Ricky Lauren

>> Oprah has scored another coup before her time as host of The Oprah Winfrey Show shortly comes to an end: Wednesday's show is dedicated to Ralph Lauren, who gives his first television interview in 20 years. It's also the first time camera crews were let into the designer's RRL Ranch in Telluride, CO. The two ride around the place in Lauren's vintage 1948 Jeep, get a rare look at his antique-filled tepees, and chat about his career and his future. Winfrey also sits down with Lauren's wife, Ricky, and children Andrew, David and Dylan (who are both getting married this year). [WWD]

>> An audience of 300 ran the gauntlet of PETA protestors, Police officers, and a metal detector to hear Andre Leon Talley wax lyrical last night at FIT on everything from blogs and the Internet — "love it . . . the Internet is very important to fashion" — to his original career path — "I went to school to be a French teacher, but I always knew I wanted to be in fashion" — to a current project in the works — "I'm working on something that I hope maybe one day can become a one-man Broadway/Off Broadway show."

He rattled off his personal Costume Institute Gala best dressed list, "in this order":  "of course Anna Wintour in exquisite Chanel," Lee Radziwell in "a beautiful Ralph Rucci sequin paillette caftan," Renee Zellweger in an "extraordinary" Carolina Herrera, Isabel Toledo, Ricky Lauren "dressed as Marlene Dietrich," and Cassie, of whom he added: "she was dressed by a new young designer called Laquan Smith [Editor's note: who Talley has recently taken under his wing]."

Talley says his own Met Gala ensemble came under fire, however »