DIOR HATS: FROM CHRISTIAN DIOR TO STEPHEN JONES a review

FOR  FULL REVIEW  CLICK OM THE LINK

https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/dior-hats-christian
 

Lunch with Denise Hale, Tatiana Sorokko and Ralph Rucci

Before we get to the heart of the subject, there is this matter of “Who is Denise Hale?” For those of you who do not know her let me offer a brief synopsis of why she has been chosen to be today’s topic of conversation. Ms. Hale has been a fixture on the International best dressed list as well as part of what used to be called high society or the jet set and today might be called the 1%. Currently,  she is a philanthropist, art collector, doyenne of good taste/style and very much a vibrant personality who reminds us that there are still women of astounding taste and chic who walk amongst us.

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Ms. Hale, as you will read, is a collector of some of the most amazing couture and ready to wear created by some of the greatest designers of the twentieth and twenty first centuries. Ms. Hale also possesses one of the great personal collections of “haute joaillerie” which she wears as often as possible because in her own words “why not?” The same premise remains when it comes to her clothing wardrobe as it remains as timeless as her jewels.

photos by Drew Altizer

Furthermore, Denise Hale continues to be one of world’s best clad women who counts or has counted some of the world’s greatest style icons and legends as her friends  including  Marie-Hélène de Rothschild, Jacqueline de Ribes, Ann Getty, Marella Agnelli, CZ Guest and many more but you get the idea. So, it is my honor that she has made herself available to respond to some of my questions about her long standing status as a style icon and her lifelong dedication to fashion.

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There are only a few times when this writer has been on the receiving end of a more gracious gesture than this  but the below article/interview serves as proof that friendships endure no matter what life’s circumstances present to us. When you can ask Ralph Rucci, yes, that Ralph Rucci, to be your surrogate interviewer of one of the great legends of international style , well, then you know you indeed have a friend. The questions were written by me and the following is how the “conversation” went down over lunch with them and Tatiana Sorokko and then continued at the Gianfranco Ferré show. “The White Shirt According to Me. Gianfranco Ferré,” show is from  Nov. 4 through March 6, 2016 at the Phoenix Museum of Art in Arizona and where Mr. Rucci was the keynote speaker at the opening event.Ms. Hale and Ms. Sorokko sat with Mr. Rucci for a chat fest as well that capped off the festivities

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Ralph Rucci: Would you please speak to the topic of your favorite designers in clothing and jewelry and tell us why?

Denise Hale: The favorite darling-I started with Roberto Capucci, then Federico Forquet, then Galanos, then Gianfranco, then you. In between there was some Donald Brooks and St Laurent. It’s very simple darling and to answer the jewelry question, that would be David Webb, Bulgari and James Taffin de Givenchy among others but those are my favorites.

photos at left &  right by Drew Altizer

RR: What can you tell us of your feelings when it comes to the fashions of today? What do you think is wrong or right and why?

DH: Very simple-- not wearable or attractive

photo by Drew Altizer

RR: If you could compile a list of the world's best dressed, who would you include and why?

DH: In my life I live in style. Best dressed is nothing without style, so in my life I choose---Gloria Guinness, Marietta Tree, CZ Guest, Marella Agnelli and Jacqueline de Ribes

photos by Drew Altizer

RR: Do you believe that the concept of great women of style such as yourself or Babe Paley or Marella Agnelli is a thing of the past and why?

DH: Let's just say that there is always hope darling.

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RR: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would it be and why?

DH: Alexis de Redé, Lilianne de Rothschild, Gloria Guinness, Marietta Tree, Paul Mellon so those names speak for themselves.

photo by Drew Altizer

Mr. Rucci has told me that there is no friend as loyal as she and others have expressed their admiration for her by saying she is as real as she can be with absolutely no pretense. A case in point is that after this session was conducted, Ms. Hale suggested that she and Mr. Rucci take a stroll through the local Dillard’s. The long story short is that Mr. Rucci asked why and Ms. Hale said “don’t be such a snob!”

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P.S.  a million thanks to RR for making this possible!!

For more photos please visit  www.drewaltizer.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

meet a fashion legend ... Hoyt Richards

For 2014 this space will examine “legends” of fashion (past, present, future and eternal)… as part of my expanding view of the world of fashion. Today it’s all about Hoyt Richards; you say you don’t know the name, well fasten your seatbelt as he has been an enduring personality and image in the world of fashion for over 2 decades and is about to make his writing debut in a feature film.

art by Marc-Antoine Coulon

 

Hoyt started as the all American boy who went to Princeton and was a football star. As luck would have it, that was short lived due to personal injury but the result is a glorious visual diary of one of the greatest male models of the 20^th century. In brief, his resume reads Weber, Watson, Avedon, Newton and then Versace, Ralph Lauren, Gianfranco Ferre and Valentino but this is just a wildly abbreviated listing of his substantial credits.

 

As you will find out today, Hoyt Richards in indeed a rarity as he is just not another pretty face who has come and gone but has endeavored to redefine his career in the world of entertainment as actor/writer/producer. Look for him in the coming days as he offers DUMBBELLS … a term that will never be applied to this multi-talented gentleman who will long be remembered in fashion and will hopefully enjoy that same status in the world of entertainment.

 

Let’s “hear” what he has to say about a variety of topics…

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

Probably the eight ply cashmere sweater that I was given by a designer many years ago. It just feels amazing when I wear it and it gets better with time.

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

I would like to think it’s my genuineness and optimistic view of life. What you see is what you get. I don’t like to play games or put on facades. In my friendships, I look for integrity, kindness and sincerity.

3-What is your bliss?

One of my favorite quotes from Joseph Campbell is: “Follow your bliss.” For me, that means pursuing my passions and spending quality time with those whom I love.

4-What is your guilty secret?

I love ice cream. I’d eat it every day if I didn’t know it would double my waistline. haha

5-Where is your ideal home?

 I love the tropical lifestyle. My ideal home would be on a white sandy beach – maybe in the Caribbean. It has huge doors and windows so during the day the house would feel open to the sun and salt air.  

6-If you could not be a designer/retailer/etc.: what would you be?

 I think it would be interesting to be a psychotherapist.

7-What is on your bedside table right now?

A candle. A lamp. Some night time eye cream. And a  script I have to read.

8-What do you wear to bed?

 A cotton T-shirt

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

Right now I’m reading a book called, The Tools: 5 tools to help you find courage, creativity and willpower and inspire you to live life in forward motion by Phil Sturz and Barry Michels. It’s awesome.

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

The most important thing is to have fun. Show up on time, be professional but remember to not take yourself or the business too seriously. It’s fashion - we’re not curing cancer.  

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

Probably Cary Grant – he seemed like a cool cat. Elegant and never overstated.

12-What is the best advice you ever received?

To get into therapy. LOL if you don’t get to know yourself and learn how to love and accept yourself (warts and all) then how could you honestly give your heart to another? It all starts with ‘the man in the mirror.’ Once you sort that guy out, life is a lot more fun and vital.

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

In transition.

14-If you were a retailer; would you wear your own designs or shop in your own store? or where would you shop?

 I would wear my own designs but that’s not all I would wear. Variety is the spice of life. The fun of fashion is having lots of different clothes from different shops or places.

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

I think my first indulgence buy would be to purchase a silver Tesla car. My first humanitarian venture would be to establish and fund a foundation and facility for a Cult Awareness and Recovery Center. Its goal would be to educate, inform and empower all those who have endured and survived a cultic experience. This facility would foster recovery programs for cult victims and provide hope and outstanding services for families and individuals who have lost a loved one to a cult. It would be a resource for knowledge and the study of the mind in effort to expand our understanding of the mind’s susceptibility to influence – both constructive and destructive. Likewise, the center would teach and demonstrate the immense power that the subconscious mind possesses to recover and heal as well as to create the lives we truly want.

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

 Abraham Lincoln, Dalai Lama, Gandhi, and Napoleon Hill

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

My favorite movie is the first Star Wars film. My favorite actor from the past would be James Stewart and from the present it would be Clint Eastwood. I really admire actor/filmmakers types like George Clooney and Ben Affleck. I think it’s great when you see people who don’t limit their skill sets. 

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

My eyesight. Now that I’m older, it’s such a drag using reading glasses.

19-Whose opinion do you value most and why?

I most value my father’s opinion. He is the most honest person I have ever known.

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

I think Tom Ford rocks.

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

 The future is the internet. But I still enjoy snuggling up with a great book in my hands.

22-Do you have a dream collaborator?

 In film, I aspire to work Chris Nolan one day. In fashion, I was beyond spoiled. I truly was fortunate to work with all the best.

23-What is your crowning achievement thus far in your career?

 In fashion, it was my issue of MONDO UOMO. I was given creative control over the editorial section and was able to shoot with my favorite photographers and create sixty pages for one issue. It was an incredible experience. In film, the newest project, DUMBBELLS, (which hits theaters in the US on Jan 10, 2014) because I was able to wear so many hats. I co-wrote the script, starred and produced the project. It’s the first time I’ve taken a film from embryo all the way to birth. Even though it’s been a cumbersome and challenging four-year journey, I don’t regret one day. 

24-What’s your music library like?

 Pretty eclectic. I listen to everything from Frank Sinatra to Eminem.

25-What and where is your favorite meal?

I’m a sucker for Italian food. The meals I’ve had in Italy over the years have been legendary. I love food that is fresh, flavorful and simple

Gianfranco Ferre .. Spring 2014 ... Milan Collections

Messrs. Piaggi and Citron have slowly come into their own here at the fabled brand.  They have the difficult task of meshing what once was into the 21^st century of what is!  Mr.Ferre was above all an architect of fashion, a brilliant technician and a man with a singular vision for his brand.

The current designers have been finding their way and reaching a comfort zone during their tenure and are certainly well aware of the Ferre DNA and vocabulary  by the is time.  My assessment is that the current collection could use a bit more edge and less softening of lines.  This is to say that Piaggi and Citron might have fallen under the influence of Ackerman as well as Ferre and personally I believe they need to push that Ferre envelope still a little harder.

In retrospect or hindsight the Ferre silhouette was razor sharp, every edge could cut glass and he achieved a great overall graphic quality via these hard lines.  While I think the present incarnation of the collection is parallel to the eponymous designer; one has to feel that the distance can still be reduced a bit while still retaining their present individual vision.

In fashion, it can just be a question of nuance or massaging a design that can bring it to full fruition and here maybe it is the length or maybe the width of a belt or possibly the fullness of a pant; I can only express what I sense and what I feel about the clothes which is a very personal overview.

What can be a double edged sword with the reimagining of a brand/designer is when the viewer has already been familiar with the original during its original “lifetime” and became a great fan during that time.  Undoubtedly it colors one’s perceptions and expectations and thusly affects one’s evaluation.

The question is simply did I like it, love it or hate it or am I ambivalent towards it and the reply is simply that yes, I do like it, a lot and I am still confident that these 2 gentlemen will arrive with the correct recipe sooner than later.