Monthly Archives: April 2020

………………..The first group to start the show was my BLACK, TAUPE, IVORY and BORDEAUX group. All of the fabrics were developed in either Italy or France, and all of the knitwear came from Italy. The pattern jacket fabrics were made in a very exclusive mill who’s main client was Armani. I loved working with them because they were so creative and loved clients who gave them a challenge. I worked with the owner who was a very talented woman. Her daughter, Allesandra, also worked with us and was the interpreter…..The Mother spoke no English and my Italian wouldn’t have gotten us very far. Allesandra  was very talented too, and had inherited her mother and father’s sense of style.. Mixing yarns was their forte, and I loved that. We managed to create wonderful things and she always looked forward to my visits, because she knew I was a creator, and didn’t just come to see what she had as other designers did. She would hand them off to a sales person. These designers were never invited to the inner sanctum where all the creative things happened. The pattern jackets at the upper left in Taupe and Black were Wool and Chennile, and the Bordeaux jacket fabrics at the extreme right were all made by her too. Some of you still have my solid chennile jackets. That fabric was inspired by the solid Bordeaux chennile. The blouse in Bordeaux and Black at the extreme right was made out of georgette and chenille…..The same lady made it in the same swirl design as the jacket on Christie to Elaine’s left.. It was superb.The Taupe and Black sweater was made in Italy in a similar pattern as the jackets above. It too was in chennile and wool, and it took days to work out the pattern in the sweater mill. The giant check in black and white was made in France. Chanel used this company for many of their tweeds. They unfortunately closed many years ago when the owner passed away. A true loss. They still made fabrics on old wooden looms and the fabric was made by hand. That’s why they were able to be so intricate with sometimes 8 or 9 different yarns and colors in one fabric…The building where the looms were and all of the hundreds of bins where the yarns were categorized was completely made of wood, and looked like something out of a movie. All that comes to mind was the movie Kiss Me Kate with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton when he’s chasing her through the storage house with all the bales of yarn…It sort of looked like that without the bales! The beautiful tweed suit fabric at the lower left was made in Norther Italy. The same region that was devastated by the virus. The two wool crepe suits at the lower right was a signature fabric that my customers just couldn’t get enough of. That fabric too was made in the devastated area. Leather was always a part of my fall collection. It came from either Italy or France. The gorgeous white coat in the center with the Trapunto stitched hem was in Angora and wool. It felt amazing. Underneath was a black stretch velvet TN and black stretch velvet PANT BOOTS, but more about them later……..These were the good old days….the Golden Days when 7th Ave was still the center of the Fashion industry…………………..Unfortunately we can’t hold back time…..I sometimes wonder about the “Golden Days” when it was all wonderful, like the Golden Days of Hollywood, and why it all went away……..What happened?

……………….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.

This was just a small part of the group, but these items were shot for many magazines…….The SATIN TRENCH COATS were truly amazing. They also came in Royal Blue. Whitney Houston wore the yellow trench with the yellow satin thigh high boots and gloves for one of her record covers. They were also in many magazines……….Below the trenches are a series of stretch velvet TNs [though you can only see the orange], and the STRETCH VELVET PANT BOOTS. They were leggings and shoes all in one. The velvet pant came down and completely covered the shoe. They all had GOLD FLAT HEELS…..Iris Apfel bought a few pair in different colors. She LOVED them, and they were featured in the Metropolitan Museum when they had an exhibition of her own clothes and accessories. She showed the green ones in the show. They are also in the book of her exhibit…………………..The ORANGE and CHROME yellow jacket fabric to the right were made by a mill, are you ready….in Scotland……They were a treasure, and they too made many of the Chanel Tweeds…………As a matter of fact Karl Lagerfeld of Chanel was using the same “TINSEL TWEED” fabric for his 1991 fall show. At first the mill wasn’t going to let me use it because of the conflict with Chanel, but when I told him I wanted it in 4 vivid colors he changed his mind. Chanel was doing it in dark forest green and a dark wine color, and you could hardly tell they were the same fabric. In those days America showed first then England, Italy and France….so I was thrilled to get the scoop on Lagerfeld…………not that he would know, but I did!

We have come full circle……I started the show with the Black and ended the show with the Black and White…..These are just a few of the looks…..At the top left a black boucle jacket with crystal buttons over a Swarvoski Crystal skirt on Elaine Erwin. The tights were diamond studded. Below Elaine is Nadege in a Swarvoski crystal top over a silk velvet skirt…..again diamond studded tights. In the center a Silk Satin tunic shirt belted over the stretch velvet shoe boots. This time the boots are studded with crystals and have a spike high heel…very sexy….. Claudia Shiffer wore this in the show and I think every man went bonkers!….To the right Yasmeen Ghuri, another fabulous super model in my Black silk velvet dress studded with larger crystals……These were all hand sewn………This dress was another homage to my mentor Norman Norell…………….and then Jac ended the show in the Crystal Column……………..As I look through all of these pictures I can’t help but think so many of them if not all can still look great today………………………..Good design IS timeless, and could go on forever………………………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………..I hope you have enjoyed going down memory lane with me as much as I have had reminiscing……………………………………….

………………………..BEAUTIFUL BLOUSES are hard to find, at least blouses that are affordable…………….A378720, is such a blouse.. There are many details to this blouse that at first can go unnoticed. The obvious detail is the PLEATED FRONT panels. The stitched pleats are approx 1/2 inches wide, and hang from a top yoke. The JEWEL NECKLINE is delicately piped. There is a placket down the front with REAL PEARL BUTTONS……There is a back yoke that has shirring in the center, just to add a feminine touch. This looks especially nice when the blouse is tucked in and bloused with a little blouson…………The SLEEVE CAP also has shirring, again to add a feminine detail [great for those with broad and narrow shoulders]….Sleeve details are becoming more and more important….The 1 inch band cuff has DOUBLE SHELL BUTTONS for adjustability. There are side slits for wearing ease, and to give the blouse a more casual look when worn out. I think, for a casual look, I like the top two or three buttons worn open as well as the bottom two…..over jeans……The blouse will be sized, and the size 4 is approx. 27 inches long……It is the perfect blouse to wear under the new DB Blazer, for which the blouse was designed………The STATUS CHAIN NECKLACE was also created with this blouse in mind. The necklace works perfectly with the neckline of the blouse…………….For those of you who are worried about see through….the entire BODY of the blouse is DOUBLE GEORGETTE, so they flow together beautifully………This washable blouse will be a FOREVER piece that you will be able to wear with almost every jacket and cardigan you own……Try it with your jean jackets for a dress down/dress up look……………………………………enjoy……………………..much Love…………………………Louis