In the vibrant realm of fashion journalism, Savannah Sobrevilla stands out with her passion and innovative spirit. Growing up in a Peruvian household as a queer woman, she was always surrounded by diverse influences that shaped her unique perspective. As the print editor at V Magazine, Sobrevilla combines her rich cultural heritage with a modern editorial approach, creating content that resonates deeply with readers around the globe. Her evolution from an emerging writer to a respected figure in the literary world highlights her commitment and foresight.
FORM: Who are you and where are you from? What is your background and upbringing? How did it impact who you are and what you do today?
SOBREVILLA: Hi, I’m Savannah Sobrevilla, I’m from Miami, Florida, and I am the Print Editor of V Magazine. I’ve been with V Magazine for almost two years.
Alex Consani for V150
Photo: Nick Knight
Fashion: Anna Trevelyan
FORM: How would you describe your experience working at V Magazine? What did it feel like coming in with an idea of what you wanted to apply, and then going through the process and discovering a new sense of this ethos?
SOBREVILLA: Coming in, I was already familiar with iconic covers like those featuring Grace Jones, David Bowie, Prince, Janet Jackson, and Lady Gaga. As the editor responsible for compiling the magazine’s content, going through these issues and exploring the magazine’s archive has been incredibly rewarding. There’s so much rich history to work with. It’s integral to my role to periodically delve into the archives, discovering articles I hadn’t read before or finding pieces from, say, 2001 that were ahead of their time.
For example, the other day, I found a feature from 2001 about cool bars in New York, where we photographed the staff in front of the bars they work at for a section called “Powerhouse.” I thought it was fascinating and decided to recreate it for our upcoming anniversary issue, visiting places like Paragon, Nowadays, Rash, and Bossa Nova Civic Club. I adore this feature, and it ties back to our history for the anniversary issue. It’s crucial, in my role as a print editor, to maintain a living archive.
Kyle MacLachlan for V149
Photo: Michelle Gonzales
Fashion: Douglas Vanlaningham
FORM: What other interesting features have you highlighted besides the clubs? Also, why did you choose to focus on the club staffers issue instead of profiling the talent again?
SOBREVILLA: We’re doing both because it’s a big issue. For the club staffers, I thought about our significant history with Lady Gaga. I was reflecting on where she came from, and one of her old stomping grounds was the Slipper Room on Orchard Street. I used to live around the corner from it. I realized that many of the people we love, like Charli XCX, are emerging from the club scene. It’s truly a creative cradle for so much talent, which includes the staff. Some of the coolest people I know run the doors at Public Records, Nowadays, whatever. They see everything and everyone, and they have to be cool with everyone. They also attend the after-parties and are integral to the scene, which eventually influences the mainstream. These fixtures and figures become cover stars and mainstays in our culture. Being from Miami, I love club culture for that reason, so let’s give it a shout-out.
FORM: There’s so much anthropology that emerges from club culture.
SOBREVILLA: Yeah, once upon a time, Charli XCX was just a 16-year-old mixing tracks at the club, and now she’s Charli XCX, with the album of the summer. Another feature we pulled from the archives to answer your other question is V Girls. We have this series called V Girls, which is our ‘ones to watch’ section in the magazine. For our anniversary issue, I thought it would be great to do a retrospective on V Girls and highlight the times we really hit the mark. For example, Zoë Kravitz and Kylie Jenner were both V Girls.
FORM: That’s such an interesting fact, especially since it was during her ‘King Kylie’ era when she was definitely a fashion icon.
SOBREVILLA: She’s (Kylie Jenner) kind of a queer icon to me. Let’s talk about it. You know? Anyway, we’re doing a V Girls retrospective to pay tribute to our history of forecasting young talent and then putting those talents in print, really showcasing them next to Lady Gaga cover stories. The inside features matter so much, and that’s my job.
Lucy Liu for V151 and VCHINA
Photo: Jack Bridgland
Fashion: Anna Trevelyan
FORM: How does your style reflect your identity and the influences you admire?
SOBREVILLA: Okay, as a queer person, I feel like we often explore our style through a certain gender lens. And so, yeah, I love boyishness, especially when it’s kind of bratty and a little feminine. All these indie boys have a twinkiness that I feel really captures a certain part of the lesbian spirit.
FORM: Yes, it’s like that book “Meet Me In The Bathroom”.
SOBREVILLA: It really is! And it’s funny that you mentioned Meet Me in the Bathroom because Lizzy Goodman, the author, is my senior editor here.
FORM: So, for those who can’t see you right now, you’re wearing True Religion low-waisted jeans, little ballet flats, and a baby tee that says “I <3 Bangkok.” How does what you’re wearing relate to the influences you mentioned?
SOBREVILLA: This is something some girl’s pretty rocker boyfriend would probably wear—just a bit of an Arctic Monkeys vibe or a character from Skins. It has a bit of Sid energy. But there’s also something about seeing a man in this outfit with ballet flats; I think he’d look so chic. I love adding that feminine twist to a look. It makes it feel complete. That’s what makes it camp, you know?
FORM: Totally.
SOBREVILLA: Another influence that came to mind is the celebrity boyfriends from around 2005, like when Keira Knightley was with Jamie Dornan or whatever.
FORM: How do you approach forming a community around your projects here at V Magazine?
SOBREVILLA: I’m really lucky because I’m a lesbian, and as a queer person, you find community everywhere—you have to. For example, last week, I missed my friend’s party for her magazine called Cake Zine. I was so excited to go because she’s a queer woman in media, and she has all these amazing queer women in media around her. That’s my community. I was looking forward to showing up and seeing the scene, filled with people who are so wildly talented in different areas, but I was dealing with an injury.
I’m also fortunate to work in a pretty isolated industry, which is the fashion industry, and I’m also a queer Latina woman within it. I find community easily through my identifiers, and I have good people around me.
Alex Consani for V150
Photo: Nick Knight
Fashion: Anna Trevelyan
FORM: There are many things happening, and I feel like there are a lot of shared connections, like what you’re talking about, that spark new ideas. Whether it’s realizing something you should do for work or personally, when was the last time you had a spark?
SOBREVILLA: Well, okay, so recently, something big happened in my family. My mom was deported. I posted about it because, surprisingly, I had never known anyone who had someone in their life get deported. I grew up in Miami, which is a very Latino city, and that’s a big worry everyone shares.
When I posted about it, I got a lot of support. A good friend of mine, who’s a badass director of photography, reached out and said she related to this a lot and that it had been her biggest fear. She’s worried her dad might get deported for several reasons, and with the upcoming election, that fear has intensified.
We had a lunch meeting, and even though we’re friends and see each other all the time, we had never had a one-on-one lunch. She’s a director of photography, and I’m a writer, and we realized we’ve never seen this story told. I’ve never seen a movie about someone who got deported, much less a girl living in New York, working in fashion, whose mom gets deported. That person’s mom never gets deported, you know? She’s supposedly living a very glamorous, successful life, so for her to have that fear feels really out of sync with what people would assume about us.
It was really interesting, and it made me realize this is a story that would benefit people if it were told.
FORM: Absolutely, people would find immense catharsis in that. It’s truly empowering.
SOBREVILLA: Thinking selfishly, if I had seen a story like this before my mom got deported, I would have known a bit more about how to handle it and what the right feelings are. That’s why it’s so important to have diverse people in director chairs and as head writers.
FORM: One thing I’m learning is the balance between vulnerability and strength. People often view leaders—whether editors, journalists, or directors—as heartless and harsh, not associating vulnerability with leadership. However, your story, being so personal and emotional, highlights the importance of vulnerability in leadership roles. It’s amazing that you want to pursue this project, as it shows there’s room for vulnerability in those spaces.
SOBREVILLA: Yeah, I mean, another thing we don’t often see in leadership positions are people from diverse backgrounds or those who have faced adversity. When we think of editors, we often imagine someone who came from a wealthy family in New Jersey, attended FIT, then NYU, and could afford to do unpaid internships, eventually becoming an editor.
However, many people in the fashion industry don’t have that privilege. They have to juggle multiple jobs while doing unpaid internships. This aspect isn’t discussed enough in fashion. We tend to assume everyone comes from a place of privilege because the financial barrier to entry is so high.
Aubrey Plaza for V151
Photo: Blair Getz Mezibov
Fashion: Anna Trevelyan
FORM: What strategies do you use to stay grounded and motivated after reaching a major milestone?
SOBREVILLA: You have to truly believe that you deserve your success, even after you’ve achieved it. When you work so hard to accomplish something, it can feel almost unbelievable once you get there, and imposter syndrome can set in. However, you, Jordyn, had the gift of vision and direction at a very young age, which is something not many people possess.
FORM: Yeah.
SOBREVILLA: I think an important factor in getting what you want is to be delusional enough to believe you deserve it, even if you don’t always feel that way. If you’re bold enough to think, “I should be the editor of a magazine,” and you pursue that goal relentlessly, asking the right people persistently, I believe they’ll eventually give it to you.
FORM: I think it’s beneficial to surround yourself with good people.
SOBREVILLA: David Yurman’s wife, Sybil, once told me something valuable. She told me that her key to success was surrounding herself with people who were smarter than her. This idea ties back to the concept that you can be both confident and humble. There’s always something to learn. By being around intelligent people, you know you’re smart enough to be in their company, but also that you’re not the smartest person in the room. This means you can always learn from those around you.
Additionally, if you’re a writer or someone who wants to tell a particular story, it’s important to journal every day and write everything down. This practice allows you to see how far you’ve come and provides reassurance that you can achieve your goals again.
Sobrevilla’s journey at V Magazine is a testament to the power of history, community, and self-belief. As Print Editor, she not only honors the magazine’s rich legacy but also breathes new life into its content by drawing inspiration from the past. Her deep connection to underground culture and her drive to spotlight emerging talents reflect a commitment to both authenticity and innovation. Additionally, Sobrevilla’s personal experiences and diverse background inform her work and leadership, demonstrating that vulnerability and strength can coexist in creative spaces. Her story is a powerful reminder that success comes not just from talent but from the courage to believe in oneself and the ability to learn from those around you.
