For the season finale of “Creative Conversations”, Rosita Missoni and her granddaughter, Margherita Maccapani Missoni Amos, talk about fashion – the Italian family way
The Missoni family reflects the essence of Italy. Like a fashion tree of life, the company roots go back almost 70 years to when Rosita and Ottavio “Tai” Missoni met, married, and made knitwear both joyous and gorgeous.
In this episode, the two archetypal Italian fashion figures talk about the fascinating story of their life in fashion. In true Italian style, the baton has been handed on from one generation to the next: Matriarch Rosita, on the edge of 90, shares memories about her early days of knitting an empire with husband Tai when they founded their company in 1953; that same passion was passed on to daughter Angela, the company’s creative leader for over two decades; and now granddaughter Margherita focuses on eco-friendly and socially responsible elements for M Missoni – future-thinking values that are as good a fit for our times as their famous, colourful, zigzag knitwear.
Rosita Missoni (centre) with Margherita Maccapani Missoni Amos (left) and Suzy
Rosita and Margherita share family memories, from Rosita’s mushroom gathering to her children’s achievements; from the joy of family life to the sadness of her husband’s passing in the same year as their son Vittorio. At that same time came Margherita’s gift to Rosita of a great-grandchild.
The indomitable strength of family has encouraged the Missonis to survive and prosper, with all their joyful colours and textures knitted in – and freshly foraged mushrooms to stir into the fashion stew.
In Episode 12 of ‘Creative Conversations’, the shoemaker to the stars shares his formative experiences, design motivations and plans for the future
He is known for his shoes – sexy shoes, easy shoes, even fetishistic footwear. But Christian Louboutin has a symbol that defines his inventions: a scarlet sole.
It is nearly 30 years since the designer made red his signature colour for his own brand, after formative years being dazzled by the showgirls at the Folies Bergère, then working for famous French shoe designer Charles Jourdan, and ultimately becoming shoemaker to Hollywood stars. Jennifer Lopez is just one of his many faithful followers.
Christian Louboutin with Suzy in Paris
It all started in the museum in Paris that Christian walked past on his way to school – the Palais de la Porte Dorée, where the current exhibition of his work is making visitors as fascinated by footwear as he is himself. On view are collections inspired by his Pop Art period, his sophisticated creations for the chic and famous, as well as a splendid cooperation with Indian fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, all put together by curator Olivier Gaubert.
This shoe expert, whose scarlet lacquered sole was inspired by his assistant’s nail polish, has further interests beyond his glam handbags and super-high heels. In 2013 he introduced a ‘Nudes’ shoe collection in eight different shades, supporting inclusivity and diversity by emphasising the importance of embracing all skin tones.
Among other fascinations are a passion for gardening and a house by the beach in Portugal, where he will soon open a discreetly glamorous hotel.
As with the rest of his projects, you can be sure that Christian Louboutin will be putting his best shoe-covered foot forward. Join our conversation here or on iTunes; Google; Spotify; Stitcher and YouTube.
In Episode 11 of “Creative Conversations”, Suzy speaks to the imaginative and original designer as she collaborates with Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten for a digital Haute Couture presentation
For this season’s Autumn/Winter 2020-21 Paris Haute Couture Week, the fashion industry has had to rethink how to present the collections, and each house has turned to submitting digital presentations instead of the traditional live-show format.
Iris Van Herpen is a free spirit who works equally with nature and science. Here she talks to me about the short film she has submitted to the Fédération de la Haute Couture. She called on Carice Van Houten, actress from Game of Thrones and a fellow Dutch woman, whom she sees as a muse, inspiration and collaborator. The fashion film they created is called Transmotion.
Van Houten plays a far more gentle character in Iris’s fashion performance than she does on Game of Thrones. “Iris’s work feels like it lifts you up and completes something in you, like a second skin and another dimension,” Carice says.
Suzy with Iris Van Herpen (centre) and Game of Thrones actress, Carice Van Houten (left)
In our interview, Iris describes the ‘Transmotion’ couture dress that Carice wears as “a diaphanous bloom of silver white organza, and translucent layers within an undulating form, tracing the fluid outline of the creation”. Made by Iris under lockdown, its name refers to “visionary or creative perceptions of the seasons and the visual scenes of motion in art and literature”.
“I believe fashion has a big influence on who we are today and really reflects where we are heading, inspiring us to recreate ourselves and to re-see our identities and even how we perceive ourselves,” Iris says.
“The red hair was 50 per cent of my character,” Carice says of her GOT role as Melisandre, the Red Priestess. “I felt so empowered, and in fact the dress – which is the opposite of Iris’s dresses – was really restricting, but it definitely helped me to build that character.”
How will her costume, hair and make-up influence her return to her role in Temple, the British TV show she stars in with Mark Strong? “This is filming soon as it’s manageable to social distance on set. But I have curls in my hair in that show, I cannot do that by myself – it would be a mess!”
Iris’s couture film, directed by Ryan McDaniels, references Dutch graphic art and at the same time mirrors the Iris spirit, which mixes high modernity with history. Iris has called upon her Dutch heritage not only by using Carice – but also by referencing Dutch artist Escher as an influence.
Iris began showing in Paris in 2007 and I watched her move from Ready-to-Wear to Couture – which she unofficially calls “tech-couture”. In her hands, delicate embroideries and traditional techniques are “replaced by code”. The designer is even known for stating, “Tech just can’t keep up with me!”
Her extraordinary skill is in melding the soft and tough elements of the natural world with the forces of technology and innovation, merging art and science with craftsmanship and technology.
Using a diaphanous bloom of white silk organza, like fronds frozen in time, and delicate crystalline filaments that sprout from the centre, the ‘Transmotion’ dress is a masterpiece of couture. Combining the futuristic with the naturalistic, “branches” of satin are laser cut, but hand stitched, to form central roots like mycorrhizal networks.
With her deep knowledge of fashion, her understanding of science and her skill in melding the two different characters, Iris’s work links to creation, growth and regeneration. Add to that the woman-power expressed by Carice in the Iris film and in Game of Thrones. There is plenty to discover in this story about the film, the dress, the star and how all are close to Iris’s heart.
This exceptional collaboration between two highly creative women is something to relish. Join our conversation here or on iTunes; Google; Spotify; Stitcher and YouTube
In Episode Ten of “Creative Conversations”, Suzy is joined by Michael Kors, whose American sportswear label celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2021
Michael Kors is marking his forthcoming fashion anniversary with a thoughtful reappraisal of his career so far, where highs have included dressing stars from stage, screen and state, from Jennifer Lopez to Angelina Jolie to Michelle Obama, whose bared shoulders the designer brought to the fore.
In this episode, Michael talks to Suzy about building his own label in the 1980s and designing for Celine in Paris from 1997 to 2003, before expanding his brand in the US – and ultimately across the world.
Michael Kors and Suzy in New York
Kors has not only built a fashion business but also a powerful luxury accessories empire, under the name Capri Holdings Limited. This conglomerate includes his own mighty label and also Jimmy Choo and Versace.
The current pandemic brings a thoughtful response from Michael Kors, who is the first American designer to miss the September 2020 timetable of fashion week shows and move his own presentations to October/November. His insightful vision on reducing the speed and the amount of fashion in a post-Covid era is enlightening.
Here is a chance to hear the real Michael Kors, and to learn that feeding the hungry is as important to him as dressing the famous.
In Episode Nine of “Creative Conversations”, Suzy discovers how the designer navigates his many creative passions
The London-based designer, Duro Olowu, works at the crossroads of fashion, art and culture. The wonder of Duro is that he has developed himself as an art curator as well as a creative fashion artist. The two fit hand in glove. He is able to express himself artistically through his fashion creations and through selecting art for museum exhibitions.
The greatest skill of this remarkable Nigerian-born creator lies in his delicate, artistic mix of joyous patterns. In his elegant embrace, the African influences come alongside super-sophisticated silks created for Parisian haute couture. Together they express the originality and elegance of exceptional fashion art, so beautifully displayed in his London boutique.
Suzy with Duro Olowu in London
Duro’s instinctive love of fabric stems from his childhood in Lagos, where he lived with his Nigerian father and Jamaican mother. He is married to Thelma Golden, the Director and Chief Curator of The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, and his own exhibition, ‘Duro Olowu: Seeing Chicago’ – combining photography, painting, sculpture and film with his own work – is currently on show at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
Female visitors to the exhibition opening in February 2020 were dressed almost entirely in a rainbow coalition of his designs. He is too discreet to reveal his famous clients, but we know Michelle Obama heads the list.
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In Episode Eight of “Creative Conversations”, Suzy is joined by the celebrated British photographer to the stars
Richard Young may have photographed Princess Diana, followed the Sex Pistols around the UK, visited Romanian orphanages with Michael Jackson, and slipped into Elizabeth Taylor’s party for Richard Burton, but when demonstrators gathered in London’s Hyde Park last week to demonstrate for the “Black Lives Matter” movement, Young returned to a different side to his work.
Now in his early 70s, with more than 40 years behind the lens, Young was showing his commitment to social documentary, rather than his well-known work with celebrities.
Suzy with Richard Young in London
Throughout his career, he has been as much a photojournalist as a portraitist – even if he admits that Fidel Castro was baffled when Young described Castro’s fatigues as “very Yves Saint Laurent”.
Behind Young’s cheery smile is a vibrant energy that has taken him from working with Paul Getty Junior to the LondonEvening Standard and an ultimate gathering of two million images to feed the Richard Young Gallery, which he founded in London in 2008 with his wife, Susan. A regular at all the top fashion parties, Young has watched all the supermodels grow up and even followed Freddie Mercury around the world for ten years.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Richard Young can embellish the stories with his unique brand of irony and wit.
To join the conversation, tune in here or just visit the links below to download and subscribe:
In Episode 7 of her new podcast series, Suzy discovers more about the philanthropist and supermodel’s incredible life trajectory
Her story is a fairy tale – with a mighty dollop of reality and grit. Growing up in Russia, she helped her mother sell fruit in the market; looked after her sister, who has special needs; and hobbled through a childhood in which her family could not afford to buy new shoes for her growing feet.
Then, as in all the best stories, she became a model in her teens, married a British aristocrat, and was all set for her happy ever after.
It was during the terrible Beslan massacre, when terrorists seized a Russian school, when she had the realisation that her life – glamorous but empty – needed an opportunity to give back.
Suzy with Natalia Vodianova at the annual Naked Heart Foundation fundraiser in London
Her new path of philanthropy was born with the Naked Heart Foundation, which she established to build playgrounds and parks for abandoned, orphaned, disabled and special needs children across Russia and giving hope and support to despairing families.
Photographed by the world’s greatest talents and still in demand as a perennial supermodel, Natalia’s Fabulous Fund Fairs continue to support children in need, while other energetic projects include co-founding the Elbi app, for micro donations to a host of charities, and FLO – a women’s health platform.
Natalia met her fiancé, Antoine Arnault, on the set of a 2008 Louis Vuitton campaign. They plan to marry this summer, Coronavirus willing. She is looking after the kids’ role in the party, while Antoine is arranging the grown-up aspects.
And the wedding dress? Natalia confided in me the inspiration behind the design, but you will have to listen to this podcast to find out exactly what!
To join the conversation, tune in here or visit the links below to download and subscribe:
In Episode 6 of my new podcast series, we meet the man who launched the world of luxury online shopping
For this episode of “Creative Conversations”, I’m joined by an entrepreneur with true vision – Federico Marchetti, Chairman and CEO of YOOX Net-A-Porter Group, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his company.
In 2000, Marchetti founded YOOX, the world’s first lifestyle e-commerce destination –before the launch of Facebook, Instagram, and the iPhone. In 2015, YOOX and Net-A-Porter merged to create YOOX Net-A-Porter Group, which was acquired by the luxury goods conglomerate, Richemont, in 2018.
Federico Marchetti has changed the way people shop. Selling upmarket designer clothes online was almost unimaginable at the start of the new millennium, but he convinced many luxury fashion houses to take their initial steps in the digital space. He found a way to bridge the gap between luxury brands and the internet through e-commerce.
Federico Marchetti with Suzy at the Yoox-Net-A-Porter headquarters in London
Today, YOOX Net-A-Porter serves more than 4.3 million customers in 180 countries and has more than 1 billion visits to its online destinations every year, transforming the luxury shopping experience through artificial intelligence, image recognition, and big data.
Federico is dedicated to social and environmental engagement, creating a culture of inclusivity and gender balance, and boosting the digital skills of young people through coding tutoring and his Digitali e Uguali initiative, which donates laptops to schoolchildren in Italy and the UK.
In 2019, alongside HRH The Prince of Wales, Marchetti committed to The Modern Artisan Project – a unique partnership between YOOX Net-A-Porter and The Prince’s Foundation to promote textile skills training in the UK – and recently collaborated with Vogue to launch the Vogue YOOX Challenge – a contest that challenges start-ups to commit to sustainability and innovation for the responsible fashion of the future.
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In Episode 5, we meet the young, dynamic French designer who’s proving to be a fashion visionary
Marine Serre gained critical acclaim with her second-ever collection, ‘Radical Call for Love’, which was created for her own label for Autumn/Winter 2017, and designed in the wake of the Paris and Brussels attacks while she was working at Balenciaga. It featured what would become her signature – a crescent-moon motif.
This led to her winning the prestigious 2017 LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers. Rihanna presented her with the award and Karl Lagerfeld championed her work and became her mentor.
Marine Serre in Paris with Suzy
This young French woman, raised in the countryside, was trained at a Belgian fashion school and can be seen as a fashion prophet. She seems to have seen the future and expressed it in clothes.
Only a fashion prophet could have shown a collection that included images of flames before the Australian bush fires, and mask the faces of her models before the world knew of the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has been a tumultuous ride for the designer’s small team, but with her use of regenerated materials; the up-cycling skills she inherited from her grandfather at his “brocante” (flea market); and the support of Lagerfeld and Adrian Joffe of Dover Street Market, Marine has achieved a cult following.
To join the conversation, just visit the links below to download and subscribe:
For Episode 4 of her new podcast series, Suzy hears the moving and uplifting life story of the Creative Director of Balmain
Hear the unique story of how Olivier Rousteing and his “Balmain Army” have fought for diversity and inclusivity in the fashion industry for nearly ten years. An inspiration to us all, his many supporters include Beyoncé, the Kardashian clan, Rihanna – Oh! And Michelle Obama.
Suzy with Olivier Rousteing at the Balmain showroom in Paris
Olivier understood the power of social media very early on in his career and has adapted to the digital world seamlessly. But he reveals that it was just one comment from Suzy backstage that led him to believe in himself and become the star designer he is today, building on the allure and power of women.
He also shares his feelings about being raised by adoptive parents in Bordeaux, and tells Suzy the riveting and dramatic story behind the new documentary about him, Wonder Boy, revealing his struggle to find his birth mother.
To join the conversation, just visit the links below to download and subscribe:
Be in the room with the wonderfully warm and witty designer and milliner in Episodes 2 and 3 of Suzy’s new podcast series
In Episode 3 of “Creative Conversations”, Suzy is joined by the thoughtful, funny, and profound designer Alber Elbaz, as he enters a new fashion phase with the luxury goods consortium, Richemont Group.
Alber talks us through his career, from Geoffrey Beene to Guy Laroche then Yves Saint-Laurent Rive Gauche and 14 years at Lanvin, where he earned a reputation for creating looks loved by women the world over.
Alber Elbaz and Suzy in Paris
Fascinated by the world of medicine, Alber, explains that whenever he goes through a difficult time in his life, the only thing that saves him is going to work: ‘’It is my antibiotic.’’
He believes in storytelling and that we need to return to different ways of communicating today, especially to our students. The biggest issue they face is being exposed to an overload of information and data to absorb: “There is nowhere left in the brain to dream.”
Alber also reveals how he loves the word ‘relevant’ more than ‘fashionable’ and how comfort is the definition of modernity.
In Episode 2, Stephen Jones talks to Suzy about the fantastical world of his hats. Working with Christian Dior – and as the imaginative hatter of choice for Comme des Garçons and Marc Jacobs – Stephen explains how headwear is a method of communication and self-expression.
Suzy with Stephen Jones
With his charming sense of humour, the mighty milliner describes designing for fashion houses and private clients as being like going to a cocktail party: “You will have a different conversation and present yourself differently with each person in the room,” Stephen says.
The conversation takes us through his Saint Martins years, the late 1970s London club scene, and the creation of his own label. Stephen’s description of that period? “Our drug was Fashion.’’
We also discover how Stephen’s relationship with Rihanna started – when they were introduced by Suzy herself.
To join the conversation, just visit the links below to download and subscribe:
I am proud to announce the launch of my brand new podcast series: “Creative Conversations With Suzy Menkes”.
Now you can come with me behind-the-scenes for in-depth interviews with the fashion industry’s most influential designers, thinkers, and executives. First up, Maria Grazia Chiuri, the creative director of Christian Dior – the first woman to lead the brand, and one who has enriched it with her distinctive feminist and artistic vision.
Maria Grazia Chiuri (left), Creative Director of Dior, with Suzy Menkes
Below are a few excerpts from my conversation with Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri – I hope it whets your appetite to listen to more.
Maria Grazia Chiuri on…
Couture
“Although the couture shows in July are cancelled, I would like to find another way to realise couture. I have an important relationship with the studio and the atelier. At this moment [the staff from] our ateliers are working at home. We are in contact with them over video, but it is very hard to realise a couture show in this way. We have time, because we normally start at the end of April. I have some ideas in mind, but I want to find a new solution to realise couture.
“Now I am very focused on a new idea, which I can’t yet speak about, which could help us to promote couture in a different way to the world. If you want to understand couture, you have to see the real piece properly. It is very important for us to promote the craftsmanship of our collection and the idea is, on one side, to work with our customers with a personal wardrobe and the other is to see if we can show our customers new craftsmanship.”
Women Artists
“When I first arrived at Dior, they said to me, ‘Dior is a feminine brand.’ While this is an important sentence, we have to reflect on what it means to be feminine. So for me it was very important to work with these women artists, because they reflect on femininity with a different point of view. Women artists talk a lot about the body, and we do that in fashion too.
“So, it was my idea to have a conversation with these women as they are so inspiring – and at the same time it was very important for Dior to give a platform and a voice for the artists to another audience that are not used to the art world.
“Fashion can do a lot to support art and promote a different vision of women around the world.”
Female Empowerment
“The reaction was so huge. I never imagined in my life that the 2017 ‘We should all be Feminists’ T-shirt would have such an impact and such an important reaction from the audience.
“I think fashion has to reflect on this argument, this idea of feminism. We are always reminded of our industry and business – but in fashion we must not forget to speak about identity, and I think my collection is about that.”
Quarantine
“I have been organising my apartment – normally I don’t have much time to do this. Rearranging pictures, books, and a little bit of the wardrobe.
“For the last four years I have been living between Paris and Rome – it is impossible to organise well. So this is a good chance to do something now. I spend a long time reflecting on my job and fashion, because in these difficult circumstances it is not only about business, but also identity – and it’s a good opportunity to reflect on the future.
“I am happy that I am working with Dior and the women artists, writers, and dancers, and to help them have a voice – I really like it a lot. The conversation with these women is something I really like to do; this relationship is a new way to work. Also during this time I am in contact with these women – we speak about the situation and our personal life. It’s like a community, in some way, and that is the part I am very happy about.”
