What’s your favorite personal moment in New York and where were you when it happened?
Tim Gunn: I will tell you the moment that probably triggered the greatest degree of excitement: We had just wrapped the taping of Project Runway season two. Season one had aired, and there were mixed reviews in the industry, including a fair amount of snarkiness about whether it was a quality program. On Bastille Day 2005, I was in my office and received a call from Lauren Zalaznick telling me we had been nominated for an Emmy. I went screaming down the halls to see the producers, who were a floor below me, shouting at the top of my lungs, “We’ve been nominated for an Emmy! We’ve been nominated for an Emmy!” I remember it vividly. And one of the things I was most pleased about was, “Take that, Seventh Avenue snarkiness. Take that!”
Definitely.
Tim Gunn: And now I can say we won a Peabody Award. So that’s really an achievement.
You named Anderson Cooper as one of your favorite New Yorkers. If you could have a drink with anyone else on this Top 40 list, whom would it be? Would it be Anderson or Marc Jacobs, maybe Derek Jeter or Stephen Colbert?
Tim Gunn: I have to say Anderson. We’ve met, but we’ve been intending to have lunch or dinner and we haven’t able to do it because of our schedules. So if TONY can make it happen, I would be very grateful. I’d like to know him better. I read his book, and I’ve been a fan for a long time. In fact, I’ve been a fan since he was the host of The Mole.
What’s your favorite personal moment in New York and where were you when it happened?
Tim Gunn: I will tell you the moment that probably triggered the greatest degree of excitement: We had just wrapped the taping of Project Runway season two. Season one had aired, and there were mixed reviews in the industry, including a fair amount of snarkiness about whether it was a quality program. On Bastille Day 2005, I was in my office and received a call from Lauren Zalaznick telling me we had been nominated for an Emmy. I went screaming down the halls to see the producers, who were a floor below me, shouting at the top of my lungs, “We’ve been nominated for an Emmy! We’ve been nominated for an Emmy!” I remember it vividly. And one of the things I was most pleased about was, “Take that, Seventh Avenue snarkiness. Take that!”
Definitely.
Tim Gunn: And now I can say we won a Peabody Award. So that’s really an achievement.
You named Anderson Cooper as one of your favorite New Yorkers. If you could have a drink with anyone else on this Top 40 list, whom would it be? Would it be Anderson or Marc Jacobs, maybe Derek Jeter or Stephen Colbert?
Tim Gunn: I have to say Anderson. We’ve met, but we’ve been intending to have lunch or dinner and we haven’t able to do it because of our schedules. So if TONY can make it happen, I would be very grateful. I’d like to know him better. I read his book, and I’ve been a fan for a long time. In fact, I’ve been a fan since he was the host of The Mole.
Complete the sentence: New York is…
Tim Gunn: …the most fabulous city in the world. There’s something for everyone. It spoils you for living anywhere else.
You’re always insanely busy. How do you relax in the city?
Tim Gunn: Being here is my tonic. There’s nothing I like better than going to my apartment, closing the door, cooking my little dinner for one and just tuning out. My apartment really is my haven. It’s a nest where I go to heal.
Read the full interview from Time Out New York.
