Friday 10 July 2009

The Ultimate in Handmade

Valentino: The Last Emperor was showing as part of the recent Sydney Film Festival. What an amazing success he is, as a man and as a designer. You not only step into his private jet, private yacht, Paris house, Rome villa and ski lodge, but you gain access to his relationship of 50 years. His business partner, friend and lover met when they were just boys and have been building the brand together ever since. The sweet surprise (in addition to of the models, the dresses, the celebrities) was discovering the tale of their enduring love and the integral part it played throughout Valentino's career. Did you know every single stitch of a Valentino gown is made by hand? At one stage they bought one sewing machine to share amongst the 100 seamstresses and it never got used. p.s. am loving their all white atelier white uniforms

1 comment:

Unknown said...

i have so much admiration & respect for those seamstresses who work in ateliers like this....i read an article yesterday about the possible demise of couture,and you can't help wondering if skills like these will start to be lost.....
i'd not heard of this film, but it sounds fascinating xx