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Some Thoughts on Blogger Behavior at NYC Fashionweek Spring 2007. Ambushing Anna Wintour with for an Impromptu Interview: Unorthodox Yes, But a Black Eye to the Reputation of Serious Fashion Writers Who Blog. FASHIONTRIBES FASHION BLOG
In a recent NYC Fashionweek piece on MSNC entitled Crashing the Celebrity Catwalk Party: Getting Access to the Famous is Easty, but Finding Something to Say..., Paige Ferrari writes that: "blogger Julie Frederickson shoved a home video camera and microphone into Anna Wintour’s face and, for one golden minute, plumbed the Vogue queen’s icy depths, completely uninterrupted," resulting, no doubt, in "a speedy escort to the door" as the result of "such renegade blogger tactics."
While Fredrickson's reaction ("Why Can't People Ever Fact Check?") centered around specific inaccuracies in the piece - the fact that it wasn't a home video camera, and that she wasn't escorted out but merely told by Kelly Cutrone of People's Revolution (they organized the show where Wintour was seated by herself waiting for the show to begin) to terminate the interview - the fact remains that this is the impression many insiders now have of bloggers' behavior at the shows: "renegade" and rule breaking. While Wintour may indeed have "wanted to be interviewed", it's well known by regular attendees of Fashionweek that approaching her in this fashion (or at all, really) is actually a massive breach of etiquette. She generally travels with at least one male body guard, and is typically ushered in and out of each show hurriedly - and always, always surrounded by people.
Approaching her in an unorthodox fashion (when she actually feels comfortable enough to show up sans posse) also reflects poorly on Kelly Cutrone of People's Revolution - through no fault of her own. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Cutrone were to have heard about this from Wintour or Vogue.
So this is not a case of "Why do people get down on bloggers again?" but a case of having breached established etiquette - whether intentional or not - without thinking about the consequences and how it reflects on the way bloggers are perceived by the industry. Bloggers already have a wooly & wild reputation, which is great for swagger points, but much less so when it comes to being perceived as a legitimate form of new media. As someone who has attended Fashionweek officially as an online publisher for the last four fashion seasons, anything that undermines the credibility of our work reporting on the shows through no fault our own is of great concern to me - both as an online magazine publisher & a fashion writer who blogs.
- Lesley Scott
September 16, 2006 in Blog Report, Fashion, Fashionweek, Weblogs | Permalink
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Although I am very new to public blogging, as a person who's worked in the fashion industry in general I completely agree with you. While I admire Julie's gutsy move, if it weren't a huge breach of protocol then why would Kelly Cutrone have had to cut things short so quickly? I've never even seen Anna Wintour do impromptu interviews with established broadcast shows such as FashionTelevision at the shows!
Posted by: T | Sep 17, 2006 8:03:41 PM
I agree wholly with your point of view here. I’m just catching up on the drama personally, but I did question Coutorture’s methods with KCD, THE fashion PR firm. Telling bloggers to inundate a publicist with queries and demands only ensures that said publicist will never want to work with you again.
That said, I’ve had no issues with Coutorture personally and I think that the wealth of coverage generated by Julie and Phil’s efforts was substantial and quite frankly, revolutionary.
Posted by: eye4style | Sep 18, 2006 2:33:20 PM
Lesley: I'm so glad you mentioned that "bad behavior" by a blogger, but it's not just one person who behaved badly at Fashion Week. I noticed this sort of unprofessional behavior by other bloggers being extended to other professional journalists throughout Fashion Week. As an internet writer, publisher and reporter, I do not think we want others to view us as unprofessional. I've been writing and publishing online for more than 14 years...surely we don't want to get a bad rep, just as internet professionals are being invited to shows! Hopefully, those who have been pointed out for bad behavior will think twice before doing it again, and be reminded that bad behavior by one, reflects upon us all.
Posted by: Alison | Sep 18, 2006 3:48:19 PM
I think people should simmer down and remember what journalism is- sometimes even the best reporters have to break rules to get the job done. If you're so worried about "blogger's" reputation maybe that says something about your a)insecurity b)jealousy or c)inability to recognize that bloggers aren't a cohesive unit. Therefore why don't you just worry about doing your own job and leave other people's choices to themselves.
Posted by: Sarah | Sep 20, 2006 12:19:21 PM
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