The Couture Council of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology honored Valentino with their 2011 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion on Wednesday September 7, 2011 at a benefit luncheon at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City. It has become a tradition that the luncheon heralds the arrival of Fall Fashion Week.
Last year’s luncheon, which honored Karl Lagerfeld and was the first Couture Council Luncheon held at Lincoln Center, was attended by over 500 guests and raised over $600,000. This year’s event has exceeded that amount by raising $700,000.
The Board of Directors of the Couture Council includes Chair Liz Peek and Vice Chair Yaz Hernandez.
Luncheon Chairs included Anne H. Bass, Charlotte Moss, Diane von Furstenberg, and Daphne Guinness, whose personal collection will be the subject of a major exhibition opening at The Museum at FIT on September 16. A number of Valentino’s masterpieces will be featured in this exhibition.
Honorary Luncheon Chairs included Donna Acquavella, Marisa Berenson, Georgina Brandolini, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, Gisele Bündchen, Naomi Campbell, Anna Carter, Claire Danes, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Mica Ertegün, HRH Princess Firyal of Jordan, Charlene de Ganay, Susan Gutfreund, Anne Hathaway, Iman, Deborra-lee Jackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Pilar Crespi Robert, Allison Sarofim, André Leon Talley, Barbara Walters, and Natalia Vodianov.
Among those guests that attended included Iris Apfel, Dennis Basso, Marisa Berenson, Hamish Bowles, Glenda Bailey, Robin R. Burns, Amy Fine Collins, Renaud Dutreil, Simon Doonan, Ken Downing, Tiffany Dubin, Linda Fargo, Frederic Fekkai and Shirin von Wulffen, Nina Garcia, Zani Gugelmann, Daphne Guinness, Dawn Mello, Tamara Mellon, Helen O’Hagan, Josie Natori, Lisa Perry, Nadja Swarovski, Ivanka Trump, Melania Trump, Robert Verdi, Adrienne Vittadini, Diane von Furstenberg, Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, Anna Wintour, and Paula Zahn.
Additional guests that attended included Fabiola Beracasa, Melissa Berkelhammer, Mario Buatta, Countess Georgina Brandolini, Anna Carter, Buffy Cafritz, Lisa Cashin, Chloe Crespi, Pilar Crespi Robert, Matilda Cuomo, Amy Fine Collins, Cece Cord, Patricia Duff, Susan Magrino Dunning, Mica Ertegun, Somers Farkas, Jamee Gregory, Hilary Geary Ross, Susan Gutfreund, Cornelia Guest, Nina Griscom, Sharon Handler, Michelle Harper, Yaz Hernandez, Marlene Hess, Hon. Brenda Johnson, Kim Kassel, Mariana Kaufman, Eleanora Kennedy, Martha Kramer Fox, Evelyn Lauder, Alexandra Lebenthal, Heather Leeds, Francine Lefrak, Karen Lefrak, Shirley Lord, Ambassador John Loeb, Carol Mack, Charlotte Moss, Nancy Novogrod, Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos, Diana Picasso, Liz Peek, Priscilla Rattazzi, Elizabeth Rohatyn, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Jacqueline Sackler, Daisy Soros, Jamie Tisch, Lizzie Tisch, Barbara Tober, Jacqueline Weld, Sarah Wolfe and Bettina Zilkha.
Founder and Chairman of the Couture Council, Liz Peek, welcomed the luncheon guests “This year we gather to honor Valentino, and what a joy it is to fete this talented man who has contributed so much beauty to our world. Valentino, I confess- as a young woman working on Wall Street, I lusted after your confections. The exquisite fabrics, the elegance – your collections epitomized to me – the best that fashion could deliver. We are so extremely happy to have you here… Much of the success of FIT has come through the inspired leadership of Dr. Joyce Brown, who has been president since 1998. She has strengthened the academic core, broadened the course menu and in every way led FIT to higher ground. I am delighted to have here today and it is now my pleasure to introduce Dr. Brown.”
The crowd applauded as Dr. Joyce Brown took the stage; she opened her speech by congratulating Valentino “Today we honor the extraordinary talent of an undisputed maestro of fashion design---the inimitable Valentino---by presenting him with the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion. Valentino, whose name is synonymous with elegant, sophisticated glamour, has been true to his own singular vision over the course of his long and remarkable career---and has been a great source of inspiration for fashion students and indeed for all who recognize and value true artistry in fashion. Valentino---congratulations.” She went on to thank the luncheon sponsors: Valentino, 1stdibs, Empire Merchants, and One Kings Lane.
Luncheon Chair and Couture Council Board Member, Charlotte Moss addressed the nearing 700 guests and thanked the other co-chairs Anna Bass, Daphne Guinness, and Diane von Furstenberg. She went on to thank Michael Bruno of 1stdibs, John Magliocco of Empire Distributing and the wonderful home decorating company One Kings Road, “Michael Bruno at 1st dibs…who was one of my first calls for sponsorship last year and is our lead sponsor for the luncheon today. Michael, thank you always for taking my calls… and thank you John Magliocco and Empire Distributing, for graciously donating our wines for the lunch today… and to Town and Country our publishing partner for printing our first Town and Country insert in their Sept issue…we have 12 advertisers to thank (who include: Garde Robe, Glorious Food, Mandarin Oriental New York, Stroheim, Vince Camuto, Apthorp, Lee Anderson Couture, Irving and Fine, Mish New York, and Branca)… you will all receive a copy as you leave today in a custom RED canvas tote made especially for this luncheon by our friends at One Kings Lane. You will also receive a copy of the DVD, THE LAST EMPEROR so you can watch re-runs forever… And lastly, today we honor BEAUTY...something much more ephemeral.... Frank Lloyd Wright said if you invest wisely in beauty it will be with you all the days of your life... Valentino has said it a different way...in one of my favorite lines in the film… ‘I LOVE BEAUTY. I CAN ' T HELP IT. IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!!!!’”
After the lunch was served Simon Doonan, the master of ceremonies, created an atmosphere of levity highlighting Valentino’s ‘Fabulosity.’ “My fantasy is that Valentino will, now that he has a little more time, assume a kind of mentor role. Maybe even open his own academy or ‘Ecole de fabulosity.’ I see him as an Italian male Miss Jean Brodie teaching classes in ‘fabulosity.’ I see him guiding young designers… training them how to acquire ‘fabulosity’ and how to play the role of fashion. Impressario lesson number one: Arriving at your Roman palazzo. Your private plane has landed. You rise from your seat. An assistant holds up a mirror for you to check your tan...”
Anna Wintour then spoke with unusual emotion about her long-time friend, “Valentino came from a small town in North Italy, who went to Rome with a dream, and turned that dream into an empire. He designs a life he leads, and leads a life that lives up to his clothes. As Simon said he’s kept the brief shining moment of Bellini’s La Dolce Vita burning strong with every palazzo, yacht and private jet at his disposal. Even Gianni Agnelli, no stranger himself to the good life once marveled “No one lives as well as Valentino. Even I don’t live as well as Valentino.” And who else but Valentino has a sense of life that is so joyous and optimistic even in troubled times. For instance when Rome was in the grip of the 70’s, the city’s grandest families were turning their furs inside out, taking off their jewelry, and driving old Fiats instead of chauffeured Maseratis to make themselves disappear into the city. Valentino’s sole concession to the times was super practical-- he ordered a bulletproof Mercedes in Valentino Red…But for all that extravagance in Valentino’s life that we see publically, his greatest acts tend to go unseen…. He and Giancarlo have long been involved in the fight against HIV and AIDS. In 1990, they established L.I.F.E a charity dedicated to helping children in Italy and here in America stricken by this disease. Not to mention his other causes devoted to animals and senior citizens.” Anna Wintour presented the award to Valentino and the luncheon guest stood as he took the stage to accept the award (which was a large silver spool of thread).
Valentino thanked Anna and reminisced about his fashion career in the US, “For almost 50 years, I have had the joy to dress American women… but also the privilege to be inspired by you. American women are the first to accept new trends. In fact your country is always the first to discover new talents and give them the possibility to grow…I remember Jackie Kennedy coming to my suite at The Plaza and choosing her wardrobe only in black and white after President Kennedy died.” As Valentino left the stage, Daphne Guinness and Diane von Furstenberg who were both at Valentino’s table and co-chairs of the luncheon, were the first guests to stand and applaud.
In a final tribute to the luncheon’s honoree, Liz Peek read a touching letter from last year’s honoree Karl Lagerfeld to his friend Valentino. The letter read as follows:
I think there is nobody in the audience who knows Valentino for so many years as I do. We met when we were young in Paris. He then worked at Jean Dessés and I was an assistant at Pierre Balmain. A common friend had introduced us but we met most of the time in the famous Cafe de Flore in the St. Germain de Pres. Valentino never changed. He had a dream then and he realized his dream and now as he has a little more time he continues to live his dream "full time". I think few people worked as hard as he did to achieve his dreams and his vision of life. He wanted to dress the most beautiful and most elegant women in the world---- and he dressed them all. Beauty was the music guide of his great talent. Women loved him for that all over the world. For him the sense of beauty is more important then the essence of fashion. He had his idea how a woman should look and was never influenced by a simple trend or a short- lived fashion moment. What he did was always 100%Valentino and that made his high success all over the world. Also his couture clothes were beautifully made and few people today know what he knows about the craftsmanship of that form of art. If there should be one "Grand Couturier" in Italy it will only and forever be him. Voltaire said: It is not enough to conquer, one must also know how to seduce" He knew and knows both to perfection.
Your old friend, Karl
Valentino was the dress designer of choice at the luncheon. Guests wore both Valentino vintage and current collections. Among the guests that wore Valentino included: Vanessa Bryant, Dr. Joyce Brown, Liz Peek, Eleanora Kennedy, and Michelle Harper. Princess Kristina Kovalenko and her nine-year-old daughter came in matching one of a kind Valentino dresses.
The Tuscan countryside was the inspiration for the décor and menu. Guests were served a bed of arugula topped with figs and prosciutto, followed by a main course of breast of chicken with apricots and pistachios accompanied by grilled asparagus oreccchiette pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and olives served in a basil sauce. The dessert included lemon sorbet with raspberries. The tables were garnished with baskets of fruits and ivy, and guests dined with bamboo flatware.
Dr. Valerie Steele, Director of The Museum at FIT, announced, “Valentino was chosen in recognition of his status as a world-historical figure in modern fashion, a man who has dressed every beautiful woman of the past 50 years, from Jacqueline Kennedy to Madonna. Valentino’s concept of beauty is Apollonian in its classicism and perfect taste. Yet red, the color of love and passion, runs like a leitmotif through his career, asserting his passionate love of beauty. In today’s world of an often debased celebrity culture, Valentino’s dresses continue to assert an aristocratic ideal of art and beauty.”
FIT President, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, noted, “We are delighted to have this opportunity to honor Valentino, who, through his timeless and elegant designs, is a legend to all those who love fashion. He is an inspiration not only to students of fashion – like those at FIT – but to his fellow designers as well.”
In 1950, while still an adolescent, Valentino Garavani went to Paris to study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, having already discovered, while at a premiere of the Barcelona Opera, the perfect red that would become a leitmotif throughout his career. In 1968, a year of radical revolt, Valentino presented his immaculate Collezione Bianca of white and off-white dresses whose simple elegance proved that couture was not irrelevant.
Valentino was chosen to receive the 2011 Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award by the Couture Council Advisory Committee, an independent group consisting of curators, editors, and retailers. Members include Pamela Golbin, curator of the Musée de la Mode; Akiko Fukai, director and chief curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute; Caroline Milbank, independent curator and author; Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harpers Bazaar; Hamish Bowles, European editor-at-large of Vogue; Ken Downing, fashion director of Neiman Marcus; Linda Fargo, senior vice president of Bergdorf Goodman; Nicole Fishcelis, vice president and fashion director at Macy’s; and many distinguished others. Valerie Steele serves as chair.
The Couture Council, which was created in 2004, has become an integral part of The Museum at FIT and a recognized authority in the fashion world. Its Artistry of Fashion Award furthers FIT’s deep connection with the fashion industry. Dr. Brown said, “We are very grateful to the Couture Council for the important work it does to support the mission of The Museum at FIT.”
Past recipients of the Couture Council Awards are Karl Lagerfeld in 2010, Dries Van Noten in 2009, Isabel Toledo in 2008, Alber Elbaz in 2007, and Ralph Rucci in 2006. In 2008, Giorgio Armani received a special award for Global Fashion Leadership.
About The Couture Council:
The Couture Council is a membership group dedicated to supporting The Museum at FIT (MFIT), a specialized museum of fashion. The Couture Council helps make it possible for MFIT to mount world-class exhibitions of fashion, to acquire important objects for its permanent collection, and to organize public programs, such as its annual fashion symposium. The Couture Council accomplishes these goals through collecting membership dues and by organizing fundraising events such as the annual Couture Council Awards Luncheon, which presents a chosen designer with the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.
Couture Council Annual Membership is $1,000 per individual or couple, or $350 for Young Associates (under the age of 35). Membership is tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Please make checks payable to the Educational Foundation for the Fashion Industries. Mail checks to The Museum at FIT, attention: Couture Council, 227 West 27 Street, Director's Office, Room E304, New York City 10001-5992.
Members of the Couture Council receive invitations to at least five special events a year, including behind-the-scenes tours of the museum's collection and exhibitions, opening receptions, and visits to the ateliers of fashion designers in New York. Couture Council members are also the first to receive notice of the annual Couture Council Artistry of Fashion Award luncheon.
In addition, Couture Council members receive complimentary admittance to all Museum educational programs, as well as to the annual fashion symposium, which includes an invitation to meet the speakers at a cocktail reception at the home of Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, The Museum at FIT.
The Couture Council of The Museum at FIT recently established a board of directors that includes Liz Peek (chair), Yaz Hernàndez (vice chair), Suzi Cordish, Joele Frank, Michèle Gerber Klein, Anne S. Goldrach, Michelle Harper, Celia Hegyi, Chiu-Ti Jansen, Eleanora Kennedy, Alexandra Lebenthal, Kamie Lightburn, Doris P. Meister, Charlotte Moss, Peter G. Scotese, Jean Shafiroff, Adrienne Vittadini, and Sarah G. Wolfe.
For more about The Couture Council visit www.fitnyc.edu/couturecouncil.
About The Museum at FIT:
The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New York City dedicated solely to the art of fashion. Best known for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, which have been described by Roberta Smith in The New York Times as “ravishing,” the museum has a collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the 18th century to the present. Like other fashion museums, such as the Musée de la Mode, the Mode Museum, and the Museo de la Moda, The Museum at FIT collects, conserves, documents, exhibits, and interprets fashion. The museum’s mission is to advance knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, publications, and public programs.
Sporting Life, an exhibition exploring the relationship between active sportswear and fashion from the mid-19th century through the present, is on view through November 5.
Daphne Guinness will be the subject of a major exhibition at The Museum at FIT on view from September 16, 2011 through January 7, 2012. Approximately 100 garments and accessories from her personal collection will be featured, along with clothes that she has designed herself, a selection of her vertiginous shoes, and her films. The exhibition will be co-curated by Daphne Guinness and Valerie Steele.
For more about The Museum at FIT, visit www.fitnyc.edu/museum.
About FIT:
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), of which The Museum at FIT is a part, is a college of art and design, business and technology that educates more than 10,000 students annually. FIT is a college of the State University of New York (SUNY), and offers 46 majors leading to the AAS, BFA, BS, MA, MFA, and MPS degrees. For more about FIT visit www.fitnyc.edu.
LETTER FOR VALENTINO FIT LUNCHEON FROM KARL LAGERFELD
I think there is nobody in the audience who knows Valentino for so many years as I do.
We met when we were young in Paris. He then worked at Jean Dessés and I was an assistant at Pierre Balmain. A common friend had introduced us but we met most of the time in the famous Cafe de Flore in the St. Germain de Pres.
Valentino never changed. He had a dream then and he realized his dream and now as he has a little more time he continues to live his dream "full time". I think few people worked as hard as he did to achieve his dreams and his vision of life. He wanted to dress the most beautiful and most elegant women in the world---- and he dressed them all.
Beauty was the music guide of his great talent. Women loved him for that all over the world. For him the sense of beauty is more important then the essence of fashion. He had his idea how a woman should look and was never influenced by a simple trend or a short lived fashion moment.
What he did was always 100%Valentino and that made his high success all over the world. Also his couture clothes were beautifully made and few people today know what he knows about the craftsmanship of that form of art.
If there should be one "Grand Couturier" in Italy it will only and forever be him.
Voltaire said: It is not enough to conquer, one must also know how to seduce" He knew and knows both to perfection.
Your old friend
Karl