I am still thinking about Academy of Art University’s Fashion Week that happened at the end of April - the fashions are still in my head, the high-end socializing, the fancy dinners and of course, I remember my “journalist-to-journalist” interview with the lovely Pulitzer Prize winning fashion journalist, Robin Givhan.

(from back to front starting with the gentleman in the tux) Zac Posen, Loulou de la Falaise, Jean Charles Boisset and Robin Givhan anticipate the AAU fashion show. Photo credit: Randy Brooke.

At one of the symposiums where fellow fashion honorees Loulou de la Falaise andZac Posen attended, Givhan gave interesting insight to her position as a fashion journalist:

I think in many ways, in what I do as a writer, I am often a thorn in the side of designers like Zac and Loulou because they bravely and marvelously put there work out there for people to see and critique. My approach is to look at the fashion and always have my readers in mind and try to give the most honest assessment as I can. My rule of thumb as critic is always to remember that nothing appears by my magic. Real people have put their heart and their soul into a collection. It should be about the work, the story, how the designer sees their customer – it shouldn’t be personal. That’s when things start getting dicey.

As a fellow fashion journalist, that’s EXACTLY what I was going to say! Okay, not really - but it probably would’ve sounded like that except it wouldn’t have many ANY sense.

Here is some other bits and pieces from the one-on-one interview I had with Doctor Robin G.

Dino-Ray: Of course, it is exciting to receive a Pulitzer - but what did you do the moment you found out?

Robin Givhan: Other than screaming hysterically – I was absolutely floored and thrilled. I immediately called my parents and they weren’t home. (laughs) I left this insane message on their machine saying `call me! Call me! Call me!’ Then I thought about it and said, `it’s good news!’

DR:: When I told people I was interviewing a Pulitzer Prize winning fashion journalist, they had have this quizzical, but curious look on their face because - well - it’s fashion. You don’t see that with the word, `Pulitzer’ that often.

RG: It’s an incredible honor. There’s was definitely a period before that, when I wouldn’t even think that fashion wouldn’t even be put with criticism of the arts. When I was at the (Washington) Post, they took fashion coverage so seriously. I think it made me stand up a little straighter and feel that fashion is held up to the same standard as the other beats. There wasn’t a separate fashion section. In order for a fashion story to be a lead, it has to stand up to the same scrutiny as anything else. I have been trying to write about it in a way that brings in as many people as possible so it wasn’t fashion for the “church choir.” It was fashion for people who were skeptical. A lot of it had to do with how the paper felt about fashion. It was something that spoke to something that was going on socially, culturally or what have you.

DR: These days, it seems like anyone can be a “fashion journalist.” Do you think that’s true?

RG: A lot of people come to the fashion beat, being passionate about fashion. I often get emails from college students who want to be fashion writers. I am always a bit suspicious about it, because I ask, “is it fashion you are interested in, or is it writing?” because if you want fashion, you might be thinking about that you want to be a fashion editor for a magazine – where it’s less about the writing and more about the styling. It’s more about editing clothes and thinking about trends – that’s a completely different thing from what I feel like I do – which is to be a journalist who covers the fashion industry. People always ask me, “what is it like to be in the fashion industry?” My answer sometimes comes across as defensive, but I say that I am not in the industry. I don’t think you would go to a sports writer and ask, “how is it like to be in the sports field?”

Of course, Givhan and I had a grand ol’ time talking about fashion and being journalists. At first, I thought it was weird interviewing another journalist. First off, she was more experienced than me and extremely accomplished, so there was a sense of intimidation. But after I just calmed my spazz, I realized that Robin was very down to Earth and I appreciated her work and what she has done for fashion and journalism - she gave it an intellectual dimension and cultural meaning.

In addition to laughing about the muffin top epidemic (you can read about that in today’s column), Givhan pointed out how a lot of today’s youth dressed as if they were in a music video and how a lot of people couldn’t distinguish COSTUME and REGULAR clothing. I’ve noticed this before, but I couldn’t put it in the words she did.

After the interview, I decided to do a brief session of people watching in Union Square. I saw this girl in a trucker cap, gaudy plastic jewelry in neon tones and a whole salad bar of clothing and accessories from Hot Topic and Urban Outfitters. She looked as if she was a background dancer in a music video by Britney Spears (before she had her quarter-life crisis).

Then I realized, “Wow. Givhan is really good at her job.”