This is a joyful time of the year. We celebrate the Holidays, the birth of Christ, the special moments we had with friends and family this year.
We also remember the special people we had to say good-bye this year. I would like to take this moment to remember those we lost. As we read about things they said, look at photos they created, remember the moments in film that made them shine, their designs continue to be here. We remember the moments that made them special.
My thoughts wander to what I consider their accomplishments. Their moments of folly. This was when they communicated directly with us.
So with a tear in my eyes and a smile, I remember when Lee Radziwill said:
“… I wanted to touch only the good times, to only remember the best times…”
“ I believe that without memories there is no life, and that our memories should be of Happy Times…”
Well said.
I have happy memories about the “special people” on my list.
Lee Radziwill
…” at the White House I didn’t realize how special everything was, although aware that there was magic in the air. …The possibilities were endless…”
Karl Lagerfeld
“What I like about photographs is, that they capture a moment that's gone forever, impossible to reproduce.”
His vision for Chanel will not be forgotten for a long time. Sometimes, I was quite critical of his designs, but his creative inspiration translated into wearable Looks that made Chanel fashion modern and fresh for new generations of Fashionistas.
Jean Louis David
Hair Artist, founder of salons Jean Louis David. His way of cutting and styling hair brought us the bob in a young interpretation, natural curls as a vibrant hair style, he changed a woman’s look. His passion for hair color, the new lines of hair care products brought vibrant color and salon hair style to the everyday woman. Bravo. His chain of salons continue to make woman beautiful today.
Doris Day
We remember her smile, her voice as clear as a bell, when she sang in the movies, the funny side in her films with Rock Hudson. She was also a dramatic actress, a singer and an activist. Her career lasted from the early beginnings in the mid 1950s to the comic movies of the early 1960s, to the later films in the 1970s. Her modern clothes in the 1968 film “With Six You Get Eggroll”, still look as fresh and classic today.
Gloria Vanderbilt
“To be happy--one must find one's bliss” ... Everything in life is elusive.”
This quote sums up her sometimes melancholy outlook on life. Born into privilege and wealth, she was first known as a famous heiress, but she forged her own lifestyle, she was a designer, a world traveler, an art collector, a mother.
She created her own brand, as a designer for jeans, licensed her name to sell fashion, home goods and perfume. Her fine eye for modern art became legendary, she died with a very unique collection of American art.
Peter Lindbergh
Fashion photographer, who created a new natural Look for fashion magzines in the 1990s. His photos of The White Shirt with Super models Cindy, Laeticia, Claudia, Linda, and Naomi Cambell in the 1990s showed us a new way of fashion photography. Vogue featured jeans in street style on the cover photographed by him. He had many exhibits, he showed new ways to bring fashion and art together in photography. One of his famous shoots was Kate Winslett dangling from a skyscraper in New York. Who can forget that?
Kate Spade
As I remember her, we will miss her creative vision. Even though we can still buy her line of accessories inspired by her, she sold her company several years ago. We will miss her. Her clothes and accessories will live on as a modern restraint vision of whimsical playful designs, a unique color combination. Nobody else can design in her retro modern playful style.
Architect I.M. Pei
Many decades of his inspired architecture across the world. He designed in a modern reduced style. The Pyramid at the Louvre. Skyscrapers in Singapore, the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. Other buildings in Washington D.C., the Dallas Symphony Hall, Bank of China Tower Hong Kong, Luce Memorial Chapel Taichung City Taiwan, the Grand Duke Jean Museum in Luxembourg and many others.
When I drove through Singapore and saw his sky scrapers, I knew his designs are the “International Style’ of our generation.
Elly Mayday
Canadian Model, Activist. Elly Mayday had the vision to bring more understanding and a certain amount of self love to women. Her work to accept women and their body image was an important part in our understanding of ourselves and how fashion can be an asset to us.
Her articles in fashion magazines reached a broader audience,. Her speeches made women understand that we all have different body types, and each woman can be beautiful if we take care of ourselves.
Chris March
Whimsical costume designer reached fame through Project Runway. He was a fan favorite. His designs for the stage inspired joy and exuberance. We shall miss his creative spirit.