The fashion industry has never had a problem with professing its love, whether for a dress, a new trend, or a person. If the journey of creating style demands being madly in love, it’s possible to find many exemplary stories of love in the nature of these ingenious minds we label as designers, creators, storytellers. Romantic love, professional admiration, inspiration, or being a soulmate in a whole other world... Regardless of the description, it’s doubtless that the fashion world is nourished by these feelings.
Givenchy, a universal fashion brand and a symbol of timeless femininity, dressed Audrey Hepburn in some of the most notable movies in history, creating a legendary story from a legend. Hubert de Givenchy, who found Audrey Hepburn in front of him while expecting another Miss Hepburn (Katherine) in the filming of the movie “Sabrina”, explains how utterly mesmerized he was by the actress and defines their relationship as “some sort of marriage.” Romance, classic cuts, evening gloves, and the power of seduction with indescribable elegance and sweetness: Audrey Hepburn becomes the unforgettable face of Givenchy; and transforms the “The Little Black Dress”, Coco Chanel’s trademark, taking it to whole other level in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
DOLCE’S HANDS, GABBANA’S EYES...
If we fast forward to a more recent time, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are the first two names to come to mind when we talk about love. Although their romantic relationship ended in 2005, according to The New York Times “he [Gabbana] is the eyes for Dolce’s hands.” Their artistry nourished both by their own relationship and the love for their homeland Italy; the duo created an empire from the ground up and proved that, in the industry, sometimes 1+1 can make 3. Today, there are many fashion houses that prove how a collective creative mind can create more powerful works together with a collaboration between designers and creative directors; however, only a few can understand each other on a divine level that is invisible to us mortals to put forth products on par with artworks. One of them is Isabella Blow, the copyholder of “eccentricism”, and her love, the genius of darkness Alexander McQueen. Together, they carried the fashion world into a new era; in the “Cool Britannia” years in London, where the whole world was obsessed with being a part of the fantasy world they created together in which everything was possible... Blow, a prominent fashion editor at the time, bought all the pieces of the first collection by East London’s fresh designer, making Alexander McQueen who he is today. She mentions her long term relationship with the designer by saying: “You can’t buy your muse, it’s more of a love affair”. It truly was a love affair for both McQueen and Blow; chaotic and tiresome, as it is for every soul that feels like they don’t belong. They ended their show in an untimely manner – and too soon- as accustomed, biding us a fabulous farewell but resenting each other.
LADY DI AND GIANNI VERSACE
In a time when she was both expressing her newfound independence following her divorce from Prince Charles and accentuating her international reputation, Princess Diana met Gianni Versace, a magnificently talented couturier who took the ‘90s by storm with his bandage dresses. Having entered the most elegant and chic period in her life thanks to her friendship with this vibrant Italian, Lady Di makes appearances wearing a number of striking dresses that reflected Versace’shigh-octane glamor. While Gianni is revealing the roots of bourgeoisie’s gusto with his spoiled super-feminine style, Diana is building herself a life focusing on philanthropy, away from the spotlight of Prince Charles and the Kensington Palace. In Gianni’s world, she socializes with influential creators of art such as Elton John and George Michael, and free from the chains of royal protocol imposed on her since she was 20, starts dressing for herself. In Vanity Fair’s July 1997 issue, featuring Diana on the cover, Gianni talks about his friend, “I had a fitting with her last week for new suits and clothing for spring, and she is so serene. It is a moment in her life, I think, when she’s found herself—the way she wants to live.” Soon after the interview was published, Gianni was assassinated on the stairs of his house in Miami on July 15 and, less than six weeks later, Diana died in a tragic car accident in Paris on August 31st.
RICK OWENS AND MICHELE LAMY
Anyone who’s familiar with the cult of Rick Owens also knows about his forever gothic partner and fashion designer Michèle Lamy. Having met through Owens’ then-boyfriend in 1990,the duo became one of the strongest couples to ever position themselves far from mainstream fashion. The same year, Michèle Lamy created a line titled “Lamy” and hired young Rick Owens, who would first become her business partner and friend and husband later on, to create stencils for her collection. In 2003, Lamy and Owens left Los Angeles to settle down in Paris where founded their own company in 2004.
Married for 15 years, the couple has collaborated on numerous projects throughout their careers from Owens’ furniture series to museum retrospectives. They continue to work, unbothered by the age difference of 17 years. “We didn’t get married to have children,” says Lamy, and adds, “our children are our creations, and they are gorgeous...” The fashion industry doesn’t remember this romance anymore. Today, fashion houses target bigger audiences, and Instagram has become the means of communication for “modern” designers. This is a representation of how we shifted from quiet simplicity to a noisy banality. Still, if we try to adopt an optimistic attitude, we’re witnessing an era of transformation in which perfectionism is replaced by realism. The most “clicked” names of fashion such as Gucci and Balenciaga prefer to benefit from the promotional powers of temporary celebrities that are social media phenomena. Once again, as fashion leaves its place to other things in its ever-changing nature, love keeps up with the times and seems to have found itself a place, even if in temporary desires and short-term commitments.