Vintage Wintour

Last night, The September Issue, R.J. Cutler’s highly anticipated documentary about the creation of Vogue‘s 840-page  2007 September edition, premiered in New York. The film’s main attraction is, of course, editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and fashion followers of all stripes are counting on Mr. Cutler for a bit of access to the frequently tight-lipped legend. Back in December 1993, then Interview editor-in-chief Ingrid Sischy sat down with her Vogue counterpart for a boss-to-boss chat.  Below, a few vintage insights from the world of Wintour to tide you over until the movie hits theaters next week. (PHOTO BY ELLEN VON UNWERTH)

On diversity:

“We try to come up with the best possible mix for an issue. I like it to be a good dinner party–a pretty girl, a tough politician. It’s not all about everything looking the same, because nothing does.”

On her readership:
“A magazine about fashion is inherently about change. Of course, you have to have enough reality in the magazine not to lose a lot of readers, or a lot of people who aren’t as hip as everybody else or as willing to accept change, so I am always trying to keep that in mind, too.”

On Vogue‘s role in the universe:
“Fashion’s my job. And I do it the best I can. But I don’t sit around at home talking about velvet. It’s all about self-respect. You want to look good, you want to feel sexy, you want to have clean hair, you want to know what’s going on with makeup or whatever it may be–why shouldn’t that be interesting? It doesn’t mean you don’t care about everything else as well.”