Designer

…………….Now that the 2023 Christmas and New Years celebrations are over, it’s time for me to get back to my 1993 Fall retrospective!,,,,,…….One of my passions as a designer was to develop new fabrics………The two jackets here were made in fabrics I developed in a menswear company called Torello Viera in northern Italy. The yarn was a fine boucle tweed that I had woven in two weights. A slightly lighter one for the jacket and pant on the right worn by Megan, and a heavier version for a more tailored coat/jacket as the one on the left worn by Christy Turlington. I also purchased the raw yarn, and had it sent to one of the sweater mills also in Italy. I used the yarn to create a classic jewel necked long sleeved pullover on Christy, and a MAXI CARDIGAN shown on the right. Not all yarns used for woven fabrics are suitable to be used on sweater knit machines. They can easily break under the tension, but this time I lucked out, and the fine boucle yarn worked well on the knit machines…..I think the effect of the two materials, the woven and the knit, in the same light fawn and black yarn looked wonderful!…..Black layering sweaters enhanced the the look of the tweeds…..Once again my signature accessories of the black cuffed knit caps, and the black knit gloves gave stark contrast to both outfits. They were the only accessories needed!

………………………Last night I gave a very small dinner party to welcome 2024……..Lou, his wife Maria and their daughter Suzy came over for dinner and to watch the ball drop in Times Square…….Usually, I’m in bed before 12:00, but last night was a special occasion……We started the dinner with Buccatini pasta with shrimp, baby arugula in an olive oil, white wine sauce with lots of red pepper flakes and garlic, ground pepper and sea salt…..It was yummy…….Then we had, what I call a kitchen sink salad that had everything in it With that we had roasted potatoes and a spiral ham!……Lots of wine to accompany it……For desert I made a cheese cake with a gram cracker crust that came out perfectly. To go with the cheese cake I made a raspberry sauce and fresh whipped cream…….We watched the ball drop with flutes of Champagne! It was about 2:30am when the party ended…..and 2024 has officially begun!…..Once again…..Happy New Year everyone!

……………….2024……..I remember when that seemed SO FAR AWAY………..and here we are……..hopefully healthy! What more could we wish for ourselves, but good health to greet the New Year……There are always other things we pray for, but so much of it is out of our control……What we can do in the New Year is be KIND!…..There is so little kindness in the world……a SMILE and an HELLO is something we all can do in 2024 to make it a better year!…..Sometimes it’s the small things that make all the difference…..HAPPY NEW YEAR!……..much LOVE…..Louis

………………Novelty fabrics always gave a collection the signature I wanted to put a stamp to it…….Menswear fabrics were always a go to for me……Here, on the left a suit worn by Josie Borain, made out of a very fine, subtle textured Italian wool….The double breasted jacket had the elongated “dog ear” collar that became a signature though out the collection…..It went well with the elongated collar of the blouse. The black jewel neck pullover, and the black jet brooch at the neck of the white silk blouse gave the outfit the necessary contrast I wanted to highlight the silhouette of the jacket…..On the right, a suit worn by Amber Valletta, of a small check, was made in a fine fawn and black boucle fabric. The “towel skirt” was wearable by wearing it over knit leggings. BLACK buttons, hat, gloves and leggings accentuated the jacket and skirt.

………………….The light FAWN color always reminded me of equestrian clothing………It created a strong, sophisticated contrast that defined the silhouettes, and combined with black, exaggerated the layering I wanted to achieve in this collection……Giselle Zelauy looked ultra chic in her spare yet bold outfit consisting of the Fawn single breasted carved, cutaway jacket over a sweeping wool gauze skirt and a simple black jewel neck cashmere sweater…..Her only accessories, to exemplify the starkness, is a pair of black gloves, and black suede boots……She was the perfect model for this outfit with her striking pixie cut hair……Shalom Harlow was also the perfect model to wear this severe black wool knit  button front tunic/dress with the extremely high slit over the slim Fawn pant. Her bobbed wig with the bangs became the accessory to the outfit. Black knit gloves were used to avoid any distraction from the severity of the outfit. The only skin showing was their beautiful faces.