RUNWAY REMIX

Roberto Cavalli's show for Spring '14 was cute. I've never really been a fan of the print combinations he uses although I do love leopard print. This collection was different though. The Just Cavalli brand is a diffusion line targeted towards a younger audience and we definitely were clear on that was definitely clear in the collection. The clothes were cool, young, and sexy with an edge. Sidenote: Yesterday I came across a picture of the first black Miss Universe, Miss Trinidad and Tobago Janelle Commissiong. As it turns out Mr. Cavalli judged that same Miss Universe event in 1977! That's major. Also interesting, it was there that Mr. Cavalli met his ex-wife Miss Austria Eva Duringer  - she ended up placing 2nd. What a coincidence, no?

DESIGNER DETAILS: TOM FORD

Tom Ford is everything to me. His collections and ad campaigns have been burned in my mind since my preteen years. The iconic Gucci heel from the Spring 2004 collection had me mesmerized - it is THE epitome of a perfectly curved heel. A little background info, Ford arrived at Gucci in 1994 hired by then creative director Dawn Mello (this lady was bossss - former president and fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, she credits herself with discovering Michael Kors). I heard that Ford's now husband Richard Buckley put in the good word for him with Ms. Mello but that's neither here nor there.

At the time the company was not the Gucci it is today. It was nearly bankrupt and had a somewhat tarnished image in the luxury market. Ms. Mello made a bold move by bringing in a then virtually unknown Ford, but it was a genius move. He very quickly made the brand a massive force to be reckoned with. With Ford's direction the company went from nearly bankrupt to being valued at $10 billion at the time of his departure. He basically created the Gucci language that we see today and I'm thankful for it.