I have had a hard time getting around the notion of why it would be difficult to come out if you were a successful fashion designer. It is similar to being a closeted chorus boy or proffesional figure skater. Really?
It's no surprise that of all the great gay fashion designers to have chosen to be open about their gayness in recent years: Versace, Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Valentino should be the last to come out, because being out on the leading edge has never been the style of the designer who burst on to the fashion scene in 1959 & quickly established himself as the favorite of the ladies who lunch.
The "secret that is not a secret", is what Valentino's partner in business & in life for 50 years- Giancarlo Giammetti called it, in an feature on the designer in an issue of Vanity Fair in 2004.
Giammetti has run the business side of Valentino's fashion house until their retirment in 2008. Giammetti: "Ours was not a story of money or fashion. It was a story of love. There has never been an article about us in this sense. I think the world has changed a lot, and that once it would have been embarrassing to read but it's not any more."
Valentino: "Giancarlo & I understand each other, but his character is the opposite of mine. There are only 3 things that I know how to do: make a dress, decorate a house & receive guests ..."
Giammetti: “We were lovers for 22 years. Now it's a fraternal love, a relationship with nothing sexual in it. Yet a great love remains, ancient, surviving."
Their affectionate but testy relationship began when the pair met at a cafe in Rome in 1960. Giammetti claims if you added up the days they have spent apart since meeting, it amounts to only 2 months.
Altough they are open about being gay, Valentino & Giammetti are prudish in their perceptions. Bruce Hoeksema, Valentino's assistant for the past 15 years: "When Giancarlo sees male couple kissing in a restaurant he says, 'Disgusting!'. If he sees 2 men holding hands on the street, 'Queers!'."
The Husband & I caught the documentary- Valentino: The Last Emperor on Logo one Saturday morning. Watching the diminutive, majestically coiffed, hidden-eyed, orange-tinted, ill-tempered, impatient absolute monarch- Valentino was like enjoying chocolate & Champagne until that queasy moment arrives when you realize you’ve consumed far too much.
He travels exclusively on his own jets & yachts with a full entourage.
One of the very few things we have in common,Valentino adores dogs. He named a second line of clothing after his late pug Oliver. Today Valentino has pugs: the mother, Molly; her sons, Milton & Monty; & her daughters, Margot, Maude & Maggie. When traveling on his 14-seat jet, 3 cars are needed to move Valentino & his group to the airport: one to move Valentino & Giammetti, another for the luggage & the staff, & one to transport 5 pugs, Maude, the 6th canine, always travels with Valentino.
It's no surprise that of all the great gay fashion designers to have chosen to be open about their gayness in recent years: Versace, Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Valentino should be the last to come out, because being out on the leading edge has never been the style of the designer who burst on to the fashion scene in 1959 & quickly established himself as the favorite of the ladies who lunch.
The "secret that is not a secret", is what Valentino's partner in business & in life for 50 years- Giancarlo Giammetti called it, in an feature on the designer in an issue of Vanity Fair in 2004.
Giammetti has run the business side of Valentino's fashion house until their retirment in 2008. Giammetti: "Ours was not a story of money or fashion. It was a story of love. There has never been an article about us in this sense. I think the world has changed a lot, and that once it would have been embarrassing to read but it's not any more."
Valentino: "Giancarlo & I understand each other, but his character is the opposite of mine. There are only 3 things that I know how to do: make a dress, decorate a house & receive guests ..."
Giammetti: “We were lovers for 22 years. Now it's a fraternal love, a relationship with nothing sexual in it. Yet a great love remains, ancient, surviving."
Their affectionate but testy relationship began when the pair met at a cafe in Rome in 1960. Giammetti claims if you added up the days they have spent apart since meeting, it amounts to only 2 months.
Altough they are open about being gay, Valentino & Giammetti are prudish in their perceptions. Bruce Hoeksema, Valentino's assistant for the past 15 years: "When Giancarlo sees male couple kissing in a restaurant he says, 'Disgusting!'. If he sees 2 men holding hands on the street, 'Queers!'."
The Husband & I caught the documentary- Valentino: The Last Emperor on Logo one Saturday morning. Watching the diminutive, majestically coiffed, hidden-eyed, orange-tinted, ill-tempered, impatient absolute monarch- Valentino was like enjoying chocolate & Champagne until that queasy moment arrives when you realize you’ve consumed far too much.
He travels exclusively on his own jets & yachts with a full entourage.
One of the very few things we have in common,Valentino adores dogs. He named a second line of clothing after his late pug Oliver. Today Valentino has pugs: the mother, Molly; her sons, Milton & Monty; & her daughters, Margot, Maude & Maggie. When traveling on his 14-seat jet, 3 cars are needed to move Valentino & his group to the airport: one to move Valentino & Giammetti, another for the luggage & the staff, & one to transport 5 pugs, Maude, the 6th canine, always travels with Valentino.
No comments:
Post a Comment