Well here’s
some history about me and Mary Russell:
while I was cutting my teeth in the world of fashion being a textile
designer, Mary Russell was a name or a face on a page. Her presence was
ubiquitous in Paris and at the French Collections especially on the pages of
WWD. If she wasn’t in Paris, she was in NYC. She was part of what made fashion
exciting thrilling and ever so enviable to a newbie who was literally addicted
to printed media and sort of pressing his nose up against the window.
It wasn’t
until decades later that the name and face on the page was suddenly sitting
across a table from me and let me tell
you that I was at the cool kids’ table
except I was no longer a kid and I have come to know that Mary Russell helped mold fashion in ways I’d never
imagined. With her camera in hand, she recorded the life and times of one of,
if not the, most glorious, creative, and joyous times of fashion and its
inhabitants.
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Of course, I
was no longer a fawning drooling kid but I grew to understand this woman’s
enormous contribution the longer I got to know her. I am forever humbled and grateful
for her friendship and her inspiration as I continue to travel on my journey in
fashion. If anyone had ever told me I would meet and know some of the people I now
know and call friends, I’d say you’re full of shit; It can never happen and yet
it has!
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So now, Mary
Russell of Glamour, WWD and Vogue ... Protégé of Diana Vreeland and John
Fairchild will tell us all something that maybe we never knew about Mary or for
that matter who exactly is Mary Russell? She is about to tell us….
JEFFREY
FELNER-Let’s talk
about Entre Nous: did you ever think you
would write a book? What prompted you to finally expose that part of your
illustrious life? Has the book provided any specific gratification and if so,
what has it been?
MARY
RUSSELL-No I never
thought I would write a book. I saved the precious photographs, keeping them
preciously preserved in boxes over the years, knowing they were valuable. With my
sense of timing that I have always considered a weird gift in life, I became
aware that it was time to write about those wonderfully carefree times. I was
also prompted by good friends in the fashion world to do a book. They loved my
photos and kept after me until the right people appeared as if by that magic
which has always been part of my existence and so it was.
Yes, there
is a certain gratification in the fact that I found the right people at the
right time to actually understand and be willing to make the book happen.
Through old friends I was introduced to the gallerist, antiquaire and editor
Pierre Passebon who fell in love with the photos, understood the value of the story,
and became enthusiastic about editing and producing the book and consequently
with an exhibit in his gallery. He introduced me to the brilliant American
publisher Suzanne Isore at Flammarion who immediately agreed to publish it!
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JF-In the 60’s and 70s, the Paris of The
Beautiful Fall, you were unquestionably part of the “in crowd” … let’s talk
about some of the most memorable moments and people … just a couple that
really have stayed with you over the
course of time?
MR- Being part of the “in crowd” is what
the title is all about… Entre Nous- a small group of a family we created
for just us... kindred spirits who were very young and full of rebellion with talent
and a wild carefree sense of delight and adventure! We had no idea of what the
future might become nor were we at all interested in it. It is difficult to
understand today in the wide world of the Internet and mass fashion hysteria
and insta-photos how very small Paris was in the 60s and 70s.
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JF- If you could invite any 5 people
to dinner who would they be and why?
MR- You ask if I could invite 5 people
to dinner who would they be and why? Jeffrey, my answer is… no one, except a few friends who knew us when
and are still out there but so aware of how lucky we were to be there then. We
do get together; many of the old St. Laurent world, artists, designers, writers,
editors and artists… many unknown to the fashion world of today. Of course,
also with my 3 grandsons who keep me aware of the trends of the moment.
I dined and
had tea with some of the greats. Name dropped ad nauseum in the book … add Dali, Chanel, Callas, lots of Kennedys (Jackie
and Lee), Princess Diana, Charles de Gaulle, President and Madame Pompidou and
Chirac ... sports idols, Cary Grant,
Sinatra and Ava and a few unmentionable “gangstas” so there aren’t many on my
bucket list of dinner guests.
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JF- For those who DO know you, you often
credit Diana Vreeland as mentor... is it possible to summarize what it was like to be under her
spell and maybe one of your most vivid memories of her and while we are at it
would you do the same for John Fairchild.
MR- Vreeland was magic; her aura was divine.
WE were her lucky acolytes. She listened and loved our ideas... she wrote to me
when I worked for her in Paris: “ Tell me everything you see and think, who you
see, send pictures... both she and John Fairchild were open to young up and
comers, they gave us a chance. They threw us out there and reaped the benefits
of our brand-new eyes on the world of fashion. I learned how to write and
record which fashion“takes“and which does not under his tutelage.
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JF- We know that fashion is cyclical
and yet we can see that the glory days of printed media and fashion design have
more or less fallen by the wayside; do you
think it’s possible that we might ever experience those glorious days once
again or are we destined to a world of Instagram
moments?
MR- The world of fashion is still out there,
more than ever but the way it is shared and perceived is completely different;
it’s now in front of us all the time. Impressions from the street in Paris and
New York - the young... not dictated by grand fashion dictators. There are
still wonderful designers like Galliano, Sarah Burton, Gaultier and the media
giants of style like Ralph Lauren, but I rarely want to spend the price for
their retail offerings. I still love the odd Zara add on and love Nike, Tommy
Perse, or Rag and Bone. Otherwise it’s a mix mash of adopted style, old faves
still in the closets, a few vintage pieces and some great sneakers ... a new
great bag, easy items bought online. Once in a while a splurge. In Paris I
like St. Laurent, Celine, or Gerard Darel, some fab Wolford tights, always
great boots.
Going to the
big fashion shows, collections all over the world has been given a huge hit!
The Coronavirus!! Perhaps it may bring their swan song. Imagine Giorgio Armani
showing his collection in Milan to an empty room!
As far as
print magazines are concerned: they better get their act together. I rarely
look at them even for free on line. We can find WWD online and I check in with
Instagram every morning for my morning stalk. Ideas galore. Visuals, photos,
quick fashion takes.
As for
“those glorious days” … They are over for me. Witness the tepid collections of
Chanel après Karl at Le Grand Palais in Paris.
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Bonjour
tristesse.
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