How did she get it right?
Again, I think she was always true to herself. I think she was always aware of where she was going, how she needed to present. It didn’t run her life. There wasn’t a team of people getting it together. It was complex, but for her, a bit effortless, very well thought out. It wasn’t all that she was. It was part of her, something she enjoyed and appreciated. She was as comfortable in a pair of khakis and a T-shirt, and I think that’s what made the Yohji gown and those things look right because she was self-possessed and had this incredible grace and humor and unbelievable beauty to go with it.
You designed Carolyn’s wedding dress and I’m sure you’ve talked about it a million times, but was it a collaborative effort?
I had given her a couple of ideas, she thought one was too architectural, she pulled the neckline down and a dress was born. For me, it was the love of my life marrying the love of her life, and so it was a very heartfelt, emotional time. I remember going to Odeon and having cosmos with her at the bar and her telling me that John had proposed and would I make her dress? It was such an exciting moment in all of our lives.
Sometimes when you design a collection or when an exhibition or show comes out that’s been in the works for many years, it somehow arrives at a moment that feels just like it was meant to, even if that wasn’t the intention. Carolyn resonates always, but how does she speak to the now?
We live in a world that isn’t real at the moment, whether it’s AI or television, nothing is what you’re really seeing. And I think that there’s a relief and a respite from all of it. When you read a good book that someone actually wrote, or you see someone like Carolyn, not trapped, completely real, completely authentic, it’s refreshing. It stands out even more today because it doesn’t exist today. We don’t get to see much of it.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.