Tuesday 15 March 2011

TWO GREAT MEN Andre Leon Talley and Manola Blahnik discussing fashion

There are some evenings that are truly special and worth every minute of being alive, tonight was one such night.  I had the honour to be invited by Pablo Ganguli at the W Hotel to listen  to Manola Blahnik, dashing in a pale blue suit and pink suede shoes and Andre Leon Talley, in a huge black hat with a black smock, talk about their love of fashion and style.  They both agreed chuckling that the Oscars should be put aside and that the girls should wear what they like and actually give it some thought, that style could be found in different ways in both America and London, but not enough in modern films.  Madonna was exciting and beautifully dressed and most of the other pop stars a poor substitute.  Style you just cannot buy.  It can be found in so many films and archives and they rattled off  Brighton Rock, Jezebel, Breakfast at Tiffany, The Kings Speech, Mad Men, Mahogany, Marie Antoinette, Mildred Pierce, Visconti, Vreeland, Walter  Plunkett, The bride wore black, The leopard, both men bringing the past and present alive with anecdotes and special adorable giggles.




For both of these genial wonderful experts, discovering and discussing films unlocked their inspiration however Andre said he would never go to a modern cinema because of the fleas.  Both loved Marlene  Dietrich and said that  she kept every receipt for all the clothes and hats she ever bought and that there is an incredible museum in Berlin showing her complete collection. The most ravishing feet on the planet belonged to Raquel Welch and once Manola found her feet on his plate to his utter delight.
Wonderful stories were told, one was about Manola who apparently started making shoes by making them for his pet monkey.
Liberatum and Pablo Ganguli have yet again produced a fascinating event where the worlds of culture can meet and exchange thought.  Vivienne Westwood, Stephen Jones, Hilary Alexander also added to the spice of the evening.

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