Valentino

Let’s dial back. All of us think we have gorgeous feet, especially when we are young. I always thought mine were kind of fabulous: sturdy little Celtic hooves, perfectly in proportion with my gnomelike physique. My high insteps recall, at least to my eyes, the famous Avedon pics of Rudolf Nureyev’s appendages.

Suddenly last spring, that all changed.  read more »

There I was, skipping along the beach in Florida when I suddenly noticed that my right big toenail looked radically different. It bore a blotch the color of scrambled egg.

Here’s my prediction for this coming Superfrock Sunday: Valentino! Valentino! Valentino!

I’m betting that the retiring couturier will dominate the Oscar red carpet (red is, after all, Val’s signature color!) with creations from his archives and from his final couture and ready-to-wear collections. Sunday, Feb. 24, will be Val’s day. There, I’ve said it.

Now let’s talk about this so-called “retirement.”  read more »

Valentino, considered one of the most influential designers of the late 20th century, waved good bye to the fashion industry for good yesterday. "The world of fashion has now been ruined," he told Rome's Il Messaggero newspaper this week. "I became rather bored of continuing in a world which doesn't say anything to me. There is little creativity and too much business." At the Rodin Museum in Paris, Uma Thurman, European royalty and New York socialites all turned out for his farewell bash and runway show. Valentino, whose couture house was bought by private equity firm Permira last year, is ranked alongside Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld as the last of the great designers from an era before fashion became a global, highly commercial industry.  read more »