Ever Wonder Where French Fashion’s Elite Went to School?

Over the last few decades the Paris fashion scene, like the rest of the industry, has become increasingly international. A peak into the corporate offices and design studios of some of the French capital’s fashion houses can often resemble the United Nations general assembly; with individuals from places as diverse as India, Japan, Norway, and of coarse the United States. Dior is currently headed by the Brit John Galliano, at Louis Vuitton it’s the American Marc Jacobs, YSL is designed by the Italian Stefano Pilati, while Sonia Rykiel recently announced the appointment of the German born Gabrielle Greiss as its new creative director.

Despite this, the fashion industry constitutes a small slice of Paris’ expatriate community that numbers in the thousands, and to accommodate their offspring Paris can boast a number of international and bilingual schools.

Institutions such as the “International School of Paris,” “The American School,” “Bilingual Montessori School,” “The British School,” and the “Marymount,” have graduated a number of well known individuals over the decades. But there is one school in particular that has consistently produced some of Paris fashion’s brightest talents. It’s called Lubeck and counts amongst its alumni Dior’s haute jewelry designer, the creative director of Loris Azzaro, and a former First Lady of France.

But unlike many of the international players listed above this group is mostly French, with a few of its members representing the kind of blue-blood families that can trace their lineage back to pre-revolutionary days. It’s also a reminder of the strong French presence that still dominates Paris fashion’s inner circle, despite the prominence of foreign designers and CEO’s.

It’s a group that is notoriously tough to crack and well connected. Occasionally the public has been allowed a glimpse into their world, most recently when Carla Bruni married French president Nicolas Sarkozy in a private ceremony. One of the witnesses at the wedding of the French/Italian former model, who is also a product of Paris’ private education system, was Farida Khelfa. Although she may not be a household name, Khelfa, a muse to Azzedine Alaia and the former directrice of Gaultier’s couture salon, has for decades been a prominent figure on the Paris fashion scene.

Founded in 1882, Lubeck is run by a religious order of Roman Catholic nuns, the Religious of the Assumption. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s it was considered one of the best private schools for girls in Paris (today it is coed). Oddly enough its students bared a striking resemblance to the characters in the Madeleine series of books, with their navy uniforms and daily visits to the chapel.

Although this private school for 11-18 year old girls, located in Paris’ 16th Arrondissement, was off limits to boys, it did not deter the opposite sex. According to novelist Frederic Beigbeder, the street facing Lubeck was known as a sort of “male paradise.” “Whenever you went to Lubeck, there were always loads of guys outside, waiting on their mobilettes,” he recalled.

But despite a high concentration of girls from well to do families, the school also welcomed an equal number from middle and lower class families, as well as a mix of international students that provided a unique environment to learn in.

Several prominent figures in the fashion business either sent their daughters to Lubeck or had sisters and nieces who attended. This mix inevitably nurtured friendships that would last decades and shape professional careers. Today you find graduates from the school working in every field of the business from fashion design, to accessories and even publishing. Prominent alumni are frequently seen chatting at fashion shows and attending industry events together, despite working for different houses; exhibiting the sort of camaraderie that has lasted through time and the vagaries of fashion.

Here is a brief cross section of some of Lubeck’s illustrious alumni:

1. Emmanuelle Alt:

After working as the fashion editor in chief for the French publication “20 Ans” for five years, Alt became the fashion director of French Vogue. Together with editor in chief Carine Roitfeld, she was responsible for repositioning the magazine in 2001 as an influential fashion bible. With her tall thin frame she has come to embody the epitome of French cool, often sporting an androgynous mix of pants, leather bomber jackets and vertigoes heels. She’s frequently photographed in the front row at the international collections, while her fashion layouts for the French magazine have come to represent a new generation of photographers and stylists.


2. Vanessa Seward:

On Lubeck: The Argentine born designer moved to Paris as a child and was immediately enrolled at Lubeck. Seward believes that Lubeck’s connection to the fashion industry was the product of several factors, most notably, “exceptionally pretty girls who were very social, got photographed a lot, and had incredible connections”. “For many of us, working at the Chanel Studio became one of fashion’s rites of passages,” continued Seward, alluding to the fact that a number of graduates had put in some time at the famous couture house.

Fashion connection: In a somewhat prophetic twist of fate, Seward’s mother had worked at Loris Azzaro’s boutique during the 80’s. She also has an excellent fashion pedigree that includes a nine year stint working with Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, and two years with Tom Ford at Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. She counts fellow Lubeck alum Victoire de Castellane amongst her close friends, and worked with her while at Chanel.

Where is she now: Seward was handpicked by Loris Azzaro as his successor before he passed away in 2004. A favorite of Jane Birkin and Marisa Berenson in the 70’s, Azzaro was known for his glamorous and languid evening gowns. Since Seward took over the design helm, the house has seen a renewed interest in its designs as well as attracting a new clientele that includes Carine Roitfeld of French Vogue and Claudia Schiffer.

“My mother worked in his shop during the Eighties and he made a big impression on me early in my life,” said Seward. “I have always loved Seventies glamour and so it seemed natural to carry on his legacy. In fact it’s my perfect job.”


3. Caroline Deroche:

On Lubeck: Like most of her classmates who went into the fashion business, Deroche had some definite opinions on how the school’s uniforms shaped her early perceptions of fashion. According to her they definitely gave students “a sense of discipline,” but added that “to make up for being dressed alike, everyone made a huge effort with their hair.”

Fashion connection: Deroche was literally born into fashion. Her mother worked at Yves Saint Laurent, and when she arrived at the illustrious couture house on Avenue Marceau, it was simply as a temporary replacement for someone on maternity leave. She ended up staying for ten years. Next followed a five year stint at Louis Vuitton where she worked with another Lubeck grad, Camille Miceli.

Where is she now: As director of public relations at the house of Givenchy, Deroche is considered a style icon and has even been featured in the pages of French Vogue (no doubt courtesy of friend Emmanuelle Alt).

She has been at Givenchy for less than a year, yet describes the house’s atmosphere as a “modern, crazy, familial” environment, where she is completely in tune with the dark gothic aesthetic that Riccardo Tisci has been cultivating for the label. Today she tends to wear a lot Givenchy, occasionaly mixing in vintage pieces by Yves Saint Laurent that she’s accumulated over the years (a swell as a few from her mother’s closet). One piece of clothing that she can never part with is a black Alaia jersey dress that she’s had for “a few years” but continues to wear.


4. Camille Miceli:

On Lubeck: For Miceli, the school’s unique mix of students left a lasting impression on her. She described the experience as “very free thinking and international,” adding “where the daughters of diplomats and daughters of concierges,” mixed in an open educational environment.

Fashion connection: The daughter of a top stylist, the half-French half-Italian Miceli landed her first fashion job at Azzendine Alaia’s studio, quickly moving on to Chanel. At the time she wanted to gain as much experience as possible in the business, so she became Chanel’s public relations director, as well as producing and casting many of its fashion shows. During this period she learnt a lot about the business by working closely with Karl Lagerfeld.

Where is she now: Often sited as the chicest woman working in Paris fashion today, most of us got our first glimpse of Miceli at work in Loïc Prigent's recent documentary on Marc Jacobs. In the first scene we find her on the roof top of Louis Vuitton’s headquarters on the Rue du Pont Neuf, dipping necklaces composed of fabric covered spheres into a large bowl of bleach. Next you see her cajoling a fournisseur, trying to convince him to procure additional flower ornaments for the upcoming spring collection.

For the last ten years Miceli has been the head accessories and jewelry designer at Louis Vuitton, having been lured away from Chanel in 1997 by Robert Duffy to become a part of the label’s creative dream team. At the time she joined Vuitton she was looking for a more creative position in the fashion industry. She recently collaborated with Pharrell Williams on a new jewelry collection for Vuitton that was unveiled at a sumptuous Avenue Foch mansion owned by a wealthy Saudi Arabian Sheikh.

She often sites fellow Lubeck grad Victoire de Castellane as a jewelry designer whose work she greatly admires.


5. Victoire de Castellane:

On Lubeck: The school’s strict rules and uniforms provided de Castellane with a crash coarse in the power of accessorizing, in order to standout from her fellow classmates. According to de Castellane, “They were a needed self-expression and, in many ways, a sort of Step One to getting interested in fashion.”

Fashion Connection: Her uncle is Gilles Dufour, for many years Karl Lagerfeld’s right hand man at Chanel. It was through him that de Castellane gained an introduction to Lagerfeld and went on to become Chanel’s head accessories designer for 14 years (even taking the occasional turn down the Chanel runway). Despite such early connections it quickly became apparent that de Castellane had talent, going on to create some of the house's most iconic accessories.

She has been a jewelry fanatic since she grew up watching her grandmother, Sylvia Hennessy (of the Hennessy cognac family) changing her baubles to match her different outfits several times a day. By the time she was 11 de Castellane was sketching her jewelry designs and having them made at an atelier. She even melted down her catechism medals and turned them into trinkets.

Where is she now: It’s hard to miss de Castellane in a room with her trademark bangs and platform wedges. Since being appointed as Dior’s haute jewelry designer in 1998, she’s managed to turn the conservative world of fine jewelry on its head. Her creations often reinterpret the house’s codes, such as ribbons, hounds tooth checks and pastel hues into bold and whimsical creations. Thus a flaming starfish necklace composed of 3000 yellow and orange sapphires, or a ring of coral roses that has been blown up to massive proportions to include a bumble bee alighting from one of its petals.

“I like things that are exaggerated,” declared de Castellane. “Big, comic book-style jewelry.”


6. Cecilia Ciganer-Albeniz:

On Lubeck: The former French first lady counts amongst her closest friends Mathilde Agostinelli and her sister Victoire de Castellane who not only attended Lubeck together but also frequently played at each others homes as children. Their friendship continued through adulthood, attending each others weddings, with Agostinelli even helping pick out Cecilia’s wardrobe during her former husband’s inauguration.

Fashion connection: After graduating from Lubeck she went on to study law, only to drop out of law school in order to become a fitting model for the couturier Schiaparelli. Albeniz has always been well connected within the upper echelons of French fashion. When she married Nicolas Sarkozy in 1996, Bernard Arnault, the head of LVMH, was one of two witnesses at their wedding. Her father Andre Ciganer, who immigrated to France from Russia was a furrier. While her mother, Spanish-Belgian Teresita Albeniz de Swert was the daughter of a Spanish diplomat.

Where is she now: In the short period she inhabited the Elysee Palace, Cecilia simultaneously managed to redefine the role of France’s first lady and project a modern vision of French chic across the world. The day her former husband was sworn into office she wore an ivory duchess satin Prada dress, while her daughters wore black dresses by Mui Mui (courtesy of her friend Mathilde Agostinelli).

She often appeared at official functions in Lanvin, Dior, and Azzedine Alaia slip dresses instead of the prim suits typically favored by first ladies around the world. Albeniz also frequently outshone women half her age who appeared overly made up, by avoiding excessive jewelry, hair, makeup and even a handbag, in favor of a more natural look.

The French press, which traditionally paid little attention to the wardrobe of its first ladies, suddenly began commenting on her taste in clothes. So much so that French Elle devoted two issues to analyzing her style, and comparing her to the late Jacqueline Onassis.

After divorcing her husband in 2007, she married Moroccan born public relations executive Richard Attias in a private ceremony at New York’s landmark Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center.


7. Mathilde Agostinelli:

On Lubeck: According to Agostinelli, by the time she graduated from Lubeck, the years of adhering to a rigid dress code of navy uniforms had a somewhat negative affect on her, “it swore me off that color for life.”

Fashion Connection: The blue blooded de Castellanes are not only considered fashion royalty, but can trace their lineage back to the land owning aristocracy of pre-revolutionary France. So much so that Mathilde and her sister Victoire were given a cameo appearance in Sofia Coppola’s film “Marie Antoinette.” By now most people are also aware that her uncle is Gilles Dufour, Lagerfeld’s former assistant at Chanel and her sister Victoire de Castellane is Dior’s haute jewelry designer.

Where is she now: As Prada and Miu Miu public-relations manager and official ambassador for the brand in France, she holds the tricky position of being a go-between for Miuccia Prada and the fashion press. “The French say, Naviguer en l’eau douce (sail in friendly waters). You have to be very careful,” according to Agostinelli. She continues to be a prominent figure during Paris fashion week and can frequently be seen during the collections with her close friend and fellow Lubeck alum Camille Miceli.

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Meet Dodie Rosekrans: Fashion’s Patron Saint

Dodie Rosekrans in Alexander McQueen, photographed in 2006 at the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, a private museum owned by François Pinault, where he houses his extensive contemporary art collection.

Dodie Rosekrans is an anomaly in a fame obsessed age where even society woman have taken on the role of the celebrity, frequently marketing their names and appearing in the pages of Vogue and on Style.com. Mrs. Rosekrans by comparison represents an entirely different breed, one which came of age at a time when a lady’s name should only be mentioned twice in a newspaper during her lifetime; on the day of her betrothal and in the obituary section respectively. Today it is not uncommon to find women like Tory Burch, the New York socialite, who has made a successful business out of her self-titled designer label, selling everything from embroidered caftans to scented candles. While the London based jet-setter Rena Kirdar Sindi (daughter of Investcorp founder Nemir Kirdar and long time couture client Nada Kirdar) has made a name for herself as a serious party planner, being hired by the likes of Chanel and Bulgari. Her book, Be My Guest, a how-too guide to party savoir-faire, has become a coffee-table bestseller.

Rosekrans on the other hand is somewhat perplexed at why anyone would find her remotely interesting enough to interview. But upon entering her orientalist jewel box of an apartment in Paris' 7th arrondissement, conceived by the interior designers Tony Duquette and Hutton Wilkinson, one quickly realizes they are in the presence of someone who’s seen the world twice over and lived every moment intensely. For over five decades she has been a prominent art collector, patron, fundraiser and society figure in San Francisco, Paris and Venice. "Dodie's an exceptional personality," said Countess Isabelle d'Ornano of Paris, the co-founder of Sisley cosmetics and a friend for 40 years. "She's not banal at all, she is one of the few original people I've met in my life." Although she has shied away from most media attention, she continues to fascinate observers with her exuberant sense of style, which is anything but understated.

Rosekrans was born Georgette Naify, the daughter of Lebanese immigrants, in San Francisco. Her father, Michael Naify, created a theater chain that became United Artists. “Dodie” is an Americanized version of the Lebanese nickname her parents had given her, and it has stuck with her throughout her life.

She married John Rosekrans, an executive who owned a large toy and sporting goods business, before he sold it for a huge fortune to Mattel. As well as being a major art collector and philanthropist he is credited with encouraging his wife to purchase her first pieces of couture and would often attend the collections with her. There was a poignant moment in 1998 during couture week in Paris when the fashion critic for the New York Times, Cathy Horyn, approached Dodie’s late husband John as they were waiting to enter the Dior show. She asked him about his thoughts on the couture scene and if it would last, to which he responded, ''Listen, this is a very different world,'' adding that he attended couture week as much for the sense of refinement as for its frenetic social scene. He could still recall the first couture dress he picked out for his wife right after they got married, a cerise Balenciaga gown. ''There are a lot of people who enjoy spending money on clothes,'' he said. ''I think it's a wonderful thing to do.''

As a teenager her parents took her on a grand tour of Europe and she reveled in the adventure, traveling through Egypt, Palestine and Lebanon by car, "one for the family and one for the luggage," she recalled, before taking a five-day voyage across the Mediterranean to Europe. This early experience may explain why Rosekrans spends most of the year in a constant state of travel. Her itinerary is usually loaded with familiar and exotic destinations: Paris in spring, Libya with friends in June, Venice after that and then maybe China.

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Dodie Rosekrans-Part II

Clockwise Left: Crusader chic, a look from Dior’s Fall 2006 Couture, one that would have appealed to Rosekrans’ eccentric tastes; Rosekrans in 1963 wearing a sari-inspired gown by Balenciaga, one of the first couture pieces she bought right after getting married; A young Rosekrans in 1963; Another look from Dior’s Fall 2006 Couture; In San Francisco, wearing a draped Balenciaga column,1964; Galliano coming down the runway with models at the end his first Paris show in 1991.

But as well traveled as she is, Dodie Rosekrans, who is 89, may go down in history as a formidable style icon. Much like her late friend and fellow San Franciscan, Nan Kempner, Rosenkrans has amassed one of the largest and most enviable haute couture collections in the world. For half a century she has been a fixture at the Paris couture shows, collecting pieces by Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Balmain, Gaultier, Lacroix and Dior. But it is here where the comparison’s to Kempner end.

For although Mrs. Kempner’s couture collection was the subject of an exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, some wondered whether anything was to be learned about fashion or social history by looking at her wardrobe. For those who knew Kempner personally, it may have served as a timeline of events in her life. But for the average person, her world was little more than a fantasy. It left visitors questioning what Kempner’s contributions were to the history of fashion and why she mattered. For the clothes to become more than exquisite examples of tailoring, they must reveal something about the collaboration between the client and the couturier to create something unique and beautiful, or about the larger culture in which they existed.

By comparison, the “Rara Avis” exhibit at the MET, which showcased the wardrobe of the New Yorker Iris Barrel Apfel, succeeded in this regard. Instead of merely exhibiting tasteful examples of expensive clothes bearing designer labels, the exhibit was a study of Apfel’s eccentric sense of style in the way she combined flea market finds, ethnic costumes and couture pieces to create her own unique look. It was ultimately an example of how an individual can reinvent herself by using fashion as a building block.

Mrs. Rosekrans seems to follow a similar esthetic to that of Mrs. Apfel when it comes to her own wardrobe. Over the years she has acquired the ability to pull together looks that have pushed the boundaries of what is considered good taste. When asked to describe her own sense of style, she has responded that, "It's not something I'm conscious of, I just know what I'm comfortable with." That definition of comfort is of coarse unique to her alone, and by no means an easy task considering the amount of time many a society lady spends on her appearance before each public outing. "Dodie is not pretentious and not self-conscious," said Ann Getty, a longtime friend, interior designer and frequent travel companion. "After she gets dressed, she's not aware of it at all."

She once attended a Christmas luncheon in San Francisco wearing a sweater, pants, furry boots that looked like something the Abominable Snowman might wear and an amulet-style necklace so big it looked like it belonged to a front-man for a heavy metal band. While at a dinner in Paris with Nina Ricci, Rosekrans once wore an Indian Mogul necklace of rubies and emeralds, doubling the strands and tying them together with a ribbon from a Fauchon chocolate box. Known for her taste in accessories that mix the primitive with the refined, Mrs. Rosekrans often buys and commissions her jewelry from artists. On most individuals those combinations would have appeared contrived, but on her it looked effortlessly chic. "She's fearless," added Getty. "Dodie's a trendsetter. You look at what she's done and think, 'Why didn't I do it that way?' It makes you want to follow her lead, but she's already done it."

It is also interesting to note that Kempner was known to be a conspicuous consumer, not an artist or collaborator as such. She once said, "I'm a drunk when it comes to clothes." She chose them based on what she knew would be most flattering on her body. As a result, her collection is not filled with the most provocative or iconic pieces from a designer's collection. By contrast Rosenkrans has always gravitated towards the most unique or extravagant pieces. According to her good friend John Galliano, "She always wants to buy the pieces straight off the runway, so her collection of Dior and Galliano are all one-of-a-kind, show-stopping pieces, whereas most other couture clients go for more discreet pieces," Galliano said. "With all her fantastic stories and seeing her incredible wardrobe, she is a real inspiration." Most of her clothes are stored at her homes in San Francisco, Paris and Venice. According to friends, her collection includes three notable African dresses from Yves Saint Laurent in the 1960s and a green fox coat from the '70s.

But what seems to set Dodie Rosekrans apart from your average couture customer is that she has not only served as a client but also a patron. With a sixth sense for spotting talent she often doesn’t hesitate to support a designer who’s work she admires. It is a little known fashion fact that she was one of a handful of supporters instrumental in shaping Galliano’s career. "I went to his atelier when he wasn't there, and it had the most wonderful things in it," she said. "I fell in love with him, so to speak, before I ever met him." But when they eventually did meet, it was the intersection of two extraordinary minds coming together. Galliano’s memory of that first meeting was that he was "bowled over by her amazing sense of style, eclectic sense of dress and the way she mixes her vintage '70s Saint Laurent with Comme des Garçons and Harry Winston jewels."

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Dodie Rosekrans-Part III

Left: Crinoline clad models waiting behind the scenes in the tent at the Louvre, where Galliano presented his groundbreaking Spring 1994 show inspired by the Russian Princess Lucretia. Center: Model Michelle Hicks running down the runway in mock fear at Galliano’s show, her voluminous ballgown trailing behind her. Right: Dodie Rosekrans receiving la médaille d’or de Grand Donateur de l’Etat, by French minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres in 2005.

In 1993, when he was struggling financially, she helped him put together his show inspired by "Princess Lucretia.” At a time when minimalism ruled fashion, Galliano’s collection was pure fantasia. Underneath a tent pitched in the Louvre’s Cour Carré, he sent out Russian princesses in voluminous crinoline ball gowns racing down the runway in terror, as they were chased by the sounds of “Ride of the Valkyaries.” The show caused an immediate sensation and catapulted Galliano onto the Paris fashion scene. As befits someone whose been described as falling within the old money camp, Rosekrans was so discreet about her financial support of Galliano that very few were aware of it at the time.

The following season Galliano also gained the support of Paris socialite Sao Schlumberger, one of his earliest couture clients, when she lent her sumptuous art filled mansion as a venue for his Autumn/Winter 1994 collection. Rosekrans, who attended the show, remembers that moment vividly as a turning point in Galliano’s career. In a collection entitled Back from the Brink the designer recreated the atmosphere of the old couture salons. The models (including Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbel, and Kate Moss, who did the show for free) walked amongst the seated audience in exquisitely tailored pieces influenced by 1920’s flappers and Japanese Geishas.

Furthermore having Rosekrans’ and Schlumberger’s stamp of approval during Galliano’s early career did not hurt his chances of being noticed by some of the fashion industry’s biggest players. At that time Bernard Arnault, the chairman of LVMH, had been searching for a new designer to head his most recent acquisition, the House of Givenchy. It was also during this period that he began to notice a number of couture clients making the pilgrimage to Galliano’s small studio tucked away in Paris’ Bastille quarter, an area known more for its gritty bars than glamorous couture salons. On seeing his work, Arnault offered him the position at Givenchy, where Galliano designed two collections before moving on to become the artistic director at Dior. Since his debut collection for Dior, Rosekrans has not missed a single show and has continued to influence his work for the past 15 years.

When asked which is his favorite piece in Rosekrans’ wardrobe, Galliano's answer is, "a hand-painted electric-blue Dior ball dress she wore to a ball in Venice." In fact Rosekrans is no stranger to throwing a ball or two. She and her late husband, who died of a heart attack in 2001, were known for their fun-loving ways. This included throwing lavish parties for family, friends and visiting French dignitaries, as well as collecting art and supporting museums and music programs around the world, from the de Young and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art to the Pompidou Center in Paris.

Whether it’s the Arabian Nights fantasy she threw for her granddaughter's debut or dinner parties where guests are always met by a butler proffering ice-cold Champagne, Rosekrans’ invitations have always been the most coveted. This is partly due to the fact that she applies the same diverse aesthetic in choosing clothes, to putting together a guest list, which usually includes a mixture of high and low that yields the unexpected. This may explain why she herself is considered one of the nicest ladies on the society circuit. "She's terribly grand but terribly down to earth," said fashion illustrator Gladys Perint Palmer, the director of fashion program at San Francisco's Academy of Art University. "She doesn't give herself airs." Rosekrans herself has said " I always wanted a certain kind of life and that's what I have. A life with interesting people, among them intellectuals and people with artistic talents. A varied life is interesting. I love meeting new people."

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Dodie Rosekrans-Part IV

Clockwise Left: A look from the Dior Fall 2006 Couture collection; Hooped skirts from Galliano’s Spring 1994 collection; Dodie Rosekrans all wrapped up; Dior Fall 2006; Rosekrans has been a permanent front row fixture at the haute couture shows for over 40 years. Pictured here from bottom right: next to Amber Valletta at the Dior Spring 2005 show; At a party during Paris couture week Fall 2006; Seated at Dior’s Fall 2004 show.

Whether giving a dinner party in Paris, Venice or San Francisco, her guest list will often include a mix of members of society or the aristocracy, celebrities (the late Rudolf Nureyev in the past, Sofia Coppola more recently), tattooed up-and-coming artists and even her favorite salespeople at luxury boutiques. "She's always had her house open to everyone," said the Countess d'Ornano. "I have rarely seen this with wealthy people who live in comfort."

In Venice, Dodie and John Rosekrans imagined a new life for themselves in their historic Venetian Palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. Also designed by the late Tony Duquette, it created a sensation when it was unveiled for its sheer daring and originality. Rosekrans quickly gained a reputation in Venice as the American lady who loved her new palazzo so much that she threw herself into the city’s social and cultural scene, as well as supporting many of its historic preservation efforts. One friend even boasted that she had become the unofficial queen of the city. This comes as no surprise to most who know her, considering Rosekrans ability to endear herself to anyone by fully embracing their culture as her own. This also applies to her love of Paris and the friends she’s made there over the years.

Boaz Mazor, who has traveled in international society circles for decades as the right-hand man to designer Oscar de la Renta, described Rosekrans’ special connection to the French capital. "In every generation, there is an eccentric American lady who comes to Paris, like Mrs. Marshall Field, Consuelo Balsan, the Duchess of Marlborough and Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor," he said. "Dodie comes from the school of Americans who fascinate European women, they don't look left and right for inspiration; they do their own thing. She is one of those fantastic women who will always be remembered for stamping the period." This is not an easy feat to accomplish considering French society’s pension for being notoriously fickle towards outsiders. But Rosekrans charm and flawless French opened the doors to many a friendship, especially after she dedicated herself to the patronage of arts and culture. To thank her for her support, the French government awarded Rosekrans the Medal of the Legion of Honor in 1998.

For all her love of Europe, however, when it comes to donating her clothing collection to a museum, it's a San Francisco museum she wants it housed in, "the de Young," she said. "I'm an American first." But despite this her legacy will be felt in many of the cities where she has left an indelible impression on those who crossed her path. Mazor himself recalls going to the Paris Opera with Rosekrans, "When she arrives with unusual shoes and a whole outfit, you know right away everyone is going to stare at you when you get out of the car with her, but with enormous appreciation," he said. "Life would be very boring if you didn't have someone every once in a while like Dodie Rosekrans. It's like oxygen, for some of us who live and breathe for admiring stylish people. She is the last of a certain era we might never see again."

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Dodie & Dior

Clockwise: Models Carla Bruni, Oluchi Onweagba, and Debra Shaw in Galliano’s Massai inspired creations from the début show; Rosekrans in a Galliano creation in 1995; Karen Mulder in a romantic ball gown from the Spring 1997 Dior collection; Suzanne Von Aichinger in a Chinoiserie inspired look from the show; John Galliano seated by the former empress of Iran Farah Diba at a banquet given by LVMH.

By the early 90’s the ready-to-wear shows seemed to have stolen couture’s thunder with more exciting presentations and designers. Some mumbled in the side wings that if couture’s anachronistic system did not change with the times, then the old dowager’s days would be numbered. One by one fashion houses bowed out of the game, closing down their couture divisions siting rising costs. But with the appointment of Alexander McQueen at Givenchy and Galliano at Dior (as well as Gaultier and Thierry Mugler throwing their hats into the ring), couture suddenly received a jolt of new creative blood.

During the Spring 1997 couture season guests streamed into the ballroom of Paris’ Grand Hotel for Galliano’s first couture collection for the House of Dior. Accustomed to seeing models speeding down the runway at a safe distance, the attendees were in for a visual treat. The ballroom had been transformed into a replica of Christian Dior’s 1940s showroom on Avenue Montaigne with 791 spindly gold chairs placed amongst exotic arrangements of some 4,000 roses. One by one the models descended the grand staircase and wafted through the audience, posing close enough for them to admire the craftsmanship of the Dior workrooms. Galliano’s vision of the new Dior woman was inspired by heavily beaded Massai warriors, Shanghai matrons from the 20’s and 30’s, and a series of romantic frothy tulle ball gowns, that looked like mille-feuille confections spun out of sugar.

A few old-time Dior customers were not amused by the young designer’s efforts, a minor point when one considers the standing ovation he received at the end of his show (from clients such as Rosekrans, Ann Bass, and Mouna al-Ayoub), including the string of new clients he would attract. The New York Times headline the next day ran, "Among Couture Debuts, Galliano’s is the Stand Out."

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The Consummate Collector

With homes scattered on two continents, the Rosekrans have kept themselves busy over the years accumulating an important collection of antiques and objets d’art. In fact Dodie Rosekrans is considered amongst dealers to be a serious collector of 18th Century furnishings and save their best pieces for her. She makes it a point to visit all the international antique fares annually, scrutinizing the wares with glasses tipped over her nose.

Clockwise Top Left: Seated in the living room of her Pacific Heights mansion in San Francisco; a canopied bed in the master bedroom; Examining a possible find at the Paris Antique Fair; In the lush courtyard of her San Francisco home; A comfortable corner in the master bedroom.

© THE POLYGLOT (all rights reserved) CHICAGO-PARIS