the impossible conversation .. DIANA VREELAND

read the interview .

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 www.andchic.com/us/1479905654.html .. scroll down for link 

Freddie Leiba .. the interview

Freddie Leiba is a name that has become synonymous with international fashion for over thirty years that I can attest to. There are scant few whose body of work, as a stylist/créateur, that can hold a candle to this man on any level. His taste and his “eye” are above and beyond the scope and skillset of more than just the majority of those who think themselves to be in the same league. It is my pleasure to call Freddie a friend and I can honestly say that he is a man who “walks softly and carries a big stick” when it comes to his reputation, on both personal and professional levels.  He is the proverbial cream that rises to the top. 

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It is my privilege to have been able to call upon him to collaborate with me for this interview as he is a man whose name is rarely seen but his presence is indelible especially since he is constantly on a new project. He has been and continues to be a pervasive presence in magazines, media and behind the scenes for decades and yet his work is as contemporary, fresh and as modern as any. By the way, if his name is not familiar then you should hide your head in shame and certainly you can’t call yourself fashion savvy. Freddie Leiba is a treasure whose legacy has been and will be felt for lifetimes to come.

So now it’s my honor to offer you Freddie in his own words: 

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Jeffrey Felner:  You have worked with some of the greats of fashion, who would you say are your top 3 favorites and why?

Freddie Leiba: There are three people I have to say that were most memorable, two of them are sadly dead. One is still alive ... Irving Penn and the project was for L’Oréal cosmetics.  I was very nervous when I was brought to Penn by his agent Peter Schub; Penn sat with me looked at cosmetics and we worked together on an image. This first one was a still life and I had to find a small mirror to fit in the girls hand but it had to be the most perfect mirror however after going to every glazier in town, only one man in a little shop suggested the mirror that is used in a Xerox machine.  That was the suggestion and that was the deal breaker as then I was invited to work with Penn for many years. Horst heard about me and wanted to meet me about a perfume project. I had to study the individual perfume bottles, there were 12 bottles...  example Dior, YSL etc. and from that I then had to build sets of neo classical to 18 century style and also style the girls.  I still have the original photos in my flat from Horst that were given to me from that project. Last of the three would be meeting Ian Schrager in the latter part of 1980 after Steve Rubell and post Studio 54. Till this day I have designed the uniforms for his hotels all over the world starting Royalton and continuing to the present with uniforms for Schrager’s latest property, the Editions Hotel in NYC.  Ian has remained one of the most loyal of collaborators from the very start

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JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner, who would they be and why?

FL: Dinner … most of them have died but…  Ava Gardner for her beauty which was almost haunting as well as her gowns. I met her briefly when I lived in London; she was of course already older but for me she was bliss to this day. I remember Norman Parkinson telling me later on that she was the most beautiful woman he ever photographed. I can still remember her beauty as a child seeing her in a movie called Pandora and the Flying Dutchman. Alfred Hitchcock, who to this day I still love his style which was dark but there was glamour, was in every frame while every location was perfect. Picasso, well he was and is my favorite painter; I adore every period, but the closest I came to meeting him was when I was friendly with his daughter Paloma. She, at the time, resided in New York City on Park Avenue. I got to know her while working with Harper’s Bazaar. One day I was speaking to my boss Tony Mazzola about photographing her siting around her personal portrait painted by her father and that was a great thrill. Diana Vreeland, well, I owe her everything! She was daring, she was fearless and there weren’t many rules. She was my biggest inspiration and an endless source of admiration. I ended up buying some of her library from her estate and her personal photos by Louise Dahl Wolfe which I still have in my flat. Lastly, Cecil Beaton because of his costumes, his photos, his London house and his gardens; He was a multi-talented man in the extreme.

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“Freddie has been part of the fashion world in which I grew up and inhabited for most of my working life. We share some of the same teachers, especially Diana Vreeland, who was my mentor ever since she arranged for me to work for Glamour, Vogue in Paris and New York. Freddie’s taste, loyalty, and discretion are legend in a world full of false fame grabbing insipidity. Anyone who has had the unique experience of working with him or can call him a friend is truly fortunate as he is a most reserved humble man.” Mary Russell, former editor at Glamour, WWD, American Vogue, Paris and American Elle in New York

JF:  What is your opinion of the state of fashion today and if it was in your power to change it, how would you go about doing it?

FL: Fashion, today everyone is a designer.  Today some of them never had a needle in their hands. It’s all about money, Instagram sensation like who has the most followers and are popular for behaving badly. The sad thing is that there are some talented among them however they are puppets to the business of fashion.  Everything is in transit and onto the next also disposable fashion; No one is building a brand as they seem to be just moving through an assembly line of clothes. It’s very difficult when one becomes puzzled by the changes every season regarding designers and their collections. My ultimate answer is that something has to change!

“Whilst working on my book DIVERSE BEAUTY, I was looking for someone who had 2 assets: One, a history of working with all the greats, be they magazines, photographers or subjects and secondly to have a reputation of supporting diversity in fashion through the years.  Freddie checked both boxes, so it was with great delight and excitement when he told me of his interest in collaborating with me on this project.” Alexi Lubomirski photographer and author of DIVERSE BEAUTY

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JF: Do you have “little voice” in your head that speaks to you when you work on each new project, or do you have some inner inspiration that you carry with you at all times? Could you share that with us?

FL: Yes I have a long list of inspirations that I store, some from art exhibitions, some old photos and some new observations whether from the street, travel or history but it is my eye that is my tool and hopefully my memories can be translated and infused into my work.

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the 10 Best Reads for 2015

As a respected, seasoned and recognized reviewer of books  ( New York Journal of Books) dealing with international fashion and style, it seemed timely to offer my choices for the best reads of 2015 when it comes to the subject of fashion in its broadest sense.

The selections below have all been released and are quite worthy of reading as well as owning. The subjects deal with fashion and style as seen via some of the great fashion icons of the century as well as those who contributed to this ever growing category.

Fashion has evolved and will continue to evolve in a way that has become much more inclusive as it is no longer only the territory for designers and of apparel. Fashion in its current configuration includes fine jewelry, Time pieces, collectors and aficionados of couture as well those involved in the world of media.

So without any further explanation, here’s hoping for  great new year filled with fashion and style. By the way, there are no bad choices here.

1-‘Vacheron Constantin: The Artists of Time Box Edition’ by Franco Cologni

… Saying or thinking that Vacheron Constantin makes watches is like saying Michelangelo was a ceiling painter. Vacheron Constaintin is a manufacturer and purveyor of some of the world’s most coveted horological time pieces as well an innovator within this rarefied sphere of mechanics and design…

2-‘If These Jewels Could Talk: The Legends Behind Celebrity Gems’ by Beth Bernstein

… One of the great successes and joys of this season is If These Jewels Could Talk. Bernstein is a gifted storyteller who offers history, gossip, and biographical information on the jewelry itself, its various owners, and possibly even the provenance of a particularly large stone …

3-‘Dior by Dior Deluxe Edition: The Autobiography of Christian Dior’ by Christian Dior

… This is the most intimate story of a world class designer as well as a man who loved his gardens and every single piece of haute couture that he ever created. He considered his creations to be his children, and once they were shown, they were the children who had left home to start another life…

4-‘Philip Treacy’  by Philip Treacy

… There are no words to adequately describe this book or my reaction to this book but I am willing to try. Philip Treacy is a rarity among designers as he is an original. His creations are far beyond the fantastical and of a quality that is as rare as a rooster with socks on! BUT, I digress, this is coffee table book but chock a block with such arresting images and of such quality that the reader is rendered awestruck and slack jawed and that is just the beginning…

5-‘Diana Vreeland: The Modern Woman: The Bazaar Years, 1936–1962’ by Alexander Vreeland

… Apparently there is an inexhaustible supply of material when it comes to the subject of Diana Vreeland. There is only one other name that comes to mind who can rival the amount of  ink devoted to a fashion personality and that is Christian Dior. Having read countless books dealing with the woman referred to as the “empress of fashion,” it becomes startlingly clear that she was endlessly captivating, inspiring, and prescient in so many ways…

6-‘Art and Fashion: Collaborations and Connections Between Icons’ by E.P. Cutler & Julien Tomasello

… Next up is the content, which can only be defined as educational, entertaining, visually arresting, and informative. Cutler and Tomasello raise the question of whether or not fashion is an art form or if art be fashion. Remember that these types of collaborations with artists and those in fashion go back to the turn of the 20^th century so it would be a mistake to toss off a casual answer. The authors have made their case on all fronts… 

7-‘Ingenue to Icon: 70 Years of Fashion from the Collection of Marjorie Merriweather Post’ by Howard Vincent Kurtz

… C. W. Post told his daughter in so many words, “Don’t let the money rule you . . . don’t let it possess you.” C. W. was the Post of Post cereals, General Mills, and C. W. Post College just to name a few of his notable accomplishments. His daughter was none other than Marjorie Merriweather Post who was nothing if not an obedient daughter of privilege who lived her life with maximum éclat and grace among surroundings befitting American royalty. Ingenue to Icon pays tribute to one of America’s most stylish and famous personalities…

8- ‘Electric Fashion’ by Frederic Aranda & Christine Suppes

… Electric Fashion stands alone in the genre of fashion monographs as this is a book that can be appraised and applauded on multiple levels. Suppes and Aranda describe this project as a journey, but this is an unbelievably intimate demonstration of one woman’s adoration of fashion with her “partner in crime.” Together, they have created one of the great fashion books to have come along in this millennium to date …

9- ‘Model Woman: Eileen Ford and the Business of Beauty’ by Robert Lacey

… Lacey is to be commended because he has provided much more than just a snapshot of a life well lived by absorbing the reader into the life of Eileen Ford, warts and all. This is not a fluff book that only tells the reader of how great she was but it also offers the reader a chance to realize that not everyone is perfect nor do they always make the correct decisions no matter how great their eventual success…

10- ‘Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis’ by Fern Mallis

…Fern Mallis has brilliantly compiled her interviews from the 92 Street Y series and Rizzoli was sage enough to publish them and the combination produces a book that brings a very personal, insightful and very human and sometimes intimate side to a business that is often considered vapid and superficial…

For the full reviews please see my pages at www.nyjournalofbooks.com/reviewer/jeffrey-felner

PS. they are in no particular order of recommednation 

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 20^th 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