They accessorize the most famous bob haircut in the world. They add to an aura that is both glamorous and mysterious. But the dark glasses play a more practical role says legendary editor Anna Wintour, who is seldom seen without them.
The sunglasses come off the high-queen of haute couture on this Sunday's 60 Minutes, when in a rare and unprecedented interview, she reveals why she wears them and much more to Morley Safer in her first long-length interview for U.S. television to be broadcast May 17 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.
Safer and 60 Minutes cameras followed Wintour to the spring fashion shows in Milan, Paris and New York, where the sunglasses are especially handy she says. "They're seriously useful…I can sit in a show and if I'm bored out of my mind, nobody will notice," says Wintour. "And if I 'm enjoying it, nobody will notice….At this point they've become…really, armor."
But getting noticed is also part of who she is and what it means to be in command at Vogue magazine, the bible of high fashion, which provides her a yearly stipend for clothing rumored to be in the six figures. "It's very important to me to look good when I go out publicly. I like looking at my clothes rack in the morning and deciding what to pick out," she tells Safer. I enjoy fashion, Morley, I mean, I wouldn't be in this job if I didn't."
"This job" has kept Wintour in the highest perch on the fashion pantheon for over 20 years and made her the subject of a successful novel and hit film, "The Devil Wears Prada."
Wintour wields the power to include or exclude in her magazine the fashions of designers old and new; she has authority to start new fashion trends and put an end to others. At 59, Wintour is not thinking about relinquishing that role.
"This is a really interesting time to be in this position and I think it would be, in a way, irresponsible not to put my best foot forward and lead us into a different time," she tells Safer, who asks whether Wintour believes there are others eyeing her crown. "Probably several," she says.
Safer's segment also includes interviews with Vogue staffers and clothing designers, plus a rare interview with France's wealthiest man, Bernard Arnault, Chairman of LVMH, the largest luxury goods group in the world.
