I don’t think I have ever been more terrified in my entire life. As much as I talk a lot of shit about numbers being the only arbiter of access in an ideal new media world I still harbor a lot of fear. I know that I am only in my position because of luck, timing, and very little aversion to risk. I talk smack about KCD because I know that they can’t hold us off forever: there are more of us than there are of them and this time the barbarians are out for good. I know that numbers don’t lie because well the economists at the University of Chicago told me so.
But still when I arrived early for Costello Tagliapietra SS07 Show and saw Anna Wintour alone in the front row I didn’t think I had the guts to go up and interview her. I had already tried at Rag and Bone and she waved us off saying later in the week I will give interviews. But heart pounding I steeled myself, left Patryk in the pit, and requested to ask her a few basic questions. She didn’t want to talk about collections because it was too early in the week but I assured her I was interested in her experience and not her opinions on current fashion. Ever the consummate professional she agreed.
I ran for Patryk, grabbed my mic and stuttered in. I got in a few questions that for the life of me I don’t remember and just as Anna said “well I wish that people would ask interesting questions,� my mind brimmed with possibility and just like that Kelley Cutrone swooped in and demanded “End it now.�
And then it was over. Kelly had been fairly supportive of bloggers as I have mentioned before (though I admit just giving us standing room seems a little harsh, we could just sneak in for that) but she was having none of that. Of course, Kelly had no idea who I was but it still felt so short. I went up to her later and explained who I was and that I had gotten advance permission. Kelly seemed to understand and explained she didn’t want Anna to complain to her later that she had been bummed rushed by some nobody but I still wish we had been given a chance.
And yet here I am with the most important piece of footage I have captured this Fashion Week and it can’t be more than a minute. It was like being given an audience with the Pope and then being told you couldn’t pray. And then I feel like a lapsed Catholic in that I don’t even appreciate Vogue as I should what with its Wal-Mart ads and socialite coverage, but like any good “Christian� fashionista I know that even if I am a Fashion Protestant I still owe something to the Pope. I feel I should be allowed to pay homage to the greatest living editor in fashion history. Because even if you want to post your own thesese on the door of Conde Nast you should still be allowed to acknowledge your heritage and give thanks that we have all been saved, in whatever way, by the Gods of fashion. But like Luther I was excommunicated. I can only hope that in some way I will be allowed to worship in my own way. And since I believe in democracy I know that it was religion that first began that slow journey towards freedom. And so I say a prayer that one day I too will go to fashionista heaven in freedom and in good faith.
Wow Julie, big balls…good job!
as a presbyterian (ex baptist) in both fashion and life, i say…
amen ;o)
OHMYGOD she looks so scary! You are so awesome for trying to get that interview. Thanks for all your hard work in bringing fashion week to all of us sitting here at home. You’re doing an incredible job!
So I guess the devil actually wears green prints, no? lolol
http://www.fashionverbatim.blogspot.com/
OMG! I’m gobsmacked! HAHAHA!
Good job! good questions!
Awesome.
Let’s hear it for Almosts!!
http://almostliterary.blogspot.com
Well done Julie, that’s amazing stuff! You look great in the video too, that’s certainly one to go down in fashion history. You’ve got big balls, girl!
[...] Anna Wintour Scares Healthy Girl [...]
I’m proud of you Julie! That took guts! I think I would have been so nervous I’d have thrown up on her. Imagine the shock-horror of that.
Excellent interview!
Oh dear…am I going to be the outcast if I say that I happen to adore Anna Wintour? Along with Vogue (perhaps the British and Italian versions more than American, but still)? Even though fashion blogging is more useful for covering fashion shows and trends, I do think that the Vogues are the last genuine fashion magazines left.
I thought she handled your questions warmly, politely and gracefully. Hooray for you, though, for being brave enough to approach such a glittery lady.
you ROCK!
That was great. I admire your guts! She seemed like she didn’t mind talking to you at all. Too bad you didn’t get to hear what questions she would have liked to have someone ask her.
This is incredible! Julie, you star, this is the most amazing post. You’re doing a wonderful job!
Awesome job! You were nervous, but showed courage and still went for it. You obviously have what it takes!
all this talk about your “big balls” must be a little disconcerting, no?
Well done! I have been reporting from the shows for six years and have only dared interview La Wintour once. Granted, she was totally polite but she is still scary as hell from a distance. ALT by contrast is always up for a chat. Maybe you should try him?
Hey there,
I do admire that you simply went up to her and asked for a moment. She should realize that you have every right to be part of the Week, and to ask her opinion on things. She put herself on her pedestal. I hope she realizes that blogging is going to be a very important part of the fashion industry and perhaps one day , Almost Girl and your consortium , Coutorture will be as integral as Vogue is today.
She still puts her pants on one leg at a time, right ?
You should be very proud of yourself!! GOOD FOR YOU girl! Anna Wintour… and you survived! Classic…
Hey Julie, Today I got to brag to one of my classmates that you interviewed Anna Wintour. She was very impressed. Way to work it! Incidentally, was that a hint of a faux Gwynneth Paltrow British accent I detected in Ms Wintour’s voice?
[...] NEW YORK – Previously at Fashion Week: blogger Julie Frederickson shoved a home video camera and microhpone into Anna Wintour’s face and, for one golden minute, plumbed the Vogue queen’s icy depths, completely uninterrupted. Watch the video people, does it look like I shoved anything? I was sitting next to her! I had a professional cameraman and camera. But wonder of wonders things do get compressed for the Internet! Also her depths were hardly icy Ms. Slanty McBiased as she was quite the warm friendly person who wanted to be interviewed and had Kelly not stopped me (as any good PR woman would have given my relative lack of longstanding history in fashion journalism) we would have had a fascinating interview. [...]
“ncidentally, was that a hint of a faux Gwynneth Paltrow British accent I detected in Ms Wintour’s voice?”
uh faux? wintour’s british!
Dear Julie,
You are a brave and lucky girl. May the fashion gods be with you!
[...] Maybe people will just have to get more clever about marketing and stop assuming that just being associated with something makes you that much more awesome. I sat right next to Anna Wintour at fashion week and it didn’t make me any cooler. Co-branding is funny that way. I always did like saying that reality is the new luxury. And at the risk of giving Seth more credit than he deserves I am going to say that maybe these people into buying placement at Fashion Week ought to look into that purple cow thing. You know like actually make a luxury product that makes sense with luxury fashion. If your product is actually luxury then the reality ought to be enough to sell it. In which case I guess you don’t need the product placement? [...]
wow.
she seems almost awkward. hunched over. hair in face.
she seemed so overly acute, and too politely proper that
she reminded me of a little girl.
i suppose i dont know what i would expect.
i’ve been searching the internet trying to find a picture or something of this woman. and here it is.
i guess i was just un satisfied.
or maybe too perfectly satisfied that i so quickley found her..
and maybe i expected something like glenn close in the movie 101 dalmations. and just like you said. and then it was over.
she meets your standards, but with all the hype behind her, you just forget shes human.
so much for the “people’s revolution.”
well done you, however.
I must say that I found Ms. Wintour to seem quite camera-shy and did I hear a few “you know”s thrown in? It was as good an interview as it could be given the circumstances and it certainly puts a voice to the face. Bravo!
[...] Ahhh the moment that put me in the spotlight: my small moment of an interview with Anna Wintour. How is it that interviewing someone so well known thus gives you a moment to be glared at too? But it seems that nowadays Anna is more comfortable being interviewed so maybe I helped push that along? Ahhh what a nice jest huh? Here is the all too brief Barbara Walters interview with Anna Wintour. [...]
[...] What was your blog moment of glory? Gosh, there have been so many moments; an interview with Cathy Horyn, an dandruff ridden encounter with Karl Lagerfeld, being commended in Women’s Wear Daily for my coverage of Fashion Week. However, I would say Almost Girl’s shining moment is a toss up between interviewing Anna Wintour of American Vogue and my review of Oscar De La Renta’s Pre-Fall Collection. Approaching Anna and having her agree to an interview was an exhilarating moment and was quite controversial in the blogospehere. Sadly I was cut off by a publicist before I could finish but Anna was exceptionally amenable to talking. I am very proud of my subsequent writing on the encounter. My review of Oscar collection however is much more reflective of the work that I do, weaving together fashion and intellect. When Alex Bolan the CEO of Oscar De La Renta told me that Oscar enjoyed reading my review I knew that my fashion blogging had made it. [...]
No gutts. No glory. When opportunity knocks- bang the door down. Very inspirational. You are a pro!!!
[...] Derzeit ist die Antwort auf diese Frage, dass klassische Medienprodukte Werbeeinnahmen erzielen, und -nicht zu vergessen- mehr Wert auf klassische und umfangreichere Recherche legen, wobei das erstere das letztere bedingt. Diese Aspekte haben zur Folge, dass die “Dinosaurier” ihre Bedeutung so schnell nicht einbüssen werden, ganz besonders, da sie in der vergangenen Zeit Lernfähigkeit bewiesen haben. Hervorragend lassen sich die derzeitigen Verhältnisse an einem Videointerview illustrieren, das die Bloggerin Julie Fredrickson mit der legendären Anna Wintour, “Editor in Chief” der Vogue USA führte. In diesem historischen Zeitdokument aus dem Jahre 2006 spiegelt sich die jeweilige Position in der Hackordnung des Modejournalismus wider: auf der einen Seite die junge Bloggerin, die nun schon Entrée geniesst, und auf der anderen Seite die Modepäpstin, die mit einem Seitenblick das Interview abbrechen lässt. [...]
[...] A fantastic example for the current situation is the video interview (link to the video here) that fashion blogger and Coutorture founder Julie Fredrickson did with the legendary Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue USA. In what can be called a historic document the current pecking order of fashion is accurately represented: on the one hand there is the young blogger, already enjoying “entrée”, and on the other the fashion superstar, who has the interview ended with a bored side glance. [...]
[...] And of course, who could forget Julie Fredrickson of nearly Girl’s chance come across with Anna Wintour, cut short by the ever protective publicst. We applaud Cutrone for going to such lengths to protect her clients, but can’t we all just get along? Isn’t there a better way to resolve these differences of opinion? [...]
[...] Coutorture founder Julie Fredrickson, who shot to Internet notoriety for this unscheduled Anna Wintour interview, sold her fashion blog network to PopSugar.com publisher Sugar Inc. back in October. The dollar figure that was paid to Fredrickson, who remains with the company, wasn’t disclosed. But it couldn’t have been that much — since she seems to be trafficking in hidden porn links on her personal blog. [...]
I absolutely think that Kelly Cutrone is the biggest CUNT on earth.
Great Job!
Anna Wintour was lovely with you.
KELLY CUTRONE”S DAYS ARE NUMBERED!
JUST WATCH!
You were fantastic Julie!