I watched Lagerfeld Confidential and Valentino: The Last Emperor yesterday. Both movies are definitely worth seeing, Lagerfeld Confidential being the more artsy one, and Valentino the more mainstream movie. Nothing about the Lagerfeld movie surprised me, his endless Diet Cokes and ipods, and the fact that he never looks back, are well-documented in the fashion press, but it is nice to see them in action. The Valentino movie was interesting because I didn’t know as much about his personality, and the movie did an excellent job of showing the dynamic between Valentino and his lover/business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. I also liked that both designers are divas, they deserve to be, and it wouldn’t be right if they were modest and friendly.

I felt a bit sad watching these movies, as these are the fashion greats that I grew up with, and as far as I am concerned, will never be replaced. Fashion has changed so much in the past 10-15 years, and designers no longer get the opportunity to express themselves creatively the way they did 20, 30, or even 50 years ago, now that business and sales dominate the industry. I am terrified of the day that Karl Lagerfeld retires, who would possibly replace him? We saw what happened with Valentino’s replacements, this has been disastrous since he left. I bought my wedding dress, a little red number, from the last collection Valentino designed.

This also reminds me how fortunate I was to work directly with Sonia Rykiel when I was in Paris. She is no Karl Lagerfeld, but a great in her own way, and when she retires and her psychotic daughter tries to take over the brand, the brand will go downhill, unless they find a creative director who can inject a new personality into the brand, whilst maintaining the brand identity.

This is a still from the Lagerfeld Confidential movie. It was a sign in the toilets at Chanel.

"If you piss all over the place you aren't very Chanel"