Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

"People" Magazine's Best and Worst Dressed

Aired September 07, 2001 - 07:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We all know what to wear on the court, but when it comes to high fashion and really making the list, is less more when it comes to "People" magazine's best and worst dressed? The infamous issue hits newsstands today and here to talk about it is west coast style editor for "People" magazine, Steven Cojocaru. Good morning.

STEVEN COJOCARU, STYLE EDITOR, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Carol.

LIN: All right, let's go for the easy one, best dressed female.

COJOCARU: Best dressed female, Nicole Kidman. We have to start with her. Here is somebody who had such a horrible year but still had the ability to accessorize. That's quite a staggering feat as far as I'm concerned.

LIN: Yes, but doesn't she get her accessories from Harry Winston? Doesn't that make it a lot easier?

COJOCARU: You know what? It makes it a lot easier, yes. If you're getting, you know, plastic zirconia, no. That's hard to work. But, yes, when you have the best of the best -- but she wears it very well. She puts her own spin on it. She's no mannequin. We're really impressed with Nicole Kidman.

LIN: All right, she's working it.

COJOCARU: She's working it.

LIN: And of course you had Julia Roberts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, love those dresses, at the Oscars. But in the meantime, did anybody take any risks?

COJOCARU: Oh, yes, absolutely. We have a whole section on risk takers this year. Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez. We felt that Sarah Jessica Parker is obviously very influential and she has a lot of variations in style. One minute she can be a Hollywood princess, the next minute she's Miss. Downtown. So we felt she's pretty gusty in her choices.

LIN: All right, and are these choices that their mothers would approve of? COJOCARU: No, absolutely not. You know that. These are Hollywood glamour girls, you know? They look like they're in a wet T- shirt contest half the time.

LIN: All right, so...

COJOCARU: You know, it's all about raising the bar.

LIN: Yes, raising the bar. So you're saying that a couple of extensions up top, very important.

COJOCARU: Yes, a couple of extensions on top and a tube top. It may be, you know, thigh high boots and, you know, you're good to go. The Hollywood version of a street walker.

LIN: Oh, my.

COJOCARU: But that works. That's what Hollywood is about. You look at every awards show.

LIN: That's so sad. I don't know if it says more about the women or the judges. Meantime...

COJOCARU: Or our society.

LIN: Or our society. OK, well, we're not going to go there. What about the guys?

COJOCARU: The guys? We picked a lot of guys who we felt were sharp shooters. Those are the best dressed guys, men like George Clooney and Brad Pitt. But it's not just about a man putting on a nice suit. Anybody can do that. It's how you wear it. And we felt that Brad Pitt and George Clooney and Mark Walhberg, that they really have panache. They really are, they're classic but yet modern at the same time. So they got a lot of kudos.

LIN: But what did you see? I mean you go to a formal event, you wear a tux. You go to a movie premiere and maybe you wear a pullover.

COJOCARU: No, but it's how you put your stamp on it, you know? Brad Pitt has a lot of flair. He looks very young and kind of trendy. Whereas George Clooney, to me, he kind of has a Cary Grant feel. So it's all, I think it's all in the way you wear your clothes. It's all about personal style and we feel these men really have personal style.

LIN: OK. Can we talk, Steven, now? Can we really dish?

COJOCARU: Yes, we can really get down.

LIN: All right. Let's go there.

COJOCARU: I'm rolling up my sleeves.

LIN: Let's go there.

COJOCARU: OK. LIN: Worst dressed, I mean the worst thing you have seen out there this year?

COJOCARU: There's so many. Where do we begin? Well, we felt Juliette Binoche, the star from "Chocolat," her Oscars outfit this year, that '20s flapper girl look, I kind of feel bad for her because this outfit was universally panned and I think it's going to haunt her for years to come.

LIN: Yes, it doesn't even really look like her. But it, you know, but she is at least dressed. I mean it wasn't like Lil' Kim at the last year's MTV Music Awards.

COJOCARU: Well, I agree. I mean Lil' Kim, you know, really took pasties and took them to a whole other level.

LIN: We're going to get to the VMA Awards that were last night. But who else? I mean something really...

COJOCARU: You know what? We have this new section of the worst dressed, a section we call time warp. We felt there were certain stars or certain famous people who are absolutely stuck in a look. Like, for instance, Queen Elizabeth, you know?

LIN: Oh, come on. What do you want?

COJOCARU: I, Carol...

LIN: The woman's in her, what, her '60s.

COJOCARU: It doesn't matter. I would do anything, I would give up my, I mean a year's salary to put her in a leather skirt and some mules.

LIN: Get out of here.

COJOCARU: That would make me so happy.

LIN: We are not talking Diana, Princess of Wales.

COJOCARU: She's had the same purse since the coronation. Come on.

LIN: Well, see, it's a classic. It's a classic. What about someone like Bjork? Does she make the list anywhere?

COJOCARU: Someone like Bjork -- yes, of course she did. You know, she made our worst dressed list for that swan or chicken or duck or whatever you want to call that outfit that she made a splash in at the Oscars. Again, we felt that was costumy and much like Juliette Binoche. That is an outfit that is going to haunt her for the rest of her life. Every time somebody runs a picture of Bjork, you're going to see that swan costume.

LIN: OK.

COJOCARU: So you have to really think about it when you commit, you're committing with a capital C when you're a celebrity.

LIN: Yes. Well, I don't know if I'd call it commitment when I saw Britney Spears with that snake, but let's go to the VMA Awards.

COJOCARU: OK, let's go to the VMA Awards.

LIN: So, beyond animal and animal prints, what did you see out there last night?

COJOCARU: A lot of retro looks. It looks like everybody got together and had the, and shared one stylist. I really wasn't impressed with the fashions last night, to be honest with you. I judge things on originality and I didn't think people were that original. Everybody wore the thigh high boots. Everybody did that kind of '70s look, you know, with the groovy hats or the denim. There wasn't that much -- and Jennifer Lopez had her clothes on.

LIN: It's a new thing.

COJOCARU: What does somebody like me do? I mean, you know, we were all expecting her to come in in, you know, dental floss and high heels. So, she -- but you see, that's good about Jennifer Lopez. She always keeps you guessing.

LIN: Maybe she's taken a few cues from Madonna.

COJOCARU: Indeed. Many guises. I thought she joined the witness protection program. I didn't recognize her.

LIN: Oh...

COJOCARU: It was very staid.

LIN: Any other dish out of there last night?

COJOCARU: Yes, Destiny's Child, those abs, I mean you can throw a dime at it and it'll hit you back in the eye.

LIN: All right, Steven, well, I can't let you get away without asking you for some fashion tips for news anchors. What do we need to do to be cutting edge? We're looking for personality here.

COJOCARU: Well, I think you're perfect.

LIN: Pink suit, black tank top?

COJOCARU: Yes.

LIN: That does it for you?

COJOCARU: What, did you say tube top?

LIN: No. Tank top. We're not going tube yet. That's another network.

COJOCARU: All right, that's another network. LIN: Thanks, Steven. Love the highlights.

COJOCARU: Thank you.

LIN: And thanks so much for getting up early this morning.

COJOCARU: Thanks, Carol.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com