Finding Myself in Fashion

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Finding Myself in Fashion Page 23

by Jeanne Beker


  I had barely come down to earth from the excitement of that memorable afternoon when another wonderful opportunity came my way. I was asked to appear in a month-long run of Love, Loss, and What I Wore at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre. This stage play, written by Nora and Delia Ephron, had been showing to packed houses in both New York and L.A. for months. Like The Vagina Monologues, the show was based on interviews with a wide range of women, and was performed on stage by a handful of actresses sitting on stools and reading from a script. The stories revolved around fashion and clothing, and how certain pieces of our wardrobe help define us at different stages of our lives. Essentially, it’s a show about sisterhood and heart, and I had the privilege of being cast with an extraordinarily talented group of women: the veteran broadcaster and former Stratford actress Barbara Budd; Luba Goy, of Royal Canadian Air Farce fame; the brilliant actress Sheila McCarthy; and Jane McLean, whose star was beginning to rise in Hollywood. It was a hugely rewarding experience, and I got to deliver a range of compelling, bittersweet monologues dealing with everything from wearing a blowup bra to having a mastectomy.

  The connection we all felt with the women in the audience was profound. We laughed, we cried, we mused, we remembered. But most important, all of us—cast and audience members alike—admitted our fears, our vulnerabilities, and our passions through these reminiscences about clothes. It got me thinking a lot about how fashion brings people together, and how it can even bring us closer to our own personal truths. And I got to thinking as well about how this enigmatic sartorial arena had served me so well, in so many ways, by giving me a voice, an identity, and a unique way of touching people.

  As I travelled across Canada that fall, promoting my EDIT line, I had the privilege of meeting hundreds of fashion fans, from young girls to little old ladies. Grandmothers, mothers, and daughters—and even some men—came out to meet me, and to hear me talk about fashion and the glamorous world they saw on Fashion Television every week. At every event, I would start out talking about fashion trends and personal style. But by the end of each session, during the audience Q&A, I invariably found myself addressing life’s larger picture, talking about confidence, courage, passion, and tenacity.

  I then had the pleasure of meeting fans one on one. The exchanges were always fleeting, but each one seemed so sincere, so full of deep feeling and appreciation. People told me how they’d grown up watching me, some in faraway places where FT became their window onto a world filled with possibilities. Some people said they were moved to pursue careers in fashion because of my work. Some just said they found me inspiring.

  My final “launch” appearance was at The Bay store at Yorkdale— the Downsview mall where, as a sixteen-year-old, I got my first weekend job in fashion, selling on the floor of a womenswear retailer. I even had my sweet sixteen party in the basement of a Yorkdale restaurant. And as I signed autographs and chatted, taking a moment to look into the eyes of all these gorgeous faces who had come out to see me, a realization came to me: I was passionate about fashion, but only because it had become such a perfect means to this gratifying end—this way of communicating, getting to people, studying human nature, and learning about life. I knew I had found my calling.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  The late, great Alexander McQueen once told me that everything in life is a lesson. While that may not be an original notion, it’s one that resonates with me loud and clear. Originally, I wanted to call this book Life Lessons in Fashion’s Trenches, spelling out each valuable “lesson” I’d learned. But my brilliant editors, Diane Turbide and Jonathan Webb, convinced me that simply telling the story of how I found myself—and continue to find myself—in this fantastic arena might be more concise and compelling for readers. The lessons learned are obvious.

  My wondrous and edifying journey—especially these last dozen or so years, since I wrote my first autobiography, Jeanne Unbottled: Adventures in High Style—has been inspired and enhanced by so many amazing people. Thanks to those in my Fashion Television family, past and present, who’ve helped me tell so many stories: Jay Levine; Howard Brull; Marcia Martin; Mary Benadiba; Luke McCarty; Shane Hogan; Claire Caillout; our Paris driver, J.F., and our New York driver, Sam; and all the talented writers, producers, editors, interns, and cameramen. I must especially thank my dance partners in the field: Arthur Pressick, Martin Brown, Jeff Brinkert, Patrick Pidgeon, Jim Needham, and Basil Young. A special thank-you to the one and only Christopher Sherman for taking such good care of me, and to CTV publicists Matthew Almeida and Ellery Ulster for helping get the word out there. Heartfelt appreciation also goes to CTV’s head honchos, Susanne Boyce and Ivan Fecan, for their vision and support; to David Greener for being relentless; to Geoffrey Dawe, Michael King, and Shelagh Tarleton for enabling my big magazine adventures; to Ed Matier, Linda Legault, Noah Stern, and Ayal Twik for seeing the power of the brand; to Gregory Parvatan for coiffing me; to Lida Baday for dressing me; to Dr. Trevor Born for tweaking me; to Steve Hudson for trimming me; to my pal Bonnie Brooks for inspiring me; and to Eden del Pilar and Emma Madriaga for helping me run my home.

  Thank you to my Globe and Mail editors, past and present—Sheree Lee Olson, Debra Fulsang, Danny Sinopoli, and Maggie Wrobel. And much gratitude to all the people at Penguin Group (Canada), especially Diane, Jonathan, Mary Opper, Sandra Tooze, and Trish Bunnett, as well as freelance editor Janice Weaver.

  More big thanks to all my beloved friends, who keep me cozy and help me hang in there, especially Penny Fiksel, Jackie Feldman, Deenah Mollin, Carol Leggett, Louise Kennedy, Melanie Reffes, Dawna Treibicz, Kate Alexander Daniels, Chabela and George Ayoub, Mary Symons, Andrée Gagné, Diti Dumas, Vivian Reiss, Melanie Chikofsky, Carl Lyons, Joyce Roney, Robbie Cooper, Sandy Kybartas, Jaleh Farhadpour, Kyra Harper, Wendy Natale, Sue Brunt, Max Gotlieb, Steven Levy, Stephan Argent, Mark Labelle, Virginie Vincens, Alan Gratias, the Oundjian family, Melissa Chepa, Dan Duford, Luigi Carruba, Marion Perlet, and the inimitably colourful Toller Cranston. Much gratitude also goes to Denny O’Neil for fathering my two exquisite beauties; to Jack Steckel for helping me through such a trying time; and to Barry Flatman for the passion. Finally, thank you to my immediate family for all the love—Marilyn Beker; Greg Rorabaugh; Keith Del Principe; Bekky; Joey; my mum, Bronia; and my late dad, Joseph, who’s still with us every day. You all mean the world to me.

  INDEX

  Aimée, Anouk, 79, 82

  Alexander, Hilary, 46

  Alexander, Paul, 146

  Alfred Sung, 98

  Amiel, Barbara, 74

  Angelou, Maya, 151

  Anielewicz, Mordecai, 17

  Anson, Lady Eloise, 164–165

  Arcand, Denys, 77

  Atkin, Barbara, 47–48, 73

  Atkin, Hayley, 73, 83, 87

  Ayoub, Chabela, 221

  Ayoub, George, 221

  Ayoub, Mouna, 63

  Bach, Barbara, 195

  Baday, Lida, 214

  Bailey, Bruce, 29–30, 74

  Baird, John, 212

  Barkin, Ellen, 52

  Bay, The, 218, 219, 224

  Beaton, Cecil, 136

  Beene, Geoffrey, 51

  Beker, Bronia, 14–20, 26, 32, 128–131, 200, 207–208, 211, 212, 213

  Beker, Joseph, 14, 16, 19

  Beker, Marilyn, 112, 128, 129, 131, 143, 200

  Bergé, Pierre, 58, 59

  Berry, Halle, 71

  Blanchett, Cate, 171

  Blanks, Tim, 152

  Blatchford, Christie, 222

  Blow, Isabella, 163–167

  Born, Dr. Trevor, 78, 79

  Boyce, Susanne, 209

  Brill, Ben, 105

  Brinkert, Jeff, 147

  Brooke, Randy, 47

  Brooks, Bonnie, 48, 218, 219

  Brull, Howard, 81

  Bruni, Carla, 213, 215

  Budd, Barbara, 223

  Bullock, Sandra, 51

  Bündchen, Giselle, 136

  Campbell, Naomi, 62, 136

  Ca
nada’s Next Top Model, 137, 138–141, 221

  Caoc, Joeffer, 214

  Cardin, Pierre, 53–54, 55–56

  Carlu, 73, 75, 76

  Carlu, Jacques, 73

  Catroux, Betty, 63

  Chanel, 72, 177, 178

  Chiuri, Maria Grazia, 174

  Chloé, 194, 195

  CHUM, 9, 10, 69, 70, 77

  CHUM Television, 77

  CityPulse, 48

  Citytv, 9, 45

  Clarke, Wayne, 214

  Club Monaco, 98

  Cocteau, Jean, 55

  Cohan, Tony, 111

  Cohen, Shawna, 73, 188

  Colombia (fashion shoot), 143–44

  Combs, Sean, 149–155

  Coombs, Erin, 187–188

  Corwik Group, 218

  Coté, Lisa, 87, 88

  Council of Fashion Designers of America, 47

  Couric, Katie, 45

  Cover Stories, 143

  Coyle, Edward, 34

  Cranston, Toller, 111, 112

  Crawford, Joan, 74

  Cruz, Penélope, 172

  CTV, 77, 153, 154, 209, 221

  Dahl, Sophie, 163

  Dalton, John, 4

  Daniels, Kate Alexander, 130, 199

  Dawe, Geoffrey, 71, 72, 73, 188, 189 de Brunhoff, Michel, 58 de la Renta, Oscar, 44, 45 de Sade, Marquis, 54, 55–56

  Dean John, 149

  Decroux, Étienne, 8

  Dell’Orefice, Carmen, 136

  Deneuve, Catherine, 58, 62

  Designer Guys, The, 33, 35

  Devil Wears Prada, The, 140

  Diaz, Cameron, 172

  Diddy. See Combs, Sean Dior, Christian, 58

  Duford, Dan, 26

  Dufour, Gilles, 177

  E!, 151

  Eaton’s, 97–100

  EDIT by Jeanne Beker, 217, 219, 223

  Elizabeth and James, 157, 159

  Elte Carpets, 33–34

  Emery, Prudence, 158

  Ensler, Eve, 37

  Ephron, Delia, 223

  Ephron, Nora, 223

  Espace Cardin, 53

  ET Canada, 140

  Evangelista, Linda, 136

  Fashion Quarterly (FQ), 72–77, 83, 104, 143, 164, 186, 188, 189

  Fashion Television (FT), 10, 13, 16–20, 60, 69, 72, 75, 77, 79, 80, 103, 109, 136, 145, 146, 152, 153, 175, 194, 196, 211, 217, 224

  FDJ French Dressing, 218

  Fecan, Ivan, 209

  Feldman, Jackie, 93

  Fendi, 177

  Ferretti, Dante, 172

  Fiskel, Penny, 205, 210 5 avenue Marceau, 61

  Flare, 103, 218

  Flatman, Barry, 197–201, 209

  Ford, Tom, 59, 171

  Fowler, Marion, 73

  French, Serena, 44–45

  FTV Paris (Fashion Television Paris), 80

  Galliano, John, 84

  Garavani, Valentino. See Valentino Gardner, Marley, 110

  Gardner, Tony, 110

  Gaultier, Jean-Paul, 74, 175–176

  Giametti, Giancarlo, 168, 170, 172, 173

  Givenchy, 164, 181, 183, 184

  Globe and Mail, 72, 104, 116, 140

  Gold, Esther Malka, 14, 15

  Goldstein, Lori, 67

  Goy, Luba, 223

  Greene Raine, Nancy, 222

  Greta Constantine, 214

  Gucci Group, 184

  Guttenberg, Steve, 158

  H. (Nashville musician), 118–127

  Hall, Jerry, 62

  Halston Heritage, 157

  Harlow, Shalom, 152, 184

  Harper, Laureen, 211–216, 222

  Harper’s Bazaar, 72

  Hawkins, Ronnie, 142

  Heming, Emma, 152

  Hepburn, Audrey, 171

  Herbert Berghof Studio, 7

  Herrera, Carolina, 171

  Hicks, Michele, 76

  Hilfiger, Tommy, 49

  Hilton, Nikki, 67

  Hollywood Reporter, 158

  Holt Renfrew, 47, 48, 72, 159

  Horst, Horst P., 136

  Howard, Cyndi, 98

  Hunter, Holly, 51

  Hurley, Elizabeth, 52, 171

  Hyndman, Christopher, 26, 33, 34, 35

  Hynes, Ron, 197

  Iman, 136

  India (fashion shoot), 83–90

  Inside Entertainment, 70, 71, 140

  Inside Out by Jeanne Beker, 100

  Interview, 177

  Ireland vacation, 108–110

  Irish Independent, 109

  Jacobs, Marc, 44, 51

  Jeanne Beker Collection, 99

  Jeanne Unbottled (Beker), 166

  Jennings, Andrew, 48

  Jewitt, Kerry, 73

  John, Elton, 109

  Johnson, Betsey, 64–67, 125, 143

  Johnson, Lulu, 65

  Julian, Colston, 89

  Juno Awards, 221

  Kamali, Norma, 125

  Kaziranga National Park, 83–85

  Kennedy, Jackie, 171

  Kennedy, Jamie, 217

  Kennedy, Louise, 108–109

  Kenney, Jason, 212

  King, Michael, 70, 71–73, 75, 76, 83, 86, 89, 187, 188

  Klein, Calvin, 51, 52

  Klensch, Elsa, 60

  Kloss, Karlie, 136

  Kontent Group, 71, 188

  Kors, Michael, 167

  Labelle, Mark, 209

  Lagerfeld, Karl, 58, 124, 172, 173, 176–179,

  195, 219

  Lane Crawford, 218

  Last Emperor, The, 173

  Lastman, Mel, 36

  Laumann, Silken, 222

  Lauren, Ralph, 52

  Lazareanu, Irina, 136

  Ledger, Heath, 152

  Legault, Linda, 218–219

  Leggett, Carol, 44, 45–46, 110

  Lennox, Annie, 173

  Levy Canada, 217, 218

  LINK Group, 16, 17

  Little, Ric, 72

  Lopez, Jennifer, 151

  Loren, Sophia, 171

  Love, Loss, and What I Wore, 223

  Lynch, Kate, 39

  MacDonald, Kate, 73, 186–188

  Magee, Bob. See O’Neil, Denny Magee in the Morning, 23

  Mamone, Gerry, 72

  March Hare, 197

  Martin, Marcia, 16, 69–70

  Matier, Ed, 98

  McCarthy, Sheila, 223

  McCartney, Linda, 195, 196

  McCartney, Paul, 194, 195, 196

  McCartney, Stella, 194–196

  McCracken, Judith, 34

  McLean, Jane, 223

  McQueen, Alexander (Lee), 142, 163, 164, 180–185

  Mexico (vacation), 111–113

  Michael, David, 197

  Midler, Bette, 52

  Milk Studios, 51

  Miller, Nicole, 66

  Mills, Heather, 196

  Mimran, Joe, 98

  Mimran, Saul, 98

  Mimran Group, 98

  Mizrahi, Isaac, 74

  Mollin, Deenah, 118–119, 198, 199, 200

  Mollin, Fred, 198, 200

  Moore, Julianne, 51

  Morra, Bernadette, 186

  Moss, Kate, 166

  Muñoz, Abel, 83

  National Post, 70, 104

  New Music, The, 9, 145

  New York Fashion Week, 43–49, 50, 52, 125, 153

  Obama, Barack, 153

  Obama, Michelle, 215, 222

  Olsen, Ashley, 157–160

  Olsen, Mary-Kate, 157–160

  O’Neil, Denny, 10, 12, 23–27, 28–29, 30, 102, 103, 118, 194, 198, 203, 204, 205–206, 209, 220

  O’Neil, Rebecca Leigh (Bekky), 5, 10, 30, 31, 32, 39, 65, 102, 104, 105–106, 107, 108, 109, 111–112, 113–116, 129, 158, 159, 160, 200, 204, 205, 206, 221

  O’Neil, Sarah Jo (Joey), 5, 10, 30, 31, 32, 39, 49–50, 102, 103, 104, 108, 109, 111– 112, 113–116, 158, 159, 160, 205, 206

  Orlowski, Jack, 17

  Owens, Rick, 52

  Paltrow, Gwyneth, 52, 171

  Paris
(vacation), 113–116

  Paris Fashion Week, 167

  Parker, Sarah Jessica, 52, 156–157, 171

  Parvatan, Gregory, 202, 203–204, 205

  Payette, Julie, 222

  Pérez, Véronique, 178–179

  Perlet, Marion, 111, 112

  Picasso, Paloma, 63

  Piccioli, Pier Paolo, 174

  Pickersgill, Kirk, 214

  Pidgeon, Pat, 195, 196

  Pilot, Shelby, 70

  Pinault, François, 59

  Police, 144, 145, 146

  Ports, 72

  Posen, Zac, 152–153, 155, 171

  Pressick, Arthur, 45, 46, 47

  Puff Daddy. See Combs, Sean Putin, Vladimir, 213

  Quality Slippers, 14

  Radke, Kayla, 73

  Ramos, Liz, 199

  Rao, Dr. Vivek, 130, 131

  Raphael, Mitchel, 211–212

  Rapunzel, 202

  Rau, André, 75, 76

  Reiss, Vivian, 104

  Rich, Denise, 43–44

  Rich, Ilona, 43

  Rich, Marc, 43

  Rive Gauche, 58

  Roberts, J.D. (John), 9

  Roberts, Julia, 171

  Robinson, Karen, 39

  Rocha, Coco, 136

  Rochette, Joannie, 222

  Rodriguez, Narciso, 52

  Rohatiner, Bronia. See Beker, Bronia Row, The, 157

  Rowley, Cynthia, 52

  Ruiz, Gerardo, 111

  Saab, Elie, 71

  Sabados, Steven, 26, 33, 34, 35

  Saint Laurent, Lucienne, 61

  Saint Laurent, Yves, 57–63

  Sarkozy, Nicolas, 213

  Schiffer, Claudia, 62

  Sean John, 152, 153

  Sears, 99–100

  September 11, 2001, 43–50, 52

  Sevigny, Chloë, 152

  Sherman, Christopher, 145, 221

  Shevell, Nancy, 196

  Shinn, Stephen, 38

  Sinatra, Frank, 74

  SIR, 83, 88, 146, 153, 188, 189

  Sischy, Ingrid, 177, 178

  Souza, Carlos, 173–174

  Spears, Britney, 52

  Sprouse, Stephen, 46

  Stark, Richard, 114

  Starr, Ringo, 195

  Steckel, Jack, 94–97, 100–101, 117, 118

  Steckel, Sophie, 94

  Sting, 145, 183

  Sui, Anna, 51

  Summers, Andy, 144–148

  Sutton, Krista, 39

  Swank, Hilary, 51

  Swarovski, 165

  Symons, Mary, 197

 

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