“THE VIVID GROUP”
……………….This was a fantastic group…..First the taupe, black and Bordeaux group opened the show….then some black and white outfits to cleanse the pallet……and then WHAM…..COLOR, COLOR and MORE COLOR….To say they were shocked out of there seats is an understatement. They loved it all, and it was so exciting after seeing all of the black taupe and Bordeaux…..From left to right…The fuchsia and Green sweaters with zip off sleeves and cowl….I did this sweater years ago for QVC……Below the fuchsia and green wool crepe suits with nugget gold buttons. I did those buttons for QVC too…….The royal, kelly green and chrome HAND KNIT sweaters were teamed with matching leggings and thigh high matching SUEDE BOOTS. Below them is another hand knit TWEED sweater with a huge cowl. The TWEED COAT, BLAZER and TWEED skirt. I used this yarn for the hand knit sweater… All of the tweed fabrics were made in the same French factory as the Black and White giant check. These fabrics were unbelievably beautiful….all hand loomed. These tweeds were done in three different color combinations and each set of colors were different patterns so none of the jackets or coats were the same pattern. These pieces got lots of editorial coverage….Below were wool and cashmere large windowpane jackets with wool crepe pleated skirts…….Next to them the lady in RED ….The wool crepe pantsuit with slim pants………………..The STRIPE COAT in these colors was a gem, and the big gold nugget buttons made by my jewelry people, set the stripe coat off perfectly. Nadege looked adorable in it……Looking back I can’t believe all of the planning, and the work and effort it took by so many to achieve my dream…….The clothes, the shoes, the jewelry, the hosiery and the gloves and hand bags took months and months to come to fruition……………..and then the show… I did’t ever use a stylist and frankly never understood why any designer would……I had a vision from day one….OK maybe day three, but it was mine and I didn’t need anyone to monkey around with it……There were and are designers who just designed clothes, [but don’t get me wrong…that’s an enormous feat in itself], and needed stylists to put it all together and give their show a look. In all fairness they didn’t have the resources. They don’t have licencees who can make the things I wanted for the shows….so a stylist became necessary….Many weren’t good with that part of the creative process. The stylists are responsible for getting the accessories and even casting the models!……That was not the way for me. Getting the collection finished PLUS organizing everything else was so draining…..Working with the make up people the hair people, the music people, the lighting and set design people started weeks in advance. These meetings all took place while I was designing the collection, but in the evening after my sample rooms closed for the night. A week before the show the sample rooms never closed and dinners were brought in! The lighting people were always a pain in the butt. It was daunting. The lighting people always wanted this horrible blue lighting which was perfect for their videos but made the models and the clothes look terrible. I always insisted on warm gels over the lights…Every show was the same fight. They would tell me the video would be bad, and I’d say that I’d prefer a bad video to a bad show! I always won!!!….Then I started putting the “looks” together. I usually used Jac and two other models. We did this at night when everything was quite and no disturbances. My assistants were always with me…..Every look was registrated with every thing that would be worn….jewelry, hats, shoes, tights, gloves etc. The look and accessories were hung in individual long clear garment bags with the picture and instructions on it. Each model was assigned her own dresser. In those days I showed at least 150 looks…..This was an enormous undertaking. These bags were checked and rechecked until they left for the venue…….Then, on the day of the show I started at 6am, got to the venue where they had been working since 3am getting the stage and lights up. It had to be ready by 8- 8:30 when the models would arrive for rehearsal……What a bleep bleep nightmare. Twenty nine to thirty four divas and one angel, Jac would come sauntering in. I had people who were in charge of wrangling them up and getting them going. We would do a rehearsal with out the clothes just to stage so the models new what they were supposed to do, and also established lighting and music cues….The models would hold part of their outfits on a hanger so I knew where to place them…Some designers hired companies to direct the shows….I was the DIRECTOR!.This would take a good two hours, then an hour break for lunch where the hair people and make up people would start doing their thing while the girls were eating. After lunch a full dress rehearsal….OMG. Everything that could go wrong during these rehearsals did!!! Then the models were released to finish their make up and hair and relax….My work was not done….we would go over the lighting cues and music cues and work with the people who were responsible for lining the models up and sending them out on cue….over and over and over again until everyone had it down pat. Eventually it was show time. We did two shows back to back with an hour in between.. The first show was for Magazine editors, celebrities, and A list stores…..The second show was for everyone else!…………….Some how….the shows always went off perfectly as if no effort was put into them at all….that’s the way it should look. The show ended, the models went home after a full day. I booked them for the whole day, and other designers were not happy, but the models rather get one big check than many little ones, and they didn’t have to run all over NYC. The sets were torn down the clothes were packed up and brought back to the show room, and I would start the next day about 10-10:30am after everything was unpacked and brought into the show room. I would put the clothes on the rackets according to groups and the way they looked best. Then everything was marked so the sales people knew exactly where they should go. When you have a showroom filled with buyers and the racks are being torn apart it is very important to be organized or else it all looks like a huge mess…….I would work with the big stores, and when I could Jac and I would go away for week or just stay at home and unwind………………….Then…………………..it started all over again!!!
Do I miss it???? I miss the designing without restrictions….where everything you can dream can come true………….But……………Things have changed and the Golden Days are long gone. It takes a younger person than I am to do what must be done…..The hours…..the traveling….the going to all the different factories takes its’ tole……..I had a great run, but I could never, nor would I want to do it again……Without Jac it would be impossible. I always knew when things were at their darkest Jac would always say or do the right thing to get me through. The saying “behind every man is a great woman” was so so true.
