- So I should say "Hey Anna," right?
[upbeat music]
- Oh, hi!
- We do your favorite show in London.
[laughs]
Joking!
- Maybe we can cut.
- Hi Anna!
My question for you is what is your favorite
lunch break spot during Paris Fashion Week
and what do you order?
- Gigi, who has time for lunch?
- Hi Anna, I was wondering
why did you like so much playing tennis
and what does it bring in your daily life?
- Marine, because professional tennis players
like yourself make it look so easy
amateurs, like me, step onto the court
full of hope and expectation that we can
serve like Serena or return like Roger
and of course that never happens.
But I live in perpetual hope and of course
I'd love to play tennis with you anytime.
- Hey Anna, if you had to give a letter grade
to the American, European, and Asian
fashion industries on their progress
as it pertains to diversity in the past five years,
what grade would each one receive and why?
- Kerby there's no question in my mind
that America is leading the way in terms of
representation on the runway, and I think we have
yourself to thank, and Virgil and Telfar
and many other designers that work
both in New York and LA.
But the influence is also being felt in Europe.
Look at the recent shows of Pierpaolo at Valentino
or Riccardo at Burberry, and more recently
I felt that Silvia Fendi also had
wonderful representation on the runway.
So there's no question that diversity
is on everybody's mind
within the fashion industry and way beyond.
- Hi Anna, it's Kate.
If you could have dinner with anyone
past or present, who would it be?
- Kate, at a time when America seems
politically incredibly divided
I think it would be very interesting
and very helpful to have dinner
with two men who stood for unity
and common ground and belief
in bringing people together.
And the two people I would choose would be
Nelson Mandela and Dr. King.
- Hi Anna!
If I were an intern, what would you make me do?
- Alessandro, there is absolutely
no question in my mind.
I would happily step down and let you run Vogue.
- Hi Anna, this season I was inspired
by the Irish playwright Synge's work
"Riders to the Sea", and I wanted to know
what play you've found very inspiring?
- Simone, I was lucky enough to find
one night during British Fashion Week
to go to the theater and I chose to see
Tom Stoppard's "Leopoldstadt".
And it's an absolutely epic night at the theater.
Every single person in the audience
was sobbing at some point
because it really touches on so many haunting
subjects such as The Holocaust and the camps
and losing and finding your family.
- Hey Anna, what is the last thing
that made you laugh out loud?
- So the first thing that made me laugh out loud
was Josh O'Connor's wonderful performance
as Mr. Elton in Autumn de Wilde's "Emma".
And the second thing was James Corden
and Justin Bieber dancing off
against very, very talented toddlers.
- Hey Anna, I hope you're well.
If you were president for a day
what would you do?
- Sadly, because I was born in England
I can never be president.
- Hi Anna, what keeps you up at night?
- Obviously this is a moment of
great transformation and challenges
for the fashion industry
and indeed the world at large.
So, in that respect there are opportunities.
I think it's a moment for creativity
and resetting and thinking about
how we all go about our jobs
in a completely different way.
But I also think it's our responsibility
at Condé Nast and specifically at Vogue
to think how we can support each other,
how we can support all the young talent
that we work so closely with,
how we can be good partners
with all the different companies
that we work so closely with,
how we can reach and discuss with our audiences
how they're feeling to build our community
to be even more impactful and aligned
with the way that things are going.
So I think we need to be a leader
we need to be a friend
and we need to be constantly ready to change.
- Hey Anna, what qualities would you say
are important for someone
who dreams about working for you at Vogue?
- I always ask the person that I'm interviewing
what they're interested in.
And because it's quite known that I like tennis
and I like the theater, they nearly always tell me
they're very interested in tennis
and they're very interested in the theater
and then I will do a follow-up question
and ask them what plays they've seen recently.
And you would be amazed how often
there is a long silence.
So, that's a pretty easy test.
Of course original thinking, talent, creativity.
Someone that challenges my way of thinking
is obviously also very important.
But in the end, it's about finding
someone that you find inspiring.
- Hi Anna, the Fashion Weeks marathon
is coming to it's finale.
Are there any new names that caught your attention
and are there any established designers
that really surprised you this time?
- Well let's start with the American designers.
And first and foremost, I want to applaud
Tom Ford for showing in Los Angeles
because I totally reject the idea
that everybody always has to do the same thing
and show in the same way.
We're an industry that's meant to be about change
so why don't we change more often?
So, taking his super glamorous show
with his super glamorous audience
to Los Angeles, I thought was genius.
And the show was exciting and vibrant
and every woman there wanted
every dress on the runway.
And I loved Marc's closing show at The Armory.
He surprised us all by having a sort of cabaret set up.
The whole space was filled with an army
of Karole Armitage dancers and models
sort of, mixing in with each other.
You weren't sure who was a dancer
and who was a model.
And it was just a very joyful and intimate
and exhilarating experience.
In London I really loved Jonathan Anderson's
show for his own label.
He threw out a lot of the layers
and it was surprisingly wearable
but not in any way boring or mundane.
So I think he's consistently leading the way
in terms of British talent.
In Milan we all loved Francesco's collection
at Marni because of his belief in sustainability.
His extraordinary mix of fabrics
and the real joy of the collection.
I thought that it's maybe his
most confident and most successful collection to date.
There were so many extraordinary shows in Paris
but Nicolas Ghesquière's choice to have 150 plus,
brilliant singers dressed by the equally brilliant
Milena Canonero, behind a very modern collection.
A mix of romance meets scuba
to me, was a great finale
for a wonderful Paris season.
- Hi Anna, could the exciting collaboration
between Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons
signal a new era for the fashion industry
as a whole?
- I think the collaboration between Raf and Miuccia
is brilliant and really is going to help
redefine what fashion can mean and fashion can be.
It's following an unchartered territory.
It's challenging all the corporate sensibilities
of either you have to find a designer
who follows respectfully in the footsteps
of a designer who has gone before
or alternatively one that's going to come in
and throw everything out.
This is the idea of community and conversation
and respect for each other and respect for
the amazing work that they have both done.
And I think we all should be humbled
by their decision as well as being
unbelievably excited to be in Milan in September.
- Tell me Anna, who is your favorite American designer?
[upbeat music]