Valentina Nicholaevna Sanina Schlee - known simply as Valentina - was a fashion pioneer. Never coming out with a line of clothing for the mainstream, she would only do couture pieces for women who best represented what the name Valentina was about. She had a customer base of 2,000 women which included illustrious ladies like Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, Gertrude Lawrence and members of the Whitney and Vanderbilt families. Honey, she was fabulous!While there, SK Wilbur and I bumped into people like the very elegant Amy Fine Collins, who was the the muse for the late, extraordinarily talented designer Geoffrey Beene. We also spotted Mary McFadden, a fashion designer who is known for much more than just fashion. SK Wilbur had a brief conversation with Gene Meyer, a menswear designer who now creates home furnishings and across the room we noticed Hamish Bowles, the style editor of Vogue magazine.
I couldn't help but notice that her classic, chic, effortless style was so similar to SK Wilbur's. When I asked him about it - he didn't even know who she was or that he was channeling her with almost every design of his! With both their styles being easy yet chic with attention to detail it really was both uncanny and fantastic. For any and all of you fellow fashionistas out there - this is a must see. Not only will you be inspired by her timeless style, you'll want SK Wilbur to make you one of his "channeled" pieces.
Love Life, Love Fashion!
