In her recently released book Tales from the Back Row, Cosmopolitan.com editor Amy Odell explains the many facets of the fashion industry and shares her own stories, one of them being an interview with iconic Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
Fashion site WhoWhatWear shares some of the juicy excerpts from the book in a recent post, including every detail of Odell’s interview with the ice queen herself.
One of the funniest and most ironic details Odell shares is that Wintour’s office, flanked with assistants, was reminiscent of “The Devil Wears Prada.”
“The double-wide doorway to Anna’s office was flanked by two assistants’ workstations that looked remarkably similar to the workstations in The Devil Wears Prada. That legendary walk up to her desk was as awkwardly long as everyone says it is. Just long enough for her to stare you down, judge your outfit, and make you feel embarrassed about being in her presence.”
Other qualities the editor likes? Wintour wants all of her employees to make a mark in the fashion social scene and be knowledgeable about other creative fields. Odell reveals in the excerpt that she wasn’t as culturally aware as Anna would’ve wanted.
“But Anna wanted to know more. I could see this plainly in her face. ‘Museums?’ she asked. ‘Oh,’ I began, shocked by the suggestion. Museums? Do I do that?‘Sure. Sure, I’ll go occasionally to see things.’ ‘What have you seen recently?’ she pressed.”
WhoWhatWear says that what makes Odell’s book different from other books about the fashion industry is that the writer herself had a ” healthy dose of skepticism and an unapologetic habit of finding the absurd humor in an industry that takes itself rather seriously.”
A surprising revelation about Anna Wintour? She is apparently shy.
“For the most part, Anna did seem shy, as my tipster had warned me. She’d often cast her eyes down at her desk and me résumé rather than look straight at me, which could easily be viewed as a sign of nervousness in anyone.”
Just when you think Wintour may actually be a real human being after all and not just an enigma, Odell reveals the last thing Anna did during the interview.
“As I thanked Anna and stood up, she walked around the desk to shake my hand. When she got to me, she looked me up and down in this really obvious prolonged way, probably to make sure that even if I’m some sort of museum-shunning, ignorant loser I was at least wearing an acceptable outfit.”
Now that’s the Anna Wintour we know and love.
Image via Imaxtree
