( TIME.com ) -- `` My goal is to not alienate Anna Wintour -- and also bring in viewers in Peoria , '' says Alina Cho , host of CNN 's Fashion : Backstage Pass ( airing Sept. 15 at 2:30 p.m . E.T . ) , on which she has interviewed Marc Jacobs , Donatella Versace and more . Here , the fashionista ( who profiles designer Bibhu Mohapatra in TIME Style & Design , available at time.com/style ) lets loose with us . TIME : Of all the fashion heavyweights you 've talked to , who surprised you the most ? Cho : Karl Lagerfeld . I was just interviewing him in Paris , and I asked him , `` After all these years , how you still can look at a dress and see that it needs to be a millimeter longer ? '' And he said , `` Well I 'm not blind yet ! '' He 's very quick , he 's very funny , and I think you have to be very smart to be funny . TIME : But he 's not exactly a CNN staple . How do you tailor your fashion coverage to viewers who are more accustomed to hard news ? Cho : In order to tell great stories , you need great characters . It does n't matter whether you 're covering the political race or the aftermath of a hurricane or fashion . So my approach has always been to be more character-driven than collection-driven . And there 's no shortage of characters in fashion ! TIME : Like Karl ? Cho : Right , like Karl . The other thing I try to do , and I think this is really important , is make my fashion coverage accessible . People always say , `` Oh , you 're the new Elsa Klensch ! '' But I think the show that she did [ CNN 's Style With Elsa Klensch , which ran from 1980 to 2000 ] and the show that I do are very different , because we live in a different world . My fashion coverage has to be both aspirational and accessible . TIME : You 've reported extensively on politics . Why do you think people are so interested in what candidates and their spouses are wearing ? Cho : It just gives us another thing to talk about . And I think in many ways , Michelle Obama changed the game . She came onto the scene wearing Tom Ford one day and J . Crew the next . There 's something appealing about that , no matter your politics . I know it 's exciting for me to watch . She 's incredibly fashionable . TIME : What do you make of Ann Romney 's outfits ? Cho : I think she plays it a little bit more conservative . Maybe that has something to do with her politics . I 'll leave it at that . TIME : How do you dress well for TV ? Cho : You know what they say -- the camera adds 10 pounds . So fit is incredibly important . I tend to favor dresses . I tend to favor three-quarter sleeve cardigans and a little belt , but I like to say I do n't own many pants . I like the ease of a dress . You zip it up and you go . It 's pretty simple . So as long as it fits great , I 'm in . TIME : You travel to so many fashion shows for work . What 's your go-to comfort heel ? Cho : My go-to comfort heel is a flat . TIME : TouchÃ© ! Cho : No , but really , I change between shows . Every female New Yorker can relate to that . Nobody wants to walk around in a high-heeled shoe ! I 'll carry my beautiful high heels in a bag . TIME : Smart . I 've seen people do that on the subway . Cho : It 's something my mother told me a long time ago . I 'm just now starting to listen ! Alina Cho is a national correspondent for CNN and host of Fashion : Backstage Pass . Fashion : Backstage Pass with Alina Cho debuts on Sept. 15 at 2:30pm E.T . on CNN US . & copy 2012 TIME , Inc. TIME is a registered trademark of Time Inc. Used with permission .
Alina Cho is most impressed by fashion critic Karl Lagerfeld . Cho calls Michelle Obama 's style ` ` fashionable '' and Ann Romney 's ` ` conservative '' . Fashion is important for Cho on camera -- she wears tight , long sleeve cardigans and skirts .