Designer

…………In 1993, Niki Taylor was quickly becoming a super star model. I remember the first time I saw her. She came to my show room with her father on a “go see”. She couldn’t have been more than 16 or 17 years old…She was a natural beauty! Sweet and charming and so young!!…..a real talent. Niki is still modeling and does commercials for Cover Girl and many other things….Good for her!…She has two grown twin sons from her first husband, and two more, a boy and a girl, with her second husband! Can you imagine having Niki as your mother!!!……Slip dresses were relegated for evening only, but I treated it as a modern jumper dress. I layered the button front slip dress over a straight leg pant, both in my exclusive lighter weight wool crepe. Under the dress was another version of the silk blouse with the elongated collar. This new version had an easy bell sleeve. Another version of the black jet brooch was placed under the collar. Of course you could wear the dress for evening without any blouse…..I love two for ones!…The required cuff hat and jersey glove finished the look……..Carla, at right, wore a wool jersey flared cape. Under the cape, Carla wore a beautiful heavy silk tunic blouse with a cutaway bottom, and a buttoned high stand collar….She wore it all over black leggings and shoe boots….The leggings just weren’t your normal legging! They were made in a heavier weight rayon and elastane and had a deep black matte finish. I remember the models LOVED them!!!They held you in , and made your legs look great….They were made in a knit factory in Italy that specialized in leggings…….Super long black jet faceted necklaces  and a jet cross were the perfect accessories for the tunic……..For me, the cape was a great way to add swagger and drama to any outfit……When I was a student at Parsons one of my best friends was also a super talented student named Donna Barnet [we used to call her “Little Donna” because she was petite, and Donna Karan was called “Big Donna”]. I digress….Donna B dated a guy named Luigi, and he was the head manager of Gucci in NYC. It was the hottest store at the time. Luigi was a tall thin, extremely good looking man with an incredibly winning personality…We used to go out with Luigi every where because he got in EVERY WHERE…Everyone knew Luigi!…..He used to really rock a cape! I was always impressed with his outgoing European personality, and his over the top style! Always an inspiration! Years later I ran into Luigi in Florence Italy! He owned his own men’s store! It was wonderfully chic! He was married with two boys of his own!…..Small world!

……………..The beautiful model…..Amber Valletta  Is wearing FOUR garments to create a new sense of LAYERING……Starting with the signature silk blouse with the elongated pointed collar…then adding the sleeveless tank tunic with high front slit….worn over the shorts, and finally the BOLERO jacket to finish the look…..all in different weights of WOOL CREPE…..The black cap, the black gloves, the black tights and black ankle boots all help to bring focus to the outfit by covering the hair, and the bare skin of the hands and legs…..The faceted black glass jet pin provides the only distraction from the outfit I wanted…..It is important at this time to notice the MAKEUP….. The makeup artist, and I developed this “look” for the collection……I wanted a sort of retro 20s feel, but still modern. A thin brow gave the 20s look…The open eye, outlined in black, and black mascara against a pale but defined lid helped to accentuate the look…..A glossed crimson mouth looked luscious, and stood out …..The short bobbed wigs developed by the hair stylist, after lengthy conversations about the look I wanted. brought the look home…..Of course every model is different, and I didn’t want to take away from what their strongest features were….so some of the models I left with their long hair, but I kept it straight….Models like Amber, Simonetta, Shalom, Christy, Naomi and Tyra were able to wear the bobbed look. Others like Jac, Carla, Anna and Giselle already had short hair that could be styled in a way that still worked with the theme of the collection……We always tried to keep the makeup uniform on all models to make the “statement”.

…………………….Creating new proportions and a new way of layering is always a challenge…….Here the wool crepe BOLERO is worn over a DOUBLE LAYERED high waist skirt with attached pants. The flowing wool crepe skirt had a high front slit for easy walking over the slim pant, and the pockets in the skirt were a must have. The heavy silk blouse had an ELONGATED POINTED COLLAR which became another signature of the collection…..The cuffed cap, this time in black chenille, and gloves were signatures of the collection as well. Black Jet glass pins of different designs, worn under the collars, also became an important signature. They were inspired by Victorian “Morning Brooches and Pins”….The skinny shiny snake belt defined the waist of the high rise pant/skirt. The open bolero gave the entire look a nonchalance.

……………………I always designed different length jackets and shapes on every collection….It was important for me to satisfy my many varied clients, but always keeping the theme of the collection…..This shorter double breasted jacket was made in a heavier weight wool crepe as well as the slightly wrapped mini “towel skirt”. It was worn with a cashmere turtle neck over leggings and short booties that had ribbed knit crushed tops. The buttons were my signature glass jet, and she wore my signature accessories…….the cuffed  knit cap, and jersey knit gloves.