NEWSWEEK: How important is image to a political campaign? Tim Gunn: I can’t imagine marginalizing image; it’s critical. The clothes we wear send a message about how we want to be perceived, and about how we want to present ourselves to the world. I would think that there should be just as many image consultants involved in these campaigns as there are speechwriters.
What is it about politicians in particular—do you have to have bad taste to be one? Well, all of these people come from Capitol Hill, and that place is another planet when it comes to fashion. I was on the Hill just this time last year, and I had all of these elected officials literally running from me saying, “I’m not a fashion person! Don’t look at me!” In the beginning, I thought it was kind of sweet, but the more I thought about it, I began to find it appalling. You’re an elected official. How many people see you and make judgments about you before they ever even know your point of view? I have to do something for these people.
I assume the people running from you were women. Do female politicians have it harder? I’m deeply respectful of gender and of gender differences, and I like someone who acknowledges what his or her gender happens to be. I mean, are we ready for a male cross dresser in the White House? No. But frankly speaking, there are times when I wonder about Hillary.
Ha! Is there any female who pulls it off well? I think Hillary should be taking a lesson from Nancy Pelosi, I really do. She, for me, is fashion on the Hill. She has a femininity yet a professionalism, and she has style. She’s also not afraid to be a woman, and she celebrates it. She’s not ever remotely vulgar or provocative in what she wears, but I have to say, she’s a very sexy woman.
Alan Flusser, the author of ‘‘Style and the Man,’’ called Kennedy ‘’the last stylishly dressed president." Do you agree? Well, you can’t look at Kennedy without looking at Jackie, because they really enhanced each other. But it was clear that what was on the outside was important to them. They had a polish and a sophistication that was accessible, and I think that’s why America embraced them. Those were the most glamorous days that Washington knew, and the only days that came remotely close to that were frankly—and forgive me—the Reagan years, and I think it was the Hollywood aspect. Reagan knew how to dress, Nancy had her own designer clothes, and there were a lot of movie stars walking around.
What’s your take on the current candidates, as a group? I look at them and I feel like they’ve stepped out of the 1980s. And what really disturbs me, deep down in my very core, is whether these candidates really think that having people talk about your clothes in a positive way could be a bad thing. To think that they might answer “yes” horrifies me.
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