If you caught the interview with Anna Wintour and Morley Safer on 60 Minutes, you were in for some serious amusement.  You just knew from the introduction that this was going to be a popcorn moment, yes, pure entertainment.  It did not disappoint.  Morely sure has a way with words.  Anna of course was unapologetic about her reputation of bringing fear to the hearts of many.  She acknowledges that she demands excellence and perfection.  At times the interview questions sounded a bit accusatory, but she handled them like a true professional; I walked away with a little better understanding of her, and her process.  Check out outtakes from the interview by clicking the link.

Related Post: Anna Wintour Speaks.

Anna Wintour’s appearance at the 92^nd Street Y with Jonathan Tisch made our Rollcall list this week.  The Vogue Editor-in-Chief showed why she is still in charge at the fashion bible.  Ms. Wintour is much more in-tuned with the economy than many would have believed, and even acknowledged that women can be fashionable while being price conscious.  While she was at it, she went so far as to applaud the collaboration of high end designers with mass retailers like H&M and Target. 

When asked about moving on from her job, she unequivocally put to rest the rumors of her impending retirement. She apparently loves her job, and has no plan to retire right now, and who could blame her.  Designers all over the world hold her in high esteem, as well as many others within the fashion industry.  If the fashion industry were a ship, Anna Wintour would want to be at the helm to help guide it through choppy waters.  The choppy waters of course would be the troubled economy.  Now is not the time to bow out gracefully, it is time to roll up one’s sleeve and get to work.  It isn’t difficult to believe that she is enjoying her job right now, we are in the throes of a recession, and she is a valued voice at the table.

Wintour proved that she is truly unflappable.  A PETA supporter heckled her about the use of fur in Vogue’s editorials and advertising and she responds “[f]ur is still a part of fashion, so Vogue will continue to report on it.”  You can’t make this stuff up, she is tough.  She just tells it like it is, there is no holding back, and I love it.

The interview gets an ‘A’, it was informative and engaging.  I can now say that Anna Wintour is officially one of my idols; she has a Teflon quality that is admirable.   I can’t wait to see her 60 Minutes interview with Morley Safer.  Who knows?  She might make our Rollcall list two weeks in a row.  Her frankness and ability to say exactly what she is thinking is so rare and refreshing.  Frankly, it’s very entertaining.  Ms. Wintour manages to fascinate us because she appears available and elusive at the same time. [The Cut]

I absolutely love Michael Kors, he is one of my favorite American designers, so I could not resist posting this video interview. Mr. Kors describes his signature look as one consisting of sexy sheath dresses, cashmere, camel and great coats.  When asked to name a celebrity model, he names Angelina Jolie because of her glamour and content, her depth. He likens her to a modern day Elizabeth Taylor.  The most interesting part of the interview came when asked about his biggest fashion faux pas. He recited the story of how he ended up on the cover of WWD in three pairs of leg warmers, tight jeans and a pair of boots at the age of 18.  His head was cropped from the photograph taken on the street by Bill Cunningham.  Now I have to confess that I would love to see that WWD cover on Project Runway, and I know that I am not alone.

The life of a fashion model seems rich and glamorous from the outside.  So we are always taken aback when a model like Raquel Zimmermann tells us how she grew up as a tomboy.  How are we to believe that when we see her all done up on the pages of Vogue and on the runways in New York, Milan and Paris?  In this video she comes off as the sweet girl next door; she is open and likeable.

The first wave of Matthew Williamson’s collection for H&M has all, but sold out in stores.  There was only one lonely rack left with a handful of items in the store on 34^th Street and 6^th Avenue.  The success of Williamson’s line at H&M proves once and for all that there is a market for high end designers at the mass market level.  That is good news for Matthew Williamson and H&M, and it is good news for the rest of us.  Now, who will be the next high end designer to take the path of Williamson and Lagerfeld?  I’m not sure, but my wish list includes Michael Kors, Narciso Rodriguez, and Oscar de la Renta.  A girl can dream, right?

Related Post: Matthew Williamson for H&M.

The 2009 Costume Institute Gala made our Rollcall list this week.  It was wrought with beauty, mystery, and violence.  The beauty was self evident because the theme for the evening after all was ‘Model as Muse‘.  Here we have model Anja Rubik looking gorgeous in Balmain.  The mystery was the missing Azzedine Alaia from the exhibition, and his gowns from the red carpet.  The violence, well, all I’ll say is Kiefer Sutherland.  Enough said. 

Wait, I forgot about the fashion after all that excitement.  Remember when the gala was all about the fashion?  When the question the day after was ‘who wore what’?  Sure it’s gotten a little more, um, complicated, but there were enough good and bad fashion to distract us from all the controversy.  Among the good was Blake Lively in Versace, Kate Hudson in Stella McCartney, and Rachel Weisz in Vera Wang. Fashion Rollcall’s best dress goes to Diane Kruger in Chanel Haute Couture; it was short, sweet, simple and sophisticated.  To the bad, well, they know who they are by now.  Click the link to view the photos from the gala.

Oh, I wish I had been there, even if it did turn into a rumble at the Met.  What kind of mayhem will they have in store for us next year?  I don’t know about you, but I can hardly wait.