The Current - Jeanne Beker on the legacies of Armani and Wintour

Episode Date: September 5, 2025

Giorgio Armani was one of the most recognizable names in fashion. Jeanne Beker shares stories of who he was as a person and the legacy he leaves behind after his death. And what happens at Vogue now that Anna Wintour steps down as editor-in-chief?

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This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. You came out with a fairly shocking comment recently. It was in New York Magazine on the cover of New York Magazine. Fashion is finished. I think I know what you mean, but I think for the average person out there, that's very shocking and very scary for some people, perhaps. Could you explain what you meant by that?

This Canadian fashion editor, Gini Becker, speaking with designer Giorgio Armani. Georgio Armani died this week. He was 91 years old. Many in the fashion world praised his global influence, including Anna Winter, a former editor-in-chief of US Vogue. In a statement to the Associated Press, she said, Giorgio Armani had such a clear force of personality and vision that you knew his work instantly, wherever you found it. He understood power and attitude and elegance as well as anyone has ever in fashion.

And he understood women, too, how they wanted to dress and what message they wanted to send. This news comes at a time when fashion critics are also evaluating and a winter's own legacy. After she announced her successor at the American publication this week, there has been a lot of fashion news. Who better to talk about that than a fashion icon herself? With me in studio, Jeannie Becker, former host of fashion television. Good morning. Oh, good morning, Matt. It's great to see you.

Oh, great to be here. Tell me a little bit about what we just heard, sitting down with Armani. Oh, well, I sat down with him several times, but I do remember that interview in particular. That took place in 1996, and he, you know, shocked everyone by proclaiming fashion is finished. It was on the cover of New York Magazine. And it was like, what? What do you mean, Mondeur? How could this be happening?

And, you know, he explained to me that, well, you know, it doesn't mean fashion is over, but the idea of dictates of fashion are over. I mean, it's time for people to not listen to any one particular designer, but to just really do their own thing, to judge themselves in the mirror and develop their own personal style voice. And I think, you know, when you look at the incredible clothes that Mr. Armani gave us over the years, he really never overpowered the women or men that he was dressing.

You know, there was a subtle kind of fashion statement going on that, in a sense, had such impact, such power. What is his legacy? I mean, people in reading, I rewatched the documentary made in Milan last night, which was fascinating. There's a little short documentary that Martin Scorsese made about him years ago. People talked about how in many ways perhaps he was the most famous name in fashion, but also somebody who was a singular figure in some ways. He was always adamant about maintaining his independence. And incredible that his company was not publicly owned.

He built this multi-billion dollar empire, a master marketer. And obviously, that's something that most designers, and I sure met a lot of them in my day, they don't really have that ability. I mean, they may be wildly creative, talented in terms of churning out collections. But when it comes to putting themselves out there, when it comes to running their business, When it comes to having a vision of where the world is going and how you really have to get your product out there and appeal to the masses, you know, Armani could do it all himself. That was what was so extraordinary about him. How do you think he changed culture?

I mean, Miami Vice, he was the guy who got them wearing those clothes in Miami Vice, which has something to do with fashion but also has something to do with popular culture. Yeah, well, you know, it was about attitude, right? Well, first of all, you know, what he did for menswear, interesting, because he took the suit, but he made these suits and these fabrics that were, like, sensual and soft and just very relaxed and different. So he brought a kind of sensitivity into the world of menswear that was not common. And for women? And for women? You know, I'm wearing a vintage Armani jacket today, and look at the shoulder pads on this baby.

You know, this really, oh, was one of the best things that he did for women. women, because when he started his line, you know, back in the 70s, he really saw that women were increasingly being empowered and really going into the workforce in a big, big way. So he gave us these wonderful suits that we could wear. And now, of course, you know, that type of dressing is so on trend. Everyone's wearing these great power suits. And he empowered us. What was he like as a person? As you mentioned, you sat down with him a couple of times, reading one of the obituaries, they talked about his piercing blue eyes, a mahogany tan. And an athletic physique, he would enjoy displaying well into his 80s.

Yeah, yeah, he was a beautiful specimen, just a gorgeous person, but a gorgeous human being. I mean, you really felt like you were basking in his glow. You called him the kindest and the classiest. Absolutely. Well, you know, I mean, he did have a rival, Valentino, who thank God is still with us. And they were actually very, very close. You'd think they would be incredible, you know, rivals. Mr. Armani was so generous of spirit, and he was so witty and warm and kind and truly an intellectual.

I mean, not every designer can talk about fashion and the way of the world, the way he did. And he was so humble, too. And, you know, I'm sure, you know, he spoke a bit of English, but wasn't confident about the way he spoke English. So he always said, you know, he's just going to answer me in Italian. I could ask him the question in English, and he'd answer in Italian. I thought, oh, I don't know. I don't really understand Italian that well. But for some reason, I guess it was the simpatico between us.

I totally understood everything that he said to be in Italian. It was like a miracle, and I didn't even need the translator to help me most of the time. I read the quotation from Anna Winter, praising him, talking about his legacy. How do you see her decision to step away from the helm of American vote? But you talk about icons in fashion. Yeah. Now, listen, at one point, you know, I was saying, well, this is sort of much ado about nothing. You know, everyone was like, wow, monsieur, what's going on here?

How could this be? She's not. She is a very savvy, very powerful, very smart woman. You know, she's 75 years old. She realizes that she does not want to do that kind of grunt work that editors and chief have to do to get their issues out there every month. month, and certainly the magazine business has changed to such a degree. Yet she still remains the chief content officer of all 28 international editions of Vogue magazine. Leaving but not leaving. She hired an under, she were not even giving this wonderful new

editor, Chloe Mal, daughter of Candice Bergen and in the late Louis Mell film director. She isn't even giving her the title of editor-in-chief. She's just calling her the editorial director. And she's, you know, in a sense, I'm sure Anna's underling, that's not to say that Anna isn't going to let her take off with her own ideas. You know, Anna's starved for new ideas, too, I'm sure, as we all are. I mean, there's just been so much of the same going on for way too long. What is it that has made her so fascinating to people in, but also outside of fashion over the years? I mean, there's the sunglasses. We played a little clip earlier when she was on Letterman and she talked about how people have all these different interpretations of who she is,

Ice Queen and whatever. She's a bit of a cipher in some ways, right? Well, you know, oh boy, I could go on about her. She really is a lovely person. However, however, I honestly, I honestly felt that for all those years in the trenches, I spent 27 years in the trenches, and she was, you know, really at the helm of vogue for, you know, most of that time, she kind of looked down her nose

at those of us that were covering. fashion for the medium of TV, covering fashion as entertainment. A lot of print people, I think, did, especially in the early days. You know, it was like television. What's that? You can't be, you know, smart or intellectual on television. You can't really do proper critiques on television. And I don't, I want to say the sauce as a threat, but I never thought that she really gave me that much cred. However, you know, in the mid-90s, she did do a wonderful two-page. feature on the in Vogue magazine and the show. And I thought, wow, okay, maybe we do matter.

But, you know, there's certain cynicism there, I think, about my style, my approach, because she was so serious. But she was an incredible starmaker. And she elevated American fashion designers to the celebrity status of the European designers. And that was a wonderful thing. You know, if she liked what you did, she would, you know, take you under her wing and really send you flying. I mean, that could be controversial. She put Madonna on the cover. She put Ivanka Trump on the cover. But she understood about, we were living in the age of the celebrity culture that was so overpoweringly important. I mean, I think that's changing. It's just, I certainly the way I feel it, you know, celebrities, okay, yeah, they're great. We love them. But, you know,

they're not really in the eye of the storm anymore the way they used to be. But yes, that was very controversial she did that. I mean, think of the first cover that she did for Vogue. The very first cover, she dared to put denim, you know, a model wearing a pair of blue jeans, mixed with this fabulous Christian Laquois be jeweled top

on. So that was the introduction of the high, low mix. You know, so there was nothing really that snobby about Anna on one level, but maybe on another level, maybe just a tad, but you know, listen, kudos to her. I think she

had an incredible impact on the culture and will continue to have. I mean, it's not like she's really going anywhere. She's not retiring. But the medium has changed and the times, you've hinted at this in terms of magazines. Those magazines used to drop like a brick. And now you have social media, you have influencer culture, you have. It's very different. The luxury fashion business is also kind of, you know, struggling along now.

We're living in a very different time. And putting a magazine together, you know, the grunt work that, you know, it used to be considered the most glamorous thing you could do. You know, I edited FQ, a wonderful fashion quarterly for six years, you know, that big glossy and just traveling the world and spending, you know, thousands and thousands of dollars on photo shoots. And, you know, in the case of Vogue, they used to do these incredible fashion editorials. And then, you know, if they didn't like the way they turned out, you know, Anna would just scrap it. Despite the fact that they spent an enormous amount of money on it. No, you can't afford to do that anymore. So it's very, very different.

Do people still pay attention in the same way to fashion? I think that fashion is a passion for so many people because it is a great mode of expression and it's a great way to claim your individuality and it's a great way to communicate. So there is a great love of fashion going on. There's still a lot of great creativity going on in the world. However, it's very different. And, you know, the fact is that we're realizing we're putting too much stuff out there and people are shopping, you know, vintage and it's all about, you know, designer resale

and, you know, the idea that less is more. So maybe we're realizing that we don't need as much and we want to really be more thoughtful about what we're putting on our bodies. I'm going to let you go. We're talking in the midst of the Toronto International Film Festival. There are red carpets all around us. You will not be walking the red carpet. You're going to be walking the pink carpet tomorrow?

The pink carpet. Yes, I am. Can you tell us about the pink coffee? I'm going to be, oh, I'm so excited about this hosting part of the Walk to Conquer Cancer, which is a wonderful fundraiser put on by the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, which is my Temple of Healing. I went through a cancer journey on 2022. A remarkable place.

All very exciting, yeah. I know. I'm so blessed. So many incredible things happening. I'm working on this great exhibition at the Glenbow Museum next year in Calgary. Next year in Calgary, co-curating a really, it's called Obsession, the unscripted life of Jeannie Becker. So it's all about, you know, my career. And I've got some incredible artifacts that are going to be displaying in there, you know, from my childhood, you know, things that really inspired me to get into the business and the years that I spent in rock and roll on the new music and much music.

And then, of course, fashion television. It has been a most remarkable life so far, and it continues. so I'm very blessed indeed. Long may it continue. A day is better when Jeannie Becker walks through our studio doors. Thank you for being here. Oh, I just love you, Matt. Thanks.

Great to see you. Jeannie Becker is a fashion journalist, former host of fashion television, and much, much more. That exhibit, Obsession, the unscripted life of Jeannie Becker, opens at the Glimbo Museum in Calgary next year. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening.

I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to CBC.ca. slash podcasts.