Friday, April 11, 2014

Harry King .. a living legend of fashion


Too often in fashion, when we read a fashion  magazine or even see a fashion image on our computer screens, we tend to only see what we think is most important .. Mainly the clothes and the accessories. We somehow take for granted the hair and makeup and usually only take note if the model is painted like an African tribal shaman or the hair is teased until it is skyscraper high. The point is simply that Harry King was probably responsible for how one wore their hair when fashion was at its apogee.





Harry King is legend who rose to international fame and notoriety in a time when the names like Way Bandy, Diana Vreeland, Avedon, Polly Mellen, Penn, Suga, Vogue, Bazaar and many many more were the bellwethers of fashion. They were selling the fantasy and reality that was all part and parcel of fashion... as Grace Coddington said “when fashion came first” and I say when “fashion was fun.” The total look!



We boomers who were paying attention in those years know that Harry King was one of the great “hairstylists” of the 20th century who counts more “important” credits in his portfolio than any 20 of today’s current crop.

With all this said Harry King has been an integral part of fashion for decades and continues to inspire those who are savvy enough to recognize the enormous contribution he made to fashion in the most glorious of eras. It is my pleasure and my honor to call him friend and to offer a peak into his “head!”



1-What is the most treasured possession in your wardrobe?

Maybe an Armani jacket I bought in the 70's from his first unconstructed collection

2-What is your most sterling trait and what trait do you treasure most in your friendships? Honesty

3-What is your bliss?

my dog Jet

4-What is your guilty secret?

too guilty to say

5-Where is your ideal home?

 the one I’m in now


6-What would you say is your greatest accomplishment to date?

possibly a social worker ( somehow I think Harry answered the wrong question here !!)


7-What is on your bedside table right now?

 a light, vaseline, jojoba oil,  clock


8-What do you wear to bed?

white tee shirt white cotton boxers


9-What, if any, book are you reading now or last read?

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov


10-What’s your advice to the “newcomer?”

 leave your ego at home


11-Who or what is your inspiration/style icon?

all that is around me


12-What is the best advice you ever received?

 go for it


13-In 3 words or less, describe the current state of fashion.

 not much


14-If you could select a dream project, what would  it be?

 If I was a retailer i would make sure I sold stuff I LOVE so I would wear it


15-If you won a $200,000,000 power ball (lottery), what is the first thing you would buy or do?

 help my friends and family in need


16-If you could invite up to 4 people for dinner, who would they be…dead or alive?

 Frank Sinatra, Jesus, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Dickens


17-What is your favorite movie /or movie star?

 too many to answer that


18-What is the one thing you would change about yourself?

 hahaha my mind just went there!


19-Whose opinion do you value most and why?

 my best friends because they are honest with me


20-What store or which designer do you most like to shop in or wear ?

 Uniqlo


21-What’s your take on magazines, books versus the internet?

 don't really look at magazines much anymore, do like a book opposed to the internet but internet is so fast


22-Do you have a dream collaborator ?

 right now I would like to be able to collaborate with the illustrator Antonio


23-Have you ever wanted to just throw in the towel and why?

 I've had many highs in my career and couldn't pinpoint one but saying that it could have been the first day I started work when I was a shy 15 year old who didn't know his ass from his elbow or being able to work with the great photographers, models, editors, make-up artists, movie stars


24-What’s your music library like?

 eclectic many centuries, classical, Sinatra, Billy Holliday, Cole Porter, Jobim, jazz, Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Doris Day, Lambert Hendricks and Ross so much more


25-What and where is your favorite meal?

 at friends or chez moi

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