Fashionclick^®  Interview  

affected the way they set up their shows and manage their public image?

Everybody wants a bigger bang for their buck, to outdo everyone else in terms of grabbing media attention. It’s all about getting the information out there now and people will go to any extreme to do it.

I think the change in fashion is making people think a little bit more. It’s not enough to do a conventional show. I mean it is for some designers who have a really strong following but others have to think of how to excite their customers and the press and certainly the buyers.

But the bottom line is still about the clothes. Some designers started to really lose sight of that. They became so wrapped up in the hype machine that the clothes got left by the way-side and they (designers) suffered for that.

For us, as TV people or the media in general, it’s made for a great kind of circus and I’m thankful for that.

In Canada, your home country, there seems to be a lot of interest in fashion. For instance, there are several fashion television programs being produced there.

We were there first. Fashion Television was the first fashion entertainment show of its kind. The Fashion File people saw what we were doing and thought, hum, that looks like a great idea and cheap to produce so maybe we should do it too. And they sort of followed suit. Those are the only two fashion shows and I really believe that since we were produced out of Canada initially, that the others came to be.

To understand what Canadians are like, you have to understand that we are voyeurs to a large degree. Our strong, powerful neighbors to the south overshadow us. So we have to stand back and observe. We are very used to that; we are very used to sitting on the fence. In some ways, we are not doers like the rest of the world but we are great observers. Canadians make great journalists. Great documentaries come out of Canada and some very famous news people. Peter Jennings is Canadian (laughs).

The phrase ‘imitation is the best form of flattery’ comes to mind.

It’s true, absolutely and I don’t mind at all; as long as nobody figures out a way to clone me we’ll be fine (more laughs).

I think that ultimately everybody is going to have a different editorial point of view and the more the merrier. I think we need different hits of fashion coming at us from different perspectives. I don’t think anyone does it the same way we do. Our attitude is inevitable just as theirs is and it forces us to think of new ways of beating them out. For us now, it’s like been there, done that. What’s the next plateau?

What are Jeanne Beker’s challenges now?

To continue to find the magic and the fascination and the fun I found from day one. The day I stop finding that magic will definitely be the day I retire. Hopefully that won’t happen for some time to come.

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