Blast from the Past: WWD's 1998 Interview with Daria Morgendorffer

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Ummmmm, what we are about to say is incredibly subjective, but today WWD republished one of its most important interviews of all time. In 1998, the daily fashion trade paper interviewed Daria Morgendorffer, star of the now-defunct MTV cartoon series, Daria.

For any girl growing up a non-cheerleader and non-homecoming-queen in the 1990s, Daria was the disaffected teenage heroine of the decade—all sardonic humor and dry observations on the absurd world swirling around her.

Anyway, this is what Daria had to say in 1998—12 years on, her wisdom still rings true:

On the significance of fashion: I believe fashion has a very important role in society, allowing us to capture the attention of potential sexual partners while signaling our social status to potential sexual rivals. It serves roughly the same function as the brightly colored pads on a mandrill's buttocks.

On footwear: My boots send a clear message: "I can kick you."

On her preferred palette: I choose dark colors to reflect my general dark outlook and camouflage pizza stains.

On school uniform policies: My mother told me that when she was in high school, the students staged a walkout over the right to wear jeans. They felt oppressed by rigid dress requirements. Now school uniforms are coming back because students feel oppressed by rigid stylishness requirements. Something seems to have gone very, very wrong in the last 30 years, but at least we got rid of Nixon.

On licensing: Believe me, if it were up to me, there'd be no licensed Daria gear at all. But let those sniveling little South Park brats stop first.