Fashion Icon Valentino passed away January 19th at his home in Rome surrounded by the love of his family per an Instagram statement. Movie Icon Elizabeth Taylor was instrumental in putting Valentino on the map in the early 1960s and he was always loyal and grateful. I reached out to ET's longtime friend and personal assistant Jorjett Strumme for more details of the Valentino/Taylor connection. "As Elizabeth's personal assistant I had the pleasure of interacting with Valentino both professionally and personally on countless occasions.... "
"Elizabeth and Jackie Onasis were the celebrities that introduced Valentino to the world. Valentino always credited Elizabeth and when he celebrated his 30th anniversary as a designer in 1991, Elizabeth was Valentino's Guest of Honor at the festivities. Four days of unforgettable parties and events in Rome - We had an amazing time. I think Valentino ranks as a leader in fashion alongside Christian Dior and Balenciaga. "
"In my experiences with Valentino, he was always a gentleman and always looked impeccable. He had a great sense of humor and held firm to his ideas. At Elizabth's wedding reception at Michael Jackson's ranch all the carnival rides were open - we were all in black tie attire. Valentino rode the rides and ate candy just like everybody else did"
Jorjett continues "His clothes were gorgeous, classic and timeless. I am lucky enough to own many pieces of Valentino and I never get tired of them... For Elizabeth's wedding to Larry Fortensky in 1991 all the dresses in the wedding party were Valentino designs: bride, matron of honor and the bridesmaids. I was one of the wedding coordinators and my dress was Valentino as well. There are many photos of it in the People Magazine story"...
She continues "During my years with Elizabeth she wore lots of Valentino, both off the rack from the Valentino boutique, collection couture and one of a kinds he designed for her. The white gown she wore when she presented the Best Picture Oscar with Paul Newman in 1992, the yellow gown she wore for her wedding to Larry Fortensky were all Valentino originals. I know that when Elizabeth discovered Valentino's clothing, she thought it was extraordinary. She wanted to be his client. She bought clothes and started wearing them which gave him lots of publicity. The glamor of old Hollywood is gone. I am so lucky I got to experience what I got to do".
These days Jorjett Strumme is an Artist who creates beautiful masks of wearable art. Visit www.Jorjett.com to see her lovely work. She also has a Facebook page. Jorjett has also contributed to books about costume design during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She recently appeared in the documentary ELIZABETH TAYLOR: THE REBEL SUPERSTAR and appears in the only authorized biography of Elizabeth, ELIZABETH TAYLOR - THE GRIT AND GLAMOR OF AN ICON by Kate Anderson Brower. I appreciate her contributions to this column!
#Valentino #Elizabeth Taylor #Jorjett Strumme #Michael Jackson #Jackie Onasis #Harrison Held #Fashion
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