Is there a story that stands out for you that you did early on?
I remember writing about Madonna. She was in her English moment. She was married to that Englishman [Guy Ritchie], and she had sort of an English-ish accent, so I was very entertained. [Laughs.] We went to Ashcombe House, the house they had in Wiltshire. That house was very special to me because it was where Cecil Beaton lived for 15 years. It was the most magical place, and she, well, she was…
Madonna!
Yes, she was Madonna. [Laughs.] And she was in that house. It was kind of incredible. Those things were great.
Who have been your favorite designers to talk to?
Well, John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier, Marc Jacobs. Christian Lacroix was a real favorite. I liked some designers for the persona they created for themselves. Like Bill Blass, for instance. He had this attitude of a successful Hollywood star, but he actually came from Fort Wayne, Indiana. But there was not a trace of that. [*Laughs.] He had this marvelous apartment on Sutton Place. He was wonderful. All designers had their shtick then, and it was very amusing.
I’m a big fan of fashion documentaries, and I always thought it was quite fun to see these characters they played. I feel like that has changed over the years with designers. I don’t know if you agree. Perhaps they’re still characters, just different, more low-key versions.
They all have that going on. Not everyone is so extreme, but when you look at Tom Ford, he absolutely has that. It’s very interesting because some designers, when you gather up the CFDA finalists or something, are striving for what they want to achieve. But they are sweeter now than maybe 20 or 30 years ago.
Perhaps they strive to be more relatable now. Thinking of the Vogue editors of those days who were such personalities, did you ever feel the need to adopt a persona? It’s something that comes up a lot with editors today with social media, this necessity to be visible and a personality.
I don’t think I ever needed to. But at Vogue, when I arrived, it was so intimidating. The fashion department was intimidating beyond because everyone was larger than life. I mean, Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, André Leon Talley, they had their roles, and it was really something to behold. We used to have meetings after the collections, and Anna would ask for opinions, and that was absolutely hysterical. [Laughs.] I remember one season, Candy Pratts Price said, “Butterflies! I see butterflies, I see them!” And she went on this mad spiel about butterflies. But you could see her point. [Laughs.] Those sorts of things were just divine.