Yearly Archives: 2021

………………..The next designer to become the head of DIOR after Bohan was Gianfranco Ferre……I’m noy 100% sure, but I believe he was the first Italian designer to be hired to design the Dior Couture collection………Of all the Dior designers Ferre was the most elaborate and luxe. His clothes were extreme, and heavily embroidered. He applied his architectual…..His fabrics were the finest and absolutely stunning…………..He was definitely the whipped cream with the cherry on the top!

………………………..John Galliano followed Ferre……………….John was the most outrageous and fantastical of all the Dior designers. He had an imagination gone wild!…..Was it Dior?…that was questionable, but at this time in fashion it was his extreme imagination that everyone talked about, and that’s what the owners wanted…..to be talked about….His clothes were gorgeous, maybe less wearable than the others, but in COUTURE a designer must be extreme and create controversy, and TALK……..However, there is good press and bad press……Even though his collections were highly praised and photographed by every major magazine….and was THE FASHION DARLING…..nothing could save John from what was ahead…….On a drunken evening out at a famous Parisian restaurant John made loud anti-Semitic remarks, and made such a scene that the news was all over Paris by daybreak and in every newspaper around the world…….He basically committed career suicide. He was fired from Dior, and disappeared for a few years…..One stupid drunken night was all it took to end a career…..He is working again, but has never reached the heights and the potential he had. I don’t think he ever will……..people don’t forget……and many will never forgive…….A truly sad end to a brilliant singular career.

………………………Raf Simons is a good designer….in general…..but not IMHO….a great one, and I don’t think he was up to the job at hand. He is more known for simple clothes, but is that what French Couture needs???? His clothes in the exhibit look more like Ready to Wear than couture. There is no spark or any wonderment to anything on display. He only lasted 3 years or six collections…..three spring and three fall………………..NEXT

…………………………Maria Grazia Chiuri is the present designer of Dior. They hired her from Valentino where she co designed the collection with Pierpaolo Piccioli. When two designers are responsible for one collection the questions always come up who did what!!!!???? Being a co-designer with Donna Karan for nine years always brought the question….one that we would never answer. More than likely the questioners were wrong in their assumptions when they tried to guess……With Maria and Pierpaolo, one assumed that Maria would have done the more feminine, fanciful, colorful clothes and Pierpaolo the more tailored, classic, neutral pieces….but we found out when they were separated, and on their own, it was far from the truth and the complete opposite…..Pierpaolo went on to create incredibly beautiful and exciting collections for Valentino. I don’t think Maria has found her footing yet. I can’t say I have really loved any of her collections. Of course there are always pieces here and there that are beautiful, but IMHO she has failed to make an exciting statement for Dior , and has not taken it to the next level. Out of all the pieces that were on exhibit Maria’s pieces were the least exciting or successful……..I wonder who will be next………in the fashion business there is always a…………..NEXT!

………………My dear Friend Maurice will be 85 on Nov. 12th…….Maurice is my oldest friend in years and my oldest in length of time, and have been friends for over 50 YEARS . We were both designers working for the same company Originala which had many divisions. Maurice designed the Ginori collection and I designed the Giorgini collections. Maurice was a seasoned designer, but this was my very first job designing clothes, and I was petrified. Our offices butted up against each other and we shared a sample room…..Our friendship had a bumpy start, but we soon became fast friends……a friendship that has lasted the test of time. As fate would have it Maurice would eventually work for me as the head designer of Anne Klein 11……I called Maurice and we made a date to go and see the DIOR exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and I would take him out for a birthday lunch. I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t been to the museum in over 40 years. As a Parson’s student we were required to go to the Brooklyn Museum to their fashion department and do research on fashion history…..something that unfortunately does not happen anymore in design schools. I met Maurice at his apt. at 10 Hanover Square in the heart of the financial district. He has a small but lovely apt….He always had impeccable taste. Our mutual friend Steve, who also worked for me, met us at his apt. Steve also designs, but his work is very different and specific. Steve designs religious vestments and all clothing a priest wears, and everything that dresses an alter. It’s very interesting work……..The plan was to meet at Maurice’s then take the subway to the museum, have lunch and on to the museum to see this fantastic exhibit…..I had not been in a subway for 40 years!!!!! Steve had to help me to get a Metro ticket to get on the train! It was a short ride from lower Manhattan to Brooklyn. We went to a small “Soul Food” restaurant, and had a delicious lunch…..then on to the museum. Steve had already bought the tickets so we were good to go. Masks and vaccine card were required!