The Slow Growth of Genius: The Making of Christian Dior
“The trees that are slow to growbear the best fruit”— Molière At the height of the Roman Empire the expression “all roads lead to Rome” expressed the centrality and supremacy of the empire’s capital. Paris has long had a reputation as the supreme capital of fashion. In the world of fashion it can be said […]
Christian Dior: The Long Struggle To Overnight Success
Christian Dior January 21, 1905 – October 24, 1957 “You will suffer poverty but women are lucky for you and through them you will achieve success. You will make a great deal of money, and you will have to travel widely”. Unknown palm reader to Christian Dior Though he was superstitious, the then fourteen year […]
Balmain: The Untold Story Behind One of Paris’ Most Iconic Houses
PIERRE BALMAIN May 18, 1914 – June 29, 1982 “Dress making is the architecture of movement” Pierre Balmain The house of Balmain was established in 1945 and is still going strong 81 years later. Indeed, it has been at the forefront of fashion and beauty since its first debut and it’s easy to imagine its […]
Luisa Spagnoli: A Purely Personal Journey To Fashion Fame
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough “ Mae West Imagine for a moment you were born in Italy in 1877 to a fish monger and his wife. You marry at 21 and have four children, supporting yourselves with a grocery store. Do you imagine your name will one […]
Royal Mansour: The Architecture of Style
“Who will change old lamps for new ones?” Aladdin As an historic bridge between Africa, Europe and the Arab worlds, Morocco conjured up a hidden, secretive, world of “souks,” “riads,” “Medinas.” Behind these words were even more layers of mysterious terms describing ancient, specialized art forms and architecture — zellige, tadelakt, mashrabiya and tazoult. In […]
GENNY:Where Fabric Meets Feeling
“When you are a woman making clothes for women, then fashion is not just about how you look it is about how you think and feel.” Maria Grazia Chiuri One of the more rewarding and interesting aspects of attending Fashion Weeks, is to discover new brands and designers. Genny is a well established brand in […]
Dior Shaped the Body. Balenciaga Set It Free
The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner “THE KING IS DEAD” stated the starkly, simple headline on March 23, 1972. It did not appear in the popular press nor refer to the death of Elvis Presley, rather, it announced the shocking and unexpected death of renowned couturier Cristobal Balenciaga in Women’s […]
Ha, So, Hi, Ma : How Japanese Designers Changed Silhouette, Structure and Space
“From the beginning I thought about working with the body in movement, the space between the body and clothes to move when people moved.” Issey Miyake 1984 Miyake design illustrating “space between the body and clothes” Before departing for Paris, I made a trip to Miami to visit the Parodi Costume Collection. Housed in a 1920’s Bauhaus-style […]
Valentino: The Last Emperor of Beauty
“I know what women want. They want to be beautiful” Valentino VALENTINO May 11, 1932 – January 19, 2026 Fashion designer Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani is part of the exclusive pantheon of single, first name only celebrities — Elvis, Madonna, Cher, Prince, Chloe, Tiger — and is known simply as Valentino to the public and […]
How Many Clothes Do You Really Need? (The Real Answer)
A funny thing happened on the way to the 21st century from the 18th century. For most of the 18th century, strict societal hierarchies dictated who was allowed to wear certain fabrics, colors and styles and the average woman owned only 5-10 garments. These were worn for years with only small updates in trimmings or […]