Catching up
F
irst things first: what happened at there was one of the most Newsweek/Daily Beast? enlightening experiences I’ve Any questions about what happened ever had. with News Beast—and its future direction— What did you learn? should go to Tina Brown because only That I’m a writer at heart. I love being she knows. able to tell stories about the industry, but OK! How did you feel about the way the always with transparency for the reader, news broke? which often means telling the good with It certainly meant I didn’t have to send a the bad. In magazines, the mission is group email letting people know what was about celebrating the good and putting going on! the industry’s best foot forward. Did you plan to leave Tina’s tribe anyway? Did you leave Vogue too soon? I knew I needed a book leave at some point; I I was there long enough to get a sense was still trying to figure out the best timing. of what it meant to write for Vogue, but So, what’ve you been up to lately? not so long that personal frustration had January was a whirlwind of inaugurationclouded my relationships with people related projects—I contributed a couple of there. You have to give things enough pieces to The Washington Post about it. I time to know if there’s really a level of also did a lot of television stuff. Once that discomfort, or if it’s just new and was over, I was like, “Wow, that book! I’ve different. got to get to that book.” Do you ever get sick of discussing your 2006 Pulitzer? One Night at Versailles, correct? I don’t really know anyone who’d get Now’s the first chance I’ve had to devote a tired of talking about their Pulitzer! significant amount time to book research. Where do you keep it? It’s daunting. The book is a cultural history It’s on a bookcase in my home office. of the 1973 Versailles fashion show. It’s due Was winning a Pulitzer on your this fall, with a tentative 2014 pub date. I’ve bucket list? been working on it for the past year. Many of the main people have sadly passed away, No. People put things in the realm of but I’ve ended up with a really interesting possibility on their bucket lists! But it mix of memories. was a fantasy, in the dark, primordial Where are you writing the book? part of my brain. The first hurdle was beI did some interviews on trips to New York ing at a place like The Post that thought Just two months ago, Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion and Paris, but as anyone who’s written a fashion coverage was in the realm of scribe Robin Givhan was unceremoniously stripped of book knows, at a certain point you have to the Pulitzers. her position within Tina Brown’s complicated empire. shut everything else out and just focus! I Are any other fashion critics out there write from my apartment, and I live walking deserving of Pulitzers? But fret not: After a twirl on the inauguration circuit, distance from the Library of Congress. It’s an That’s an impossible question to answer! she’s back at work on her next project, a book on the extremely grand place. Their reading room? It’s so subjective. It’s about a moment in Versailles show of 1973, that’s guaranteed to be as frank time. There are some wonderful critics, It’s like reading in the Sistine Chapel. but that has to be parsed by the wiser, Swanky! Is your book different from the and fearless as she is. BY ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV recent doc on the topic, Versailles ’73? mysterious minds on the Pulitzer board. It’s similar ground. The filmmaker was inWhat’s your proudest story? spired by the luncheon at the Met a year ago, I’m only allowed to pick one? Well, I’m and the documentary is mostly about the African-American models involved. There’s particularly fond of my piece on Dick Cheney in his parka, while he was representing a chapter in my book about that, but I’m focused on comparing the tenor of times then the U.S. at an Auschwitz anniversary ceremony. All these world leaders were dressed to where the fashion industry is now. I’ve had a great conversation with the filmmaker, for a somber occasion, and Cheney was sitting there in hiking boots, a parka, and a knit Deborah Riley Draper, just commiserating about the project’s hurdles. ski cap. My piece was about symbolism resonating much more than words can. I like Did you get scooped? that story because it wasn’t about observation within the fashion community. Cheney If you’re writing about Lincoln, can you be scooped? No! I’m not sure who started workdefinitely wasn’t wearing a designer garment. ing first, but I know she gave herself a pretty wicked deadline. Are you a fashion criticism trailblazer? So what’s your relationship with The Washington Post? I was attracted to the idea of having a specific writing niche. I’m a casual observer of It’s casual. I don’t know whether it’ll become something more formal, but right now dofashion. Politics seep into everything in Washington, including my thinking ing anything full-time beyond the book is not really an option. about clothes. Did you like doing the online thing for Tina? Are you fond of the front-row grind? When I was there, the print version of Newsweek still existed. That’s predominantly At first, the shows were a very unnerving experience. I’ve always felt a certain amount what attracted me. I never fully purged print from my heart! of quiet desperation in the weeks leading up to the shows. But I do like going. Amazing You once did a six-month stint at Vogue. What was that like? shows give me a lot to write about. My biggest takeaway is that people are really fascinated with Vogue! I left because I Let’s talk about your own closet: what’s in there currently? had a list of stories that were not appropriate for them, but that I wanted to do. I wasn’t Ha! I do have a rule that I will not sit around and write in sweatpants. No elastic waisttrying to reveal the dark inner workings of the fashion industry or anything, but my time bands! They only cause you trouble.
What Gives,
Givhan?
fa s h i o n w e e k d a i l y. c o m
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