Fashion Interview Of The Century

Just incase you missed it, here are some tidbits from the Anna Wintour /Barbara Walters interview just in case you missed it like yours truly. And if you don't want to read it you can just You Tube it...

• Barbara Walters introducing Anna: “She could have been on our list most any year, but this year was tailor-made for her, since she was reputedly the inspiration for the hit film, The Devil Wears Prada. But whether it’s 2006 or any other year, fashion editor Anna Wintour seems always in Vogue."
  Barbara’s voiceover: “In the world of fashion, everything changes, except for Anna Wintour and her power. For two decades, 57-year-old Anna Wintour has reigned over the Vogue magazine empire, making it the most profitable magazine of its kind, and developing three new magazines: Teen Vogue, Men’s Vogue, and Vogue Living.”

  “We met at her New York office, where she and editor-at-large André Leon Talley were choosing photos for the January issue of Vogue featuring Angelina Jolie.”
  Anna Wintour [to Walters and Talley, as well as Vogue fashion market/accessories director Virginia Smith and design director Charles Churchward]: “She loved this look, the jeans and the trench coat.”

  BW: “Anna, you walk down the street, and everybody is wearing t-shirts and jeans. So, what’s fashion?”

  AW: “Well, jeans and t-shirts can be equally as fashionable as an Oscar de la Renta ball gown.”

  BW: “Do you think women are still interested in fashion?”

  AW: “I think that they love fashion.”

  Barbara’s voiceover: “Anna has been in love with fashion all her life. She was born in London, her father the editor of a major newspaper. She dropped out of school and got her first job at age 16. At age 25, she arrived in America, eventually landing the top job at Vogue. Along the way, she married, divorced, and raised two children. Two things seem to set her apart: her devotion to young designers and her signature look.”

  BW: “At 15, you cut your hair like this, and never stopped. So how did you know this was the look? ’Cause it’s the Anna Wintour look.”

  AW: “I’m sure it’s very boring and I should change, but every time I’ve tried it doesn’t work.”

  Barbara’s voiceover: “Meryl Streep’s brilliant performance as a fashion editor in this year’s hit film, The Devil Wears Prada, was supposedly based on Anna.”

  BW: “What’d you think of the film?”

  AW: “I thought the film was really entertaining. I mean, anything that makes fashion entertaining and glamorous and interesting is wonderful for our industry. So I was 100 percent behind it.”

  BW: “Did you recognize any of yourself?”

  AW: “Well, I’m a very decisive person. I think it’s actually helpful to people you are working with if you can make decisions, so if Meryl seemed somewhat strong, I respect that.”

  BW: “Is it true that the women who work at Vogue have to be particularly stylish, no jeans?”

  AW: “Well, hopefully everyone who works there loves fashion. We expect, we don’t dictate, a certain style of dress.”

  BW: “Anna, does the mood of the country affect fashion?”

  AW: “Absolutely, it affects fashion. We were so interested at Vogue to see how militant many of the collections were.”

  BW: “Because of the war?”

  AW: “Because of the war. There was a real sense that the women on the runways were going into battle. Since the election results in November, talking to many of the designers I feel they’re now so optimistic and thrilled at the idea of change and possible withdrawal from Iraq. So that’s going to be on the runways next September.”

  BW: “So if I were really smart and I looked at Vogue, I would be able to tell what the mood of the country was.”

• AW: “I believe so.”

The Real Life Devil Wears Prada

We all know that the New York Times Best Seller, The Devil Wears Prada and it's subsequent movie interpretation were based on Vouge magazine's ice queen of an editor Anna Wintour. Now, she has decided to capitalize on the opportunity to set the record straight although it remains to be seen which direction it will go in the feature-length documentary chronicling the making of Vogue's September issue. It's well on it's way and the cameras were rolling at a tea party Lauren duPont and Amanda Brooks threw for Thakoon Panichgul at Bergdorf Goodman recently, where one of the film’s field producers revealed that 500 total hours of coverage will be filmed, with just an hour-and-a-half making the final cut. “The staffers at Vogue and Anna Wintour have been very cooperative,” said the source. “They're used to the cameras and the attention by now.” Filming will end in July and then all the less waiting to see how things truly are at Vogue.

Set Your TiVo!

What does Anna Wintour have in common with televangelist Joel Osteen and Grey’s Anatomy Patrick Dempsey? I didn't know either till I found out that all three are included in Barbara Walters’ list of the 10 most fascinating people of 2006. Others include Andre Agassi, John Ramsey, and Terri Irwin. I wonder who the #1 person is? You'll have to make sure to watch December 12 at 10:00 p.m. on ABC.

Ha Ha

British fashion house Burberry's Milan Fashion Week show in Italy last night was wrecked by animal activists protesting the company's use of fur. 3 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) activists stood holding 'Burberry: Fur Shame' placards charged the runway at the glitzy fashion show, disrupting the invitation-only event. The protestors were quickly escorted out of the show and released. Ironically, one of the attendees at the show was Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who has been a longtime PETA target. Lucky for her she was saves another tofu pie in the face. A PETA spokesman says, "We have met with Burberry executives and screened a video that shows graphic footage of animals who are suffering on fur farms and in traps. "But, unlike a growing number of fashion companies that are fur-free, Burberry continues to sell real fur. This is unacceptable." -- contactmusic.com