Just got back from the fat farm and I am positively famished. Yes, ravenous like a member of the Donner Party. Now before I start gnawing on my animal rugs or turn my thoughts to cannibalism, I snack on my leafy greens and start leafing through my magazines. I happen to come across this interesting issue of V (Fall 2011) which features Kate Winslet (who recently won a much deserved Emmy for her searing portrayal of Mildred Pearce in the Todd Haynes remake) channeling her hero, the legendary Elizabeth Taylor.
It's not really a groundbreaking concept. The late Ms. Taylor has inspired everyone from drugstore drag queens to the latest Spring collection of Los Angeles based designer Barbara Tfank. A decade ago, I remember seeing (then superstar) Winona Ryder also made up to look like the iconic beauty for one of the Kevyn Aucoin picture books. But the V pictorial, lovingly shot by Mario Testino, is perhaps one of the best tributes to have captured the essence of the enigmatic Elizabeth Taylor, sans the scandal of her turbulent private life.
Elsewhere in the magazine, there are several pages of fashion editorials styled by Carine Roitfeld, the much missed former editor of French Vogue who, like yours truly, woke up one morning late last year and decided she's had enough of the rat race (you may win it, but you're still a rat) and walked away to concentrate on "personal projects." It's quite understandable though a bit disconcerting that seen through the prism of today's fashion zeitgeist, a modern-day Elizabeth Taylor is recast in a skinny light through supermodel stick figures like Carolyn Murphy, Stephanie Seymour and gap-toothed sensation Lara Stone.
Thankfully, I thought the curvy Ms. Winslet as cover subject and muse was an inspired choice as opposed to emaciated stars like Keira Knightley or Kate Bosworth. Dame Elizabeth, even at her thinnest, was never that thin. She loved her food and drink and was notorious for her yoyo dieting so her late 1960s and 70s films would have the worst continuity errors like seeing her going up and down dress sizes in the same scene.
I read a news tidbit today that Christie's will be auctioning off 400 items from her legendary couture collection which include one of a kind pieces from Chanel, YSL and Dior (acquired perhaps, when all three of these designers were still alive themselves). There are bound to be oddities of course, like those strange mixed media headdresses she was so very fond of (see example below) but the real attraction is that all the pieces up for auction are part of a highly personal collection. According to Christie's curator Meredith Etherington-Smith, "This is not a red carpet wardrobe edited by stylists but a treasure trove of looks chosen by the last of the great movie stars. Many of the pieces in this lifetime collection were custom made for Ms. Taylor by designers who became her close friends."
Part of the proceeds will of course be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. And the kids today still wonder why she was a beloved gay icon, right Hollie?
Elsewhere in the magazine, there are several pages of fashion editorials styled by Carine Roitfeld, the much missed former editor of French Vogue who, like yours truly, woke up one morning late last year and decided she's had enough of the rat race (you may win it, but you're still a rat) and walked away to concentrate on "personal projects." It's quite understandable though a bit disconcerting that seen through the prism of today's fashion zeitgeist, a modern-day Elizabeth Taylor is recast in a skinny light through supermodel stick figures like Carolyn Murphy, Stephanie Seymour and gap-toothed sensation Lara Stone.
Thankfully, I thought the curvy Ms. Winslet as cover subject and muse was an inspired choice as opposed to emaciated stars like Keira Knightley or Kate Bosworth. Dame Elizabeth, even at her thinnest, was never that thin. She loved her food and drink and was notorious for her yoyo dieting so her late 1960s and 70s films would have the worst continuity errors like seeing her going up and down dress sizes in the same scene.
I read a news tidbit today that Christie's will be auctioning off 400 items from her legendary couture collection which include one of a kind pieces from Chanel, YSL and Dior (acquired perhaps, when all three of these designers were still alive themselves). There are bound to be oddities of course, like those strange mixed media headdresses she was so very fond of (see example below) but the real attraction is that all the pieces up for auction are part of a highly personal collection. According to Christie's curator Meredith Etherington-Smith, "This is not a red carpet wardrobe edited by stylists but a treasure trove of looks chosen by the last of the great movie stars. Many of the pieces in this lifetime collection were custom made for Ms. Taylor by designers who became her close friends."
Part of the proceeds will of course be donated to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. And the kids today still wonder why she was a beloved gay icon, right Hollie?
Primrose Patty
