Anna Wintour's Heartfelt tribute to IRVING PENN

PETA activists were the unofficial hosts greeting both students and invitees at the Pratt’s campus with rather disturbing banners, a cause that they have been championing and waging a war as nearly as long as Anna Wintour’s tenure at VOGUE for supporting the fur industry .
Oblivious to the shenanigans outside, the attendance was up to full capacity for the President’s Lecture Series, after a brief introduction by the President of Pratt, Dr. Thomas F. Schutte of Anna Wintour, Editor-in Chief of VOGUE walked took to the podium in an elegant Prada raw silk coat to what would be a deeply moving tribute to the late Irving Penn.
For an intensely accomplished yet very private individual, for me personally, has Ms. Wintour been willing to expose albeit unintentionally her vulnerability. Whether being asked on how the rest of her family viewed of what success meant to her in the R.J. Cutler documentary THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE; and her emotional quivering farewell conclusion to the passing of the last remaining geniuses of a bygone era.
For her as a young editor working her way into steering a legendary title and professing to an “intellectual crush” was no easy feat, while being guided under the late Condé Nast editorial director , Alexander Liberman and of course Irving Penn.
Although several suggestions were opposed by the elusive photographer whenever Anna gently forwarded to Mr. Penn as he was always referred to, the final portrait that were eventually made it were some of the most thought provoking yet a complete most memorable images that stood in sharp contrast to the rest of the editorial pictures rendered by other commissioned photographers.
One of the very first to make an impact then to newly appointed editor-in-chief was the Cleopatra’s Eye-comprising a heavily kolhed eye alabaster beauty with a stark red slithering snake against the cheek- that had Anna remark “ When the photograph came in, it opened my eye to the greatness he had.”
Penn liked photographing “strong women and not waifs.” Irving empathized with the deeply saddened Nicole Kidman, who at the time was going through a personal turmoil but ecstatic at the same time to have been honored to have her portrait taken by the master himself, captured in a black and white rendition of her peering at the camera with one hand obscuring her seductive lips while her hair formed a halo of coils gently framing the face and bare shoulders. That May 2007 issue won the coveted award for the cover with a soft lit profile of the actress in a backless Christian Lacroix gown; with the least amount of captions to the horror of Anna that “it will only sell one issue,” but was indeed one of the best selling issues on the contrary to Anna’s skepticism.
Photographing celebrities was treated an utmost disdain whenever an assignment required Irving Penn to fulfill. But something strange occurred, when the famed artist and director Julian Schnabel sat for him, not long before his death. He wanted to know more of the subject so had a pleasant conversation and thus captured the very essence of who this individual was. When the photo session drew to a close, Mr. Schnabel commented rather poignantly that he regretted that the session came to an end.
Always dressed impeccably into his blazer, trousers and trilby hat, Irving Penn always kept to this practice from his Greenwich village apartment to his studio, greet everyone, proceed to change into a t-shirt and jeans to begin his craft and back again to the original ensemble when he exited, not without bidding everyone goodbye or asking to convey the message if an assistant was not around, this trait did not go unnoticed by the editor. Indeed he was from another far more elegant period and lamented to Anna-whenever they had lunch only of his choice, the Union Square Café or Il Cantinori - on why had VOGUE become so commercial , how everything had titles over it…”Anna, I don’t understand how you can do this.” He commented on how it was so much simpler when the models would do their own hair and makeup, and that actors and actresses came in without an entourage.
An occasional acceptance for an extended invitation to dinner, in this particular incident at Oscar de la Renta’s residence by the reclusive photographer came as a pleasant surprise even to Anna. Mayor Bloomberg as well as Henry Kravis was also invited to which he said “Oh, this is a mogul dinner.” Then there was another time when Anna was indirectly rather politely suggested not to refer to him as “Mr. Penn, but simply Penn” when he stood up to give a speech, to which she complied to with humor and grace.
Finally Anna ended her tribute to “One of the most important artists of the 21st century whose greatness was beyond dispute.” She addressed that he was instrumental to the editor she is today that “He made me a better editor. “
Hamish Bowles, the European editor at large rendered a brief historical presentation of the photographers who presided at the very beginning of VOGUE’s inception till the present day image makers. After its informative study with the slide show a few pre- screened questions were chosen to answer. The response to a query regarding the role of bloggers, Anna was very generous saying that at VOGUE, “We love as much coverage of fashion as possible. We don’t care at all where it comes from, and we embrace bloggers and video and social networking, and anyone that’s talking about fashion is a good thing. And we now have our own website that incorporates all of that. But I think what’s interesting to us with this new phenomenon that ‘everyone’s a fashion editor, everyone’s a fashion writer’ is that all of that actually helps VOGUE, because we have access and the understanding of fashion that, forgive me, but maybe some bloggers and some of the newcomers to this world have a little bit less experience of, but as I said the more the merrier. We embrace it.”
More elation awaited, while the radiantly Oscar de la Renta clad honoree was the formally inducted into the American Editors Hall of Fame during the National Magazine Awards, held at he Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Patrick Wintour, The Gaurdian’s political editor and Wintour’s younger brother was unable to attend due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption; a taped message was screened in front of London’s Parliament. “I understand it’s like the John Wayne award, for someone who’s been around for a long time and hasn’t won any prizes, so it’s very sweet of you to think of the old girl at this stage.”
And with that he added with sincere admiration that “she’s a creative force and although many devilish things have been written about her, she’s my guardian angel.”
What is next on her agenda, but to co-host the Costume Institute Gala whose theme is “American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity,” on May 3rd at the Metropolitan Museum of Arts but with who else, Oprah Winfrey.