…………………….This cricature of Jac was done by one of my very talented assistants Mark Bower……In between fittings she would be sitting with one roller in her hair and her curling iron at the ready…..Jac loved this sketch of her!
………………………MY FIRST JOB AS A DESIGNER at 21 YEARS OF AGE, and MY FIRST PUBLICITY SHOT………………..My first job as a designer, not an assistant anymore!….was for a company called….GIORGINI…….a division of the ORIGINALA GROUP, which consisted of 5 or 6 companies. Giorgini, considered a “Fashion Sportswear” line, was the newest addition…………..Talk about learning on the job!!! Allen Duddle was the president of the new division, and he saw something in this 21 year old, truly wet behind the ears, and TOOK A CHANCE! I stayed with the company for 3 years before I left to join Donna Karan as co-designer at Anne Klein……I will always be grateful to Allen for giving me a chance, and the start to the rest of my life…….I was so young….so innocent…with SO MUCH TO LEARN……However, I had to learn fast, and I did!……..I had no idea what my life would be or what was ahead of me…..So many incredible adventures!…….I certainly had a full thick head of black hair back then!!!………….If I knew then what I know now!!!!
……………………..I thought it would be fun to post some of the follow up publicity after the Spring 1992 show…..To the left “Spare Parts” was the cover photo of Women’s Wear Daily……The photo at the bottom left was an ad from Saks 5th Ave on the unitard, envelop wrap skirt and the blazer…..The photos at the center and the sketch at the extreme right were all from the NY Times review….Both were great reviews, and since this was to be my last spring show for Anne Klein…………..I’m glad I have these mementos.
………………This room was Andrea’s studio. The new owners obviously have made it into a game room of sorts. It was located in the main house on the second floor. It was a very large all WHITE room with three large arch windows. The view was incredible, and you could see Positano to the right, and the Isle of Capri straight ahead! All of the windows opened onto Andrea’s large white Parsons table right in front of the windows so he could look out at the view. There was also a very long white Parsons table behind him that he used as a work table. Actually, it was two or three tables put together. He had white directors chairs at the tables. There use to be a door at the far end corner of the room [top left photo next to what looks like a bookcase] that went out to a small terrace. You can see it in the bottom right photo just after the arch windows. They sealed the door up, and they left another door from this terrace that goes into a small bedroom next door to the studio. I’m guessing they wanted a private little terrace for the bedroom only, but I don’t think it was necessary. Andrea used to keep a little frig next to this door filled with cold beer and white wine! We indulged quite a bit especially in the summer when the room got quite warm…..even with all of the windows open. Andrea had planters of Bougainvillea growing right onto and across the ceiling. It was beautiful! I see they still have some planters, but the plants have a long way to go to match Andrea’s! Over the years we spent countless hours in this room designing the Anne Klein Couture Shoe Collection, and creating magic as the music played on his boom box!……We laughed and laughed and had a great time sitting in our bathing suits in the summer. When I was there in the fall it could get very chilly, but still warm enough to have lunch on the terrace……I miss those trips and stays with Andy and JP and Phyllis! ……I wish I was in that studio right now with the gang….creating beautiful shoes………….Sadly……….everything changes.
…………………………….I LOVED designing footwear……..Of course it didn’t hurt that I went to Andrea Pfister’s villa just outside of Positano on the Amalfi Coast. His villa was in the next town over called Praiano…..It was at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean……Just magnificent. I made two trips a year…one for Spring, and one for Fall…….The Villa is now a luxury rental, and it’s called “Villa Lily” in Praiano, Italy……Google it and take a video tour of the villa. It’s simply fantastic…..I went there for 19 years…….I miss the Schwartz & Benjamin team, and my dear friends Andrea and Jean Pierre. Sometimes Jac would come during my summer trips. While I was working in the huge studio on the second floor overlooking the sea, Jac was lounging by the beautiful pool!………….This was one of the hundreds of shoes we created while sitting in the white studio. This was the Footwear National Ad for my last spring collection at Anne Klein! It was a fabulous shoe then……and it still is!