I grew up in a very small town in Israel. My parents
were Hungarian Jews. My father was the town tailor, and he survived
the camps by sewing Nazi uniforms. My mother was a very skilled
dressmaker–she could somehow do accordion pleats on wool. She
was magic.
My father had wanted a boy, since they already had my sister, so he
was busy sewing boys’ clothes. And my mother wanted another
girl. From a young age, I was equally comfortable dressing as a little
boy or a little girl. I had the best clothes that hands could make,
and I delighted in it. Then, one of my father’s sisters ended up
marrying the vice president of Neiman Marcus. So I also had some of
the best clothes money could buy. People always thought I was a
princess because I dressed like a princess.
At 9, we moved to the United States. After college, I left New York
for California but came back by the time I was 29. I spent those years
creating my look. When it comes to clothes, the older, the better. I
spend a fortune to mend them, but it’s not about the
money–it’s about the look and the fashion.
My whole relationship with Fashion Week started when
I moved uptown. I’m rarely, if ever, invited to the shows.
Sometimes I would make my way into the tents. Once I’m inside, I
get very busy. I make myself up, and then inevitably I’d see
Bill Cunningham. He would, of course, get me to the side and take
pictures of me. That’s the first thing he would do. Bill adored
me because I knew how to dress. Then he would say, “So, child,
are you going to any shows?” And I would hang my head in shame
and say, “No, Bill. I wasn’t invited.” And
he’d give me whatever invites he had. He was so kind to me. One
year he gave me his ticket to the Anna Sui show, and this young woman
comes toward me with the clipboard and walkie-talkie, “Excuse
me, excuse me. What are you doing? Excuse me, excuse me!” I had
to tell her that Bill gave me his ticket. If it weren’t for
Bill, I probably would have never seen any of the shows.
Even when I couldn’t get into shows, I would always get dolled
up and go to Lincoln Center after work, stand by the fountain, pretend
that I’m waiting for someone, and wait for people to start
taking my picture. Sometimes I would go home, change outfits, and come
back and give them another show. I like giving people a show. One of
the things that I’m doing on this planet is raising the bar on
what’s beauty. It’s needed. It’s very needed,
because right now we’re in the gutter on all levels. I’m
raising the bar in the beauty department.
