………………….I LUV LINEN!………I realize there are many women who do not….but…..there are many women who do love the fabric….wrinkles and all! There is no fabric that is cooler to wear in hot humid climates than linen. That’s why it is so popular in the middle east. Linen goes as far back as the ancient Egyptians, and probably further back still. Even today the finest linen and cotton raw yarns come from Egypt. The navy linen above came from Braghenti, an Italian mill that I had a close relationship to……..This was a “glazed linen”, meaning it had a sheen to it as opposed to a washed linen which was matte and super soft and drapey. Due to the “wrinkle” factor it was best to keep the silhouettes simple. There was, from left to right, the square neck sundress with the wide straps….the “boyfriend blazer”, and the double breasted sleeveless V-neck dress. All of the buttons were classic 4 hole buttons with rims….however the metal was all 18K gold plated. Anyone who knows there gold could recognize that these were not just ordinary gold buttons. The white sleeveless cotton jersey TN dress under the jacket was in the cotton jersey. The jewelry company that had the AK licence was named SWANK. I’m sure many of you heard of it. They had a huge men’s division and made watches, cuff links and tie pins and bars….really any accessory for men including duff bags and small leather goods like wallets and belts, and even jewelry boxes. Do men use jewelry boxes anymore? The company was huge. They made many of my belts both metal and leather. The calf leather strap was made by their belt division, but the large fish hook and stud “buckle”was made by the jewelry division. The Anne Klein accessory business was growing by leaps and bounds. When I left Anne Klein it was a 5 digit million dollar business. I started the Anne Klein Couture jewelry business from zero, but that’s another story. It was really fun to have all of my imaginations come true….and then there were the SHOES!!! That was great fun to do too, and they all coordinated with the collections beautifully. Between both the Anne Klein Couture shoe collection, and the Anne Klein 11 shoe collections combined they were a huge business, and sold every where!
These are all KILLING me! I adore linen, and I adore your designs. I would rush to buy every single piece you’re showing in this retrospective, Louis!
I’ve always seen this glazed linen and thought is was “sizing” because it seemed to give the structure to the
Dress. Louis is there any similarity between glazing and sizing. I have a black linen dress I luv . It has deep cut
Shoulders, mid calf length and wraps with just two heavy hooks, one on the inside and one outside. It’s by
Clifford and Wills. ❤️
Yes, they are both similar finishes
Clothing industry has come a long way with finishes,
Dyes, construction, etc. Every era has had it’s
Dingbat that took off like a rocket. Bonded polyester
was one. And for me, rayon span is this era’s, good
for nothing but sleeping 💤 in.
Cela…..,for the most part I agree with you because the majority of rayon/span being sold to consumers is cheap, thin, clingy garbage…..but there are heavier qualities that the cheaper market doesn’t use because it is price prohibitive. They can be very beautiful. Rayon has a beautiful hand and drape, but it is all about the quality of the yarn, the weight and the knitting that makes the difference.
Louis,
Everything looks beautiful and so current. What a career you have had!!!! I am thankful that I was able to benefit from your talent for many years.
Love linen, and it’s really hard to find without a “blend”.
I Luv linen too and am holding on to all my linen clothes and still wear them lovingly. Linen has gotten so expensive and it’s hard to find 100% linen anymore. I totally agree with Goldie76 comment too!
The demand for pure linen clothes has drastically diminished in this country….not so much in Europe, but there too. When demand goes down, the production also gets reduced causing prices to go up.
Drop-dead chic! It can’t get any better than this, Louis.