noël duan is a multidisciplinary writer, tech performance marketer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur with roots in sichuan, china. she has been a contributing editor for stanford social innovation review and allure, and has written for publications like the atlantic, ars technica, allure, elle, teen vogue, fashionista, new york magazine, shondaland, jezebel, the awl, and the guardian, spearheaded marketing and content for brands like botox, juvéderm, bobbi brown cosmetics, eight sleep, evereden, elizabeth arden, eaze, juicy couture beauty, first aid beauty, and american crew, authored white papers for nielsen, and worked on staff at publications like miss vogue australia, quartz, and yahoo beauty. when she was still a student, she launched the miss vogue australia digital issue, which was named best app in 2013 by apple. in 2022, she was honoured by squarespace as one of the top female creators in the UK. on the side, she has been a speechwriter for some of the most powerful women in the world, crafting mission with wit and purpose (and well-researched facts) for diverse audiences.
both her peer-reviewed academic research and journalistic articles have appeared on syllabi at university of edinburgh; goldsmiths, university of london; london metropolitan university; and more.
she is the founder of the pet tech startup artemis, one of thingtesting’s top 23 brands to get excited for in 2023. the company began as argos & artemis, a community for good dogs and good people with good taste, which inspired noël to perform onstage at joe’s pub at the public theatre in 2019 as part of this alien nation’s lineup. (it was about dogs and robot dogs.) in 2021, the monologue was adapted into an essay that was published in the harpercollins anthology of immigrants, alien nation, alongside writing from alexander chee, aparna nancherla, and orange is the new black’s laura gómez. in 2019, she organized and moderated the wing’s first-ever dog event, a panel discussion featuring female pet tech founders in new york city.
she has been a 20/20 levels entrepreneurship mentor committed to uplifting underrepresented founders like herself and vanguard advisory council chair of global fund for women dedicated to funding micro-enterprises from women around the world. she is also a young ambassador of the national gallery and was one of the first chinese debutantes at queen charlotte's ball in london, writing about it for teen vogue as a student, and featuring in kristen richardson’s the season: a social history of the debutante (w. w. norton 2019).
she earned her bachelor’s degree in sociocultural anthropology and art history from columbia university and her master’s degree in women’s studies from the university of oxford, with additional coursework at sciences po and columbia graduate school of journalism. she is a virginia quarterly review writers’ conference 2017 fiction alumna and has been lucky enough to study writing under bret anthony johnston, tayari jones, elissa bassist, john bennet, and crystal hana kim.
she is always looking for potential new friends (especially for her dog). please say hi!
for select marketing clients, click here.
quoted/featured in:
cnn, bbc radio, national public radio (npr), , the independent, the mirror, forbes, new york times, toryburch.com, enspire oxford, poets & writers
speaker at:
the pet summit, petcare innovation europe, on deck founders fellowship, the wing, public theater in new york city
select awards:
exceptional talent in digital technology visa holder | uk global talent endorsed by tech nation 2023
rising star | women in innovation awards 2023
best in show startup finalist/speaker | petcare innovation europe 2023
ella deloria and global scholars fellowships | columbia university 2012
select book/journal publications:
good dogs, good humans | alien nation: 35 true tales of immigration
black women’s bodies and blackface in fashion magazines | critical studies in fashion & beauty
policing beyoncé’s body: ‘whose body is this anyway?’ | the beyoncé effect: essays on sexuality, race and feminism
select editorial work:
social enterprise & tech
When beauty is in the eye of the (robo)beholder | ars technica
a different way to play | stanford social innovation review
desegregating the home-sharing economy | stanford social innovation review
health care in the mohallas | stanford social innovation review
on-demand medical drone delivery | stanford social innovation review
convenient care for the elderly | stanford social innovation review
a different view of mapping | stanford social innovation review
irrigation innovation | stanford social innovation review
us states embrace baby boxes | stanford social innovation review
the invisible labor of women’s studies | the atlantic
profiles/interviews
going from class to class with emma sulkowicz and her mattress | elle
phillip lim: on the art of modest celebration | burdock
min jin lee: we are family | burdock
british pop star kate nash starts a youtube channel for girl power | yahoo
jojo: ‘it’s wild to be coming back at 24’ | yahoo
jaden smith wants to be the next elon musk | quartz
fashion/beauty
beauty shopping with my mother, a former cultural revolution red guard | racked (selected for bustle’s best stories by women in 2017 and longreads’ editor’s pick)
a brief history of sexy lingerie | elle
the evolution of red carpet dressing: from floor-length furs to pantsuits | elle
a brief history of women in pop culture who chopped off their hair | elle
how chinese culture is carving out its place in the western beauty industry | fashionista
designing for disabilities: how parsons's open style lab is helping make fashion accessible | fashionista
meet gentle monster: a korean brand creating eyewear for every face shape | fashionista
all made up: how white coats and white lies changed the discourse of beauty | bitch
learning to chew, swallow, and shit at viva mayr, an austrian detox spa for the ultra wealthy | jezebel
riding gear is the original athleisure | quartz
china’s long, troubled road to the victoria’s secret runway | quartz
you can make your own sheet masks and they’re so much cheaper | quartz
the beauty company that’s turning the avon sales rep into an activist | quartz
all the ways that south african women have changed their beauty routines to save water | quartz
the trick that beauty experts never reveal: don’t wash your face | quartz
sardines are so chic right now that people are wearing them | quartz
how the flower crown became the it-accessory of coachella | yahoo
mindy kaling and tina fey host an intimate chat for 800 | yahoo
miss piggy and kermit the frog declare themselves feminists (aka where i interviewed gloria steinem) | yahoo
at the 2015 met gala: rihanna wears chinese couturier guo pei (aka when i inspired a cnn international story) | yahoo
spa insider: san francisco's spa remedy (aka back when i got paid to review spas) | yahoo
at the dvf awards: hillary clinton on why women need to lead | yahoo
spending the night? how to pack an adult sleepover kit | yahoo
running the marathon? here’s how to save your feet | yahoo
health
why is mental health more stigmatized in minority communities? | headspace
pet care
the best vacuums for pets, according to trainers and pet owners | new york magazine’s the strategist
the best robot vacuums for pets, according to experts | new york magazine’s the strategist
inside the world of pet anti-vaxxers | the awl
culture
a brief history of selling feminism | elle
at davos, etiquette is the great equalizer | quartz
the brontë sisters, a supermodel, and a mansplaining academic are in a marvelous brawl | quartz
10 people reflect on disney's 'mulan' in honor of its 20th anniversary | shondaland
swipe right for prom: how teens are using tinder | the guardian
how cuba produces some of the best ballet dancers in the world | yahoo
food
the revolutionary roots of cuba’s fabled ice cream parlor (aka my first reporting trip: two weeks backpacking across cuba) | yahoo
numb, not burn | taste cooking
ancient olympians ate this honey cheesecake as a post-workout snack, and we have the recipe | quartz
personal essays
inside the life of a debutante, from the dress fitting to the ball | teen vogue
money to burn | broccoli