Simon Doonan On Madonna, Fashion's 'Patron Saint'

From the very beginning Madonna has embraced an ever shifting fashion sense, one that has changed pretty dramatically over the years. It’s safe to say she’s not only a pop icon -- she’s a style icon too.

Simon Doonan -- writer, fashion commentator and Creative Ambassador-at-Large for Barneys -- joins us to discuss the Material Girl’s influence on fashion. His newest book is called The Asylum: A Collage of Couture Reminiscences ... and Hysteria.

Interview Highlights: 

Simon Doonan on Madonna becoming the 'Material Girl': 

Madonna is like an incredible patron saint for fashion. That's really a function of timing. Right from the get-go she was very concerned with her look. She started performing in the '80s and the '80s was the era of post-modernism. What Madonna did very carefully was model herself on style archetypes meticulously.

On the fashion in Madonna's music videos: 

Madonna had a really good sense of who was the groovy stylist. She also has her own innate sense of style. So it's a combination of having an innate sense of a style and a passion for self-presentation and then knowing who was the groovy person to call who would have a sense on how to put it together for her. Madonna always had that old school movie studio meticulousness that you hear about. 

On the statement being made by Madonna's ever-changing fashion:

I once created an homage to Madonna in the windows at Barney's. It was called "The Mesmerizing Mistress of Perpetual Reinvention." We had her as a sort of sideshow. She's Frida Kahlo, Evita, Marilyn -- she inhabited all of these archetypes. That was her thing, finding a new one and transforming herself. There's a lot of Madonnas to love, you can take your pick.