In defense of Anna Wintour…

In defense of Anna Wintour Ernest Schmatolla invited me to this blog. this is my first time to blog. i want to write in defense of anna wintour, who routinely takes a bad rap by the fashion press. i have seen her at the fashion shows in paris, and the couple of times i have talked to her she was always enthusiastic–not cold. she is elegant and obviously driven, good qualities for a fashion editor, i’d say. she may not have the intellect of bernadine morris or the wit of marilyn kirschner, but i’d take her in a heartbeat to kate betts who is well, a bit dowdy, or carine roitfeld, who looks like a 12 year old boy in need of a bath. i’d like to tell a story to illustrate the kinds of interruptions this woman goes through during the course of her work day. i was sitting behind her and patrick mccarthy at the ungaro show a couple of weeks ago. about five minutes before the show was to start, a woman with a big microphone and a tv cameraman walked up to wintour. “excuse me, anna, anna, anna? i’m blah blah from blah blah in canada. i won’t ask you about couture as i know couture isn’t your forte, but could you tell us how trends are started?” wintour politely (but wisely i would say) declined to answer. “well then patrick, will you answer the question for us?” mccarthy replied, “if she won’t answer, then i won’t.” i have heard that wintour makes her younger staff tremble with fear when they see her. this is often the effect an attractive, super chic and hardworking editor has on her staff. to quote joe e. brown in “some like it hot”, “nobody’s perfect!” even anna.