22 year-old Country Superstar and Grammy winning artist Taylor Swift with her long blonde curls standing at 5’10 inches has sold out entire stadiums worldwide. She has won 100 awards to date including 5 Grammy Awards, 10 American Music Awards and 6 CMT Awards.  With her unstoppable spirit and lyrics that speak to all ages she is not going away anytime soon.

Recently Jonathan Van Meter, Contributing Editor at Vogue, interviewed Taylor in a whirlwind day of visiting showrooms in NYC starting out at Rodarte, a label designed by Sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy from California.  In the interview Swift refers to herself as that awkward kid always feeling on the outside looking in on the cool kids in school.

“So . . . middle school? Awkward,” she says, launching into the first of many comic riffs. “Having a hobby that’s different from everyone else’s? Awkward. Singing the national anthem on weekends instead of going to sleepovers? More awkward. Braces? Awkward. Gain a lot of weight before you hit the growth spurt? Awkward. Frizzy hair, don’t embrace the curls yet? Awkward. Try to straighten it? Awkward!” She starts to laugh. “So many phases!”

Swift is currently working on her fourth album which she says will be about the heartbreak that life can bring.  The lyrics sounding like they jumped off the pages of a tell all teen diary.

The interviewer concludes by asking Taylor to name some of the life lessons she has learned along the way.  She obliges and says:

1. “If someone doesn’t seem to want to get to know me as a person but instead seems to have kind of bought into the whole idea of me and he approves of my Wikipedia page? And falls in love based on zero hours spent with me? That’s maybe something to be aware of. That will fade fast. You can’t be in love with a Google search.”

2. “If a dude is threatened by the fact that I need security, if they make me feel like I am some sort of princessy diva—that’s a bad sign. I don’t have security to make myself look cool, or like I have an entourage. I have security because there’s a file of stalkers who want to take me home and chain me to a pipe in their basement.”

3. “If you need to put me down a lot in order to level the playing field or something? If you are threatened by some part of what I do and want to cut me down to size in order to make it even? That won’t work either.”

4. “Also, I can’t deal with someone who’s obsessed with privacy. People kind of care if there are two famous people dating. But no one cares that much. If you care about privacy to the point where we need to dig a tunnel under this restaurant so that we can leave? I can’t do that.”

The February issue of Vogue is available at newsstands now.  To read the entire “single life” interview with Taylor visit vogue.com

Watch highlights from the photo shoot:

Source: Vogue Magazine

Photographer: Mario Testino

Photos: Vogue

Fashion Night Out 2010 will be taking place for a second season on September 10th from 6pm to 11pm ET.  The biggest fashion extravaganza will span the globe and be filled with “stylish surprises”.  In NYC, Vogue will stage the largest fashion show open to the public featuring over 200 models and seating for 1500 spectators.

In preparation Vogue’s own Hamish Bowles, European Editor at Large, and Lauren Santo Domingo, Contributing Editor, will be making an appearance on two episodes of the CW11′s Gossip Girl set to air on September 20th.  Gossip Girl will begin the Fall season in Paris.

On July 15th, Bowles was spotted filming with actress Kelly Rutherford.  The two were photographed in the Meatpacking District outside of Diane Von Furstenburg’s studio.  The episodes will highlight the planning of Fashion Night Out 2010.

Hamish Bowles has his own blog called The Hamishsphere.  Lauren Santo Domingo’s features can be found on Vogue Daily.

CBS will also be airing a special on the making of FNO.  This hour long prime time special is scheduled for September 14th at 10pm EST.

To keep up on all the exciting events planned for September 10th follow Fashion Night Out on Twitter and on Facebook.

XOXO – Gossip Girl

PHOTO:  Chistopher Peterson/Buzzfoto

Six years ago The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Vogue Magazine established an endowment to help budding designers.  The selection committee announced the ten finalists for this years Fashion Fund Award, created to help emerging fashion and accessory designers receive the business mentoring and funding needed to launch their label.

Previous winners include Alexander Wang, Doo-Ri Chung, Proenza Schouler, Trovata, and Rogan Gregory of Rogan.

The ten talented and diverse designers selected to compete for America’s Next Top Designer 2009 include womenswear designers Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin, Gary Graham, Wayne Lee of Wayne, Flora Gill and Alexa Adams of Ohne Titel and Sophie Theallet.

Also vying for the prize were jewelry designers Waris Ahluwalia of House of Waris and Monique Péan, George Esquivel of Esquivel Shoes and menswear designers Simon Spurr of Spurr and Patrik Ervell.

On Monday, November 16th at a gala event held at Skylight Studios in NYC  Sophie Theallet was declared the winner of the $200,000 cash prize and one year of mentoring from industry professionals. Meanwhile runners-up Ervell and Pean each received $50,000 and a business mentor.

We had very strong applicant pool this year, particularly among the jewelers,” say Vogue’s Editor In Chief, Anna Wintour. “The ten finalists we selected are a talented, diverse group, who are building healthy independent businesses in challenging times.”

For more information on all ten finalists click here

Saw the movie THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE.  Really opened my eyes to who the movers and shakers are that drive the fashion industry forward.  If you do not know the top 50 most powerful players in the fashion industry then I suggest you see this movie with a notepad.  Grace Coddington looks like a thrift store blew up on her and yet she truly is the visionary behind the Vogue brand.  She has more creativity in her ring finger than most  have in their entire body.  Every photo shoot is magic.  She has conquered the formula and “makes it work”.  She and Anna seem to butt heads on a daily basis but yet they have managed to work with each other for 20 years now and they make quite a team.  Anna is the high prophet of fashion and I cannot help but wonder who will fill her stilettos when she retires.   As far as I am concerned, the Devil can wear Prada or Carolina Herrara or who ever she wants.  It is with gratitude that I continue to admire Anna from afar at the tents.  Who else has the power to unite the world as one for one night?