Mielle has grown to include 10 collections, arrived on shelves in over 100,000 stores, and in 2023, was acquired by Procter & Gamble, marking the largest exit ever for a Black female beauty founder.

This week, Who What Wear Editor in Chief Kat Collings, editor Eliza Huber, and associate editor Yusra Siddiqui are here to walk you through the second annual Low-Cost, High-Joy Gift Guide. After spending weeks curating a list of 53 unique, delightful items that won't break the bank this holiday season, our editors have unlocked the golden rules of gifting in 2023: 1) Socks are actually a great gift when they're from Sandy Liang. 2) When in doubt, gift something that was made in France. 3) If you're not pausing The Real Housewives of New York City during scenes in Jenna Lyons's home, you're missing out on crucial gifting inspiration.

After graduating with her master's degree in fashion journalism and racking up industry internships at publications like British Vogue and Women’s Wear Daily, Alice Bell set out to become a fashion editor. She landed a coveted role as a fashion assistant at U.S. Vogue, and while working there, started spending her free time dissecting her love life through the lens of astrology. While her interest in editorial work waned, she quickly became the unofficial office astrologer for Vogue employees, and wanting to share her knowledge with a larger community, she began offering readings for free on her social media. Soon, Bell realized that astrology was her calling and quit her job to pursue it full-time. Flash forward to today, and Alice is a full-time astrologer, author of Trust Your Timing, podcast host, and, in a full-circle moment, the resident astrologer at British Vogue.

This week, Who What Wear Beauty Director Erin Jahns is back just in time to prepare us for December’s many celebratory events. The holiday season is the perfect time to experiment with new beauty looks, and whether you’re a beauty pro looking to re-create the year’s biggest runway trends or a makeup novice trying to elevate your look in one simple step, Erin’s got you covered. Plus, she’s recommending which brands to shop for the most festive products and sharing tips for ensuring your makeup lasts all night long.