Yes, most people watched the Super Bowl last night. And so did we, if only to see the David Beckham for H&M commercial on a bigger screen (mesmerizing) and Madonna’s performace (lots of Givenchy). But after half time, we switched over to CBS to watch Morley Safer interview Anna Wintour on 60 Minutes. After all, she’s fashion’s MVP/QB, right?
Wintour was one of “Three Remarkable Women” featured in last night’s edition (Dolly Parton and Meryl Streep were the other two), and she handled herself admirably against Safer’s sometimes obnoxious line of questioning.
We have the full show below, and while the other two interviews are definitely worth watching, fast forward to 14:44 for Wintour’s segment. It starts with Safer’s not-so flattering introduction–saying Wintour turns some people into “obsequious toadies” (he also seems to relish calling her a “bitch”). After running through her various nicknames (“Nuclear Wintour”), they jump to a scene of Voguettes running around like gerbils through the office and the requisite The Devil Wears Prada clip.
After Wintour defends her persona (“we’re here to work”), 60 Minutes interviews co-workers and designers for some more color about “Darth Vader in a frock.” ALT and Grace Coddington weigh in, and Coddington’s description of Wintour’s look and hair is a must-see moment. Other highlights: Wintour dishes about why she always wears sunglasses, a $200,00 clothing allowance is alluded to, and featured interviews with Nicolas Ghesquiere, Karl Lagerfeld, and John Galliano pre-Dior ousting.
The whole thing had us glued to the couch, if only to see how the mainstream media portrays the fashion industry. And Safer’s last question to Vogue’s EIC: “When the time comes, will you go quietly?”
Her answer?: “Certainly. Very quietly.”
UPDATE: So this interview was recycled from a 2009 interview that 60 Minutes did with Anna Wintour. We were wondering why they had used old footage of Galliano…mystery solved. We hope she goes back on and gives Morley Safer a piece of her mind again soon.