Monthly Archives: July 2021

………………….The above photos are the only ones I still have of the Coty Award evening in 1977. There were lots of them taken at the party by a photographer hired by the company, but I have no idea where they are. To the extreme left are photos of me and my parents at my apartment before we went to the ceremony. Bobby Tirman and I, my very best friend since the 7th grade, shared this great two bedroom apartment on Central Park South. It was in a pre war building, and it had a huge working fireplace. The bottom picture is of my mom and dad at Studio 54. I was taking them out to their waiting car to bring them home to Long Island. They were troopers and stayed for over an hour. I think it may have all been a little too “exciting” for them, and it was time to say good night. They had never been in a place like Studio 54……..The next row of photos is of Donna and me accepting the Coty Award……The middle row of pictures is one of the 11 posters that were hung from the ceiling over the dance floor of Studio 54 . Donna, Charles Suppon [who was also nominated], and myself decided we would give a BLOW OUT PARTY at the Studio no matter who won or lost. We had these fun photos taken of us which were made into these huge posters. I still have this one.We knew Steve Rubell who owned the Studio and he let us have the entire place for the night. We invited everyone. Models, photographers, editors, store execs, friends and some family. The place was packed! Perry Ellis and Steven Burrows were also nominated.  As it turned out, we won and Charles lost. He was a great guy and a terrific designer. Charles, Donna and I were all the same age, and were good friends. Sorry to say Charles left us at a very early age from the Aids Virus. During that time Donna, Jac and I were losing so many friends it was not to be believed. The fashion industry was hit hard. I was glad we had this time to celebrate with Charles before tragedy struck…….After the award ceremony we had plenty of time to go home and change before the party started. I really don’t remember much about that evening,…..but….I can tell you we drank a lot, and danced a lot, and we all left when it was daylight………………

……………………….Knit wear was an important part of every collection, and Spring of 1991 was no different………….At Anne Klein I had a wonderful assistant who’s specialty was knits. Her name was Fran and she was in charge of the knit wear department. She came to me as a hand knitter, and I soon hired her because of her talent. I used to call her “Needles” because she was an incredible at doing hand knit samples. She was very creative which helped me a lot. Designing novelty knits is a whole different ball of wax! She worked on all of the Italian production and the development of special stitches and all hand knits. I would show Fran a sketch of an idea I had and she would start to develop swatches with different yarns in different gauges until she came up with the one I liked. Each hand knit was a challenge especially an abstract like the one above that had no repeat. I took a large piece of paper and started drawing the design, and then Fran had to figure out, stitch by stitch, how to get it done. These sweaters were limited editions, and the stores were only allowed to buy a certain amount. Fran had established a small cottage industry of women who hand knitted the production. They were all in the NY area so Fran could oversee what they were doing………When I lefty AK Fran later went on to become the head of the Ralph Lauren knitwear division……a multi million dollar business. I heard she’s retired now, but I’m sure she’s still knitting something!! The hand knit sweater above was a blend of silk and cotton. The silk gave it a soft hand and the cotton gave it the loftiness I was looking for. These novelty sweaters always did well.

…………………..I always loved a mix of patterns especially when they were in the exact same colors. It makes it more understandable for most women….especially for those who have a problem with patterns to begin with. Here you have a stripe sweater tank, a sweater mini skirt with a stripe border, and a color block cardigan where the fronts and the sleeves were in different colors of Red and Ivory, all bordered in Black…….At Anne Klein we NEVER had a problem selling short skirts……I only ran into that conundrum at QVC!……..The leather bag was a fabulous mix. The front and back had Black and White BIG CHECKS….the sides had Red and White checks with a red leather corded shoulder strap……The whole look was VERY coordinated, and very fabulous. After all of the horrible mixtures we see today, head shaking bad, these looks are so refreshing and clean. I’d love to see a woman walking down a New York Avenue looking like this. It’s amazing how current they look after 30 years!!!!

……………………….You all know how much I love knits and sweaters………..I learned everything I know about sweaters from working in the Italian sweater factories from the age of 20. I worked with a wonderful young woman named Giovanna Pestelli Ciampini….She suggested when she was in NYC to my boss at the time Alan Duddle, that I come back to Italy with here to develop the sweaters for the Giorgini Collection. Giorgini was a division of Originala, and this was the first design job I had. Allan took a big chance on this young man with very little experience. He agreed to let me go, and that was my first trip to Italy……I worked with Giovanna for the three years I designed the Giorgini line. When I went to Anne Klein I worked with Giovanna from my the very first collection, and our relationship continued for 20 more years. At the time the AK company was making their sweaters in a single factory in Brooklyn using one yarn!!! I opened up the world of knitwear to the company…..Knits became a major part, and a big money maker for the AK collection…….Again, I would spend two weeks working with Giovanna in Italy…Her office was in an ancient building on Via de’ Tornabuoni, near the Ferragamo shop and directly in front of the Egyptian obelisk….The tiny elevator in the building was added in modern times, but could only hold three people tightly. We only took it when Marcello, Giovanna’s husband, was with us. He would walk the four flights and we took the elevator. We did this just in case the elevator got stuck, and he would be on the outside to get help. More times than not we also walked the stairs!! The first week we worked in her office in the center of Florence, Italy. The first week was about designing the collection and seeing yarn companies. I did many sketches and brought them with me….but….when I started to see the yarn companies with their wonderful samples [we had appointments in the office every hour and 1/2], I started anew. I would make selections of yarns and go to work. Sometimes the sketches I brought fit right in with the yarns I saw and sometimes the yarns were so fabulous they needed new designs…..which I did in the office or in my hotel room in the evening after ordering room service at the Principe Savoir. A car and driver would pick us up at 6:00am to take us to the different factories that we selected would best make the samples. Some were across Italy and it would take three hours plus to get there. They would also show us new things they were working on, and if I thought they would work in the collection I would incorporate them. I always had to redesign them, because they usually weren’t right for the American woman as they were………Giovanna’s family became my family, and she is like a sister to me. She lives in the hills overlooking Florence…..a magnificent view of Florence….While I worked with her she had two beautiful sons, Lorenzo and Leonardo, who are now married with children of their own…Her husband Marcello, taught me every DIRTY Italian word I know…..I love him!!!! When she would catch him teaching me this colorful vocabulary…..she would exclaim…..MARCELLO!!!! Somehow it all sounds better in Italian!…….Unfortunately, I haven’t seen her in years. Jac and I were always going to Florence to visit, but it didn’t happen…. Thank goodness for e-mails…She sends pictures of the family, and we can keep in touch…We still hope to meet again in beautiful Florence……The sweater dress and matching cardigan above was one of the sketches I brought with me. It was in a fine Merino wool……..The Bucket Bag in woven leather was part of my shoe and bag collection all made in Italy. ALL of the Anne Klein jewelry was made in the USA in factories in RI. and Mass. For the 20 years I worked at AK the collections were either made in the US or Italy.

…………………….Every year when the 4th of July comes I always have the same thoughts…..”maybe I’ll go into the city and see the Macy’s Fireworks”……but I never go. I’ve seen it a few times when Jac and I lived in the city, and I guess that will do. When we moved out of NY every year Jac and I watched the fireworks on TV. I guess that’s what I’ll do this year. Every year I say, “I’m going to have my yearly hot dog”, but this year I’m skipping it. Trying to loose some lbs. before my trip to Africa……Every year I think after the 4th “the summer is on its’ way out” even though it’s just begun. The days seem to fly by, and before you know it it’s September…….Every year I think “this is the greatest country in the world”. With the way this country has changed in ways I never thought….I pray that in all the years to come I’ll be able to say that this is still the greatest country in the world!…………..Happy 4th of July everyone!!!!!!!