………………..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?
I am loving the style, cut, and length of these suit jackets. What style and the fabrics! Would love to see a suit on the Q similar to the tweed.
Louis, the tweed jacket and wool pants in the lower left photo is to die for!!!!!
I love this collection!!!
I love jackets period, and yours (then and now) are fabulous. Love the zipper details on these and especially the large black and white check jacket!
After clicking for a closeup on each garment, I realized I wanted all of them! You are so talented and create such beautiful garments.
That Italian tweed fabric suit jacket and pant are amazing! Love them all but that one with the cut of it, the blouse and brooch is just, well again, amazing. I so enjoyed your stories, some day please write a book. I’m now going to go find my back issues of Harpers and Vogue that I’ve kept over the years (mostly September issues) to see if I can find more of your work. Thank you for such a great read and visual treat!
I would love it if you did a re-interpretation of the swirl pattern jackets. 😵😎 Stay safe.
I would love to see you do re-interpretation of the swirl design jackets.
I love looking at your “portfolio” and hearing all the behind the scenes stories. You’ve made so many women look and feel beautiful over the decades. That has to be a source of immense pride and satisfaction. I join you in missing the “golden years” of fashion. I do, however, have a small collection of AK couture jewelry, including a bracelet that coordinates with the belt on the model in the white coat.
Looking forward to next week’s shows. Hopefully we’ll be seeing the gauze crepe double layer pants then. I’m really looking forward to wearing those.
OMG!!!! I want all of them!M2S
Good Morning Louis! Thank you for the exquisite posts of your designs from the past! I would buy and wear many of the pieces you have shown and wear them today! Great design is timeless and I think that is one of the reasons I buy so many of your pieces. You must have been exhausted after each show…..I was exhausted just reading about it!
20 years ago I lived in Shanghai and was a fit model for Liz Claiborne. What an education I got into how much work goes into the manufacturing of garments.
Thanks again for sharing!