He is known for dressing Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eve, Queen Latifah, Lucy Liu, and his buddy Vanessa Williams, but designer Carmen Marc Valvo admits that he draws much of his inspiration from classic Hollywood rather than the current crop of lovelies who don his glamorous evening gowns.
"I pull from old Hollywood," he says on the phone from his New York offices. "I'm a classicist. I liked the era when people really dressed."
Valvo will display his love of the classics at a fashion show tomorrow at the Natick Collection. His fall/winter 2008 collection, inspired by the era of Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn, is being shown as a benefit for Ovations for a Cure, a nonprofit that's looking for a cure for ovarian cancer. Tickets for the event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., are $250. Valvo will be in Natick for the event, but we caught up with him beforehand to hear his insider's take on seasonal trends. - CHRISTOPHER MUTHER
Your parents wanted you to become a plastic surgeon, so how did you wind up in fashion? My father was a doctor and my mom a nurse. Every doctor's dream is to have all your children go into the medical profession. But I was artistic from an early age. I wanted to go into art and he said, "Plastic surgery, that's the wave of the future." But who knew what plastic surgery was back then? That was 1961-62. Now I think maybe I should have listened to him. It would have been a lot less stressful. . . . I'm using a needle and thread in a different way. I'm still making women beautiful, but in a less invasive way.
Is there one actress or singer who you see as a bit of a muse for you, who inspires your work? Vanessa Williams has been a personal friend of mine for over 20 years. Vanessa and I just filmed a public service announcement together for colon cancer. She can amuse me now and then.
So is she just like her character on "Ugly Betty"? How did you know? She's such a bitch.
I knew it! She is actually the sweetest, kindest woman you could ever imagine. . . . Family is number one for her. She's definitely a hands-on mom. She comes across on "Ugly Betty" as such a conniver but she's a really good soul.
You're showing the fall collection in Natick, but I'm wondering what trends you're seeing for this spring? Right now I really like color. Corals are probably some of my favorite colors. Just the whole idea of color. Blue for evening wear is great. It's always black, black, black. For New Yorkers, our idea of stepping out is wearing a pink scarf with a black dress. That's really forward for us.
And for fall/winter? I think the most important must-have item for the fall season is the feather. Feather hat, feather-trimmed gloves, feather on the dress, sweater with ostrich feather. In the collection that we'll show, some of the dresses are fully made out of feathers. The rule for fall is that if it looks like it was plucked from a winged creature, you're on the right track.
Affordable fashion shows
If the $250 ticket price for the Carmen Marc Valvo show is too steep, a pair of local clubs have recently introduced competing Thursday night fashion shows, and both are free. The designers who participate may not be quite as well-known or established as Valvo, but the club runways offer an opportunity to see local fashion, plus a chance to gawk at home-grown models and see handiwork from the city’s best hair and make-up artists.Couture Thursdays at Felt (533 Washington St., 617-350-5555, feltclubboston.com), weekly at 10 p.m. — Tonight’s show features fashion from Cage Couture. Next Thursday the club hosts a special Fashion for Darfur fund-raiser with live music and fashion by Anne Reagan and Raam Raj.
Fashion House at District (180 Lincoln St., 617-426-0180, districtboston.com), weekly at 10 p.m. — Student designers from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design show their frocks at an afterparty at the club tonight. Next Thursday, designers Dirty Couture and DreaM by Deborah take over the runway.
