The Louis Vuitton designer had many years of creative firsts ahead of him when he passed away at the age of 41. Vuitton dedicated to him their last fashion show featuring his designs in Miami…The show was called “Virgil was here: In Memory of Virgil Abloh.”
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Sad to hear that rockabilly singer Sanford Clark died from Covid this week. He wasn’t as famous as Gene Vincent or Eddie Cochran or Jerry Lee Lewis, but his deep voice and songs were highly danceable. And he was an inspiration to other singers, like Elvis. Of course, he also had that great pompadour. What happened to rockabilly music? We still see rockabillies at flea markets or thrift stores occasionally, but they are way too scarce. The last time we heard rockabilly music live was a LONG time ago when we saw The Stray Cats…
LONG before he met Princess Elizabeth, Prince Philip, the duke of Edinburgh, was just another cute blonde schoolboy who entertained the notion of acting. He appeared in his school’s version of Macbeth and here he is in costume…
Little did we know that Pierre Cardin (who just died at the age of 98) created the suits that The Beatles wore in the photo that introduced them to the world. Their fashion was revolutionary at the time and nothing was ever the same afterward. Cardin was enormously influential in creating the mod sixties for both men and women- and design in general. He was openly inspired by the Apollo space program and futurism. Besides clothing, he designed textiles, furniture, and even buildings. Actually he was one of the architects of mid-century modern, which is so adored now.
Bottom photo: the Cardin museum in Paris 2014
We didn’t realize that when Sean Connery was 23 he entered the Mr Universe UK contest and placed 3rd! He was definitely a hunk! To be honest, we never liked his 007 character – too smug, and no regard for women- but we liked the actor.
The sudden loss of Chadwick Boseman was a horrible shock this weekend. We loved him as James Brown in Get On Up! before he did Black Panther Chadwick was only 43, but he had accomplished a LOT in his short life. Sad to think how sick he was during most of his career. He’s pictured here with Mick Jagger, whose Production Company was responsible for Get On Up! Mick loved Chadwick’s performance in the film.
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Nobody had a better sense of humor about himself than Little Richard – he called himself “The Bronze Liberace.” His crazy, dance-friendly music was so addicting that we could not WAIT to see him when he performed in Chicago in the late 60’s. We had to go to the Rush Street club alone because no one shared our enthusiasm, but the night was more than worth it. Richard welcomed us backstage, and showed us his makeup tricks and fancy wardrobe. He sent one of his employees to walk us home to make sure we were safe. What a sweetheart. A true original, Richard suffered all his life because he was so delightfully gay, but desperately wanted to be true to his religion. We will never forget his pencil thin mustache, pompadour, and oversize gabardine suit in the early days. Yes, we loved Little Richard’s concert MORE than The Beatles…thanks for the memories.
Above, Little Richard performed in the movie The Girl Can’t Help It
We had a heartbreaking Christmas eve – our longtime friend, songwriter and kitsch aficionado Allee Willis died suddenly of a heart attack. Allee was much more than a songwriter – her whimsical valley home was loaded with collectibles she found at the Rose Bowl flea market – where we met in the 80’s. She gave amazing theme parties, the likes of which will probably never be seen again. At one all-girl pajama party (we were waited on by scantily clad men serving drinks and retro food) she had a contest – the girl who told the best or funniest story about a youthful romance would win a date with 60’s heartthrob FABIAN! HE was there in person, still looking good! My story was in the lead when Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson topped it with her description of her date with Elvis! SHE won the date with Fabian (a waste – she was married at the time) and we were justifiably disappointed. But WHAT a fun party! We will miss Allee forever…
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
Karl Lagerfeld, the King of Fashion, who once described himself as a “fashion nymphomaniac” (we can relate to that) has died, and we will miss him. This is a man who loved his cat Choupette SO much that he said he’d marry her, if it were legal. Years ago, when Karl was still overweight and wearing caftans and gesturing with fans, we were part of a group having dinner with him at Mr Chow in Beverly Hills. How a tabloid reporter got mixed up with that crowd we don’t recall, but we do remember being pleasantly surprised by how witty and entertaining Karl turned out to be. We always followed Karl’s advice “Don’t drink and wear stilettos” and who knows how many social disasters we avoided…
Above, A very early photo of Karl as an aspiring designer in the late fifties
Photo Credit: BACKGRID-USA
The original French rock n roller Johnny Hallyday just died and it’s a huge deal in France but should be noteworthy here too. As successful as he was, Johnny was mostly unknown outside of France, but he was always madly in love with American culture. As a teen he was inspired by Elvis Presley and went on to record many American hits by Elvis, Carl Perkins, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Cochran, Chubby Checker, Fats Domino etc. – translated into French – and he made a fortune. He loved all things American – Harley Davidson motorcycles, fast cars, leather pants, hamburgers etc. He died in Los Angeles.
