Yearly Archives: 2021

……………………Looking at these clothes I completely understood why Jac loved to do the Couture shows. These clothes were a fantasy….clothes that common mortals never will ever see or ever wear…..the ULTIMATE…. To be fussed over by the best make up artists and hairdressers, and then to put these incredible dresses on must have been a dream…….For the Ready to Wear shows 30 plus models were booked, but for the Couture only 10 to 15 models did the shows. You had to have a certain look, a certain elegance to be chosen as a “Couture Model”……One model came out at a time, and at a slower pace than RTW…….The clothes had to be “seen”, and not flashed by the audience.  All eyes were on that singular model, and it was a honor to be booked for the Couture…….I highly recommend if you are in NY or planning a trip to NY, this Dior exhibit is a once in a life time exhibit, and should not be missed………Tickets must be bought in advance for different times of the day, and vaccination cards and masks are required!

……………………..There were so many beautiful dresses on display that the mind boggled!!! All of the dresses except the gold lame at the lower left are Galliano. One was more spectacular than the other. The hand dyed petal dress at the upper left was extraordinary….The pink mohair dress with the orange draped flowers was in an unexpected combination of fabric and color, and the Peacock dress at the lower right was a work of art with extraordinary embroidery. Galliano was in a league of his own……..I recall a small group of designers from the US, England, and France were invited to spend, what turned out to be a 4th of July weekend, in a castle that had been turned into a hotel many many years ago….The Scottish fabric mills organized it. Fireworks were displayed one evening for the American designers…..It was a classy touch. The designers were broken down into small groups and we were taken on different tours of factories each day. I was acquainted with many of them. John was one of the guests that weekend. We would all gather in the evening for dinner and drinks. Afterwards we would have more drinks and talk until the wee hours of the morning. It was wonderful to meet all of these designers I would have never had the chance to spend so much time with……I remember John as a funny friendly very down to earth young many with a wonderful sense of humor….Years later I remember thinking how much John had changed. His appearance changed with each new collection and his personality became more and more affected. Once he looked like Johnny Depp’s pirate character with the black kohl eyes, long hair, head scarf and clothes…..When the whole fiasco came about that evening in the restaurant……..I couldn’t help but think how he changed so much from the wonderful guy I met that weekend in Scotland.

……………………..In one blackened room was a fascinating wall display. The display, behind glass walls, started with one color at one end and ended with another. There were miniatures of full garments in the cases, jewelry hats, shoes, hand bags and gloves………………It was a feast for the eyes……like opening a new box of 64 Crayola crayons!

…………………..At the Dior exhibit there was one completely white room. The walls were divided in white cubicles, and the ceiling was mirrored so it just went on and on and on. You had to look closely to see where the exhibit ended and the mirrored ceiling started. In this cubicles were white toiles. A “TOILE” is the first trial garment made from a sketch. It is made in a muslin type fabric or a cotton. When the toile is fitted and completed, it is marked and made into  a pattern. Then it is cut in the actual fabric and the sample is made. The center photo shows a toile of a jacket, and the embroider has been laid out on it. The one at the top right is a blouse and the bottom right is a jacket that I believe was  a Ferre. The work involved is tremendous, and one can understand the amount of hours and days it takes to make just one garment. As a designer it was particularly fascinating!

………………Along one wall was a mix of designers, and a display of the Dior perfume collections. Can you guess which garment is from which designer………..Dior, Galliano, and Raf Simmons were represented here. This was an unmatched exhibit IMHO.