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
