Watertaxicab Confessions

34:30So to make it official. Yeah, I guess you're right. Then you can't game it. No, true. And it was just like, it was so interesting. There was a woman in like a 1920s dress, beaded dress in front of us who was like very excited and needed to move out. And there's just like, and then there's Robert Pattinson and his like almost zoot suit, Dior suit suit thing and his hair was clearly dyed for a role so he looked really dramatic and like like a theater actor or something I don't know the whole thing was so um it was it was so interesting to just see like you said there are people in couture there were definitely a couple couture dresses there that night and taking photos but then there are people in like chinos or whatever and just this like pomp and circumstance around this thing for this movie that I thought was very very good and could win awards potentially or be nominated for awards I think it'll be I think it'll be in the conversation it's very buzzy um the Robert Pattinson performance is is big and Pattinson-esque and memorable and I'm a I'm a huge fan of his I think he's one of the great working actors and movie stars which are two different jobs so yeah it I mean and it was buzzy.

35:45It had a Saturday night Venice premiere. It premiered at 5 p.m. and then the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel Gallagher, walked the carpet later that night for the premiere of the Oasis documentary. So, you know, it was Venice being its starriest and putting on its biggest show. But that's what's interesting about it, right? It's like the juxtaposition of this, you know, the glamour and seeming exclusivity. And then the fact also that many people can just you can buy a ticket and roll up and I think that's cool it totally and it's such a reflection of Hollywood and Los Angeles and like the thing about Hollywood that's so interesting to me is that it's kind of I think about pretty woman all the time but like when at the end when the guy is like what's your dream like that's your dream yeah that is what Los Angeles in Hollywood is.

36:40Like there are a lot of regular people who go there and they try really, really hard for 15 years and suddenly they sell a movie and they become gazillionaires or whatever, or they try forever and nothing happens or they show up and the next day, you know, you, it's a Mulholland Drive situation. Like you just, you never know, but it is, and it is reflected in those rooms because there are like totally normal unglamorous people and then there are the most glamorous people in the world and when you're not in the room you just see the red carpet which we can discuss because i i think this red carpet is quite different from like a really glamorous can or tell your ride where everybody's wearing jeans and they're doing yeah To your point, and something that always tickles me and still tickles the 12 year old in me who was, you know, taping Oscar specials and, you know, following the red carpet and had always wanted to go to these places is that it does happen.

37:47And, you know, like we walked, we watched the red carpet. We watched this, this glamorous premiere. Everybody got dressed up, but it is also, it's a performance, right? I think I find that everyone's conception of Hollywood and, and really, honestly, I think the world at large is that there's just like, that there is some inner sanctum that once you get into it, then like you're in and this, this world of, you know, glamor and privilege and you've made it like exist and you just got to cross the line. And that may be true. And those people may just be like very secretive and not inviting us. But for the most part, everyone's putting on a show, you know, and the show is the thing.

38:29And I'll never forget, I went to Cannes for the first time this year and I walked out of just a screening room. I can't remember what movie I saw. And I was just looking at some crowd barriers that were right outside the screening. And I instantly said, oh, this is where they do the photo calls. And I recognized it from all of the photographs that I've seen for years and years. And you can all, you know, think of, you know, we all have some great photo call favorites from Cannes, because it has a very specific backdrop. But it was just really, honestly, some metal barriers. And that it can be transformed that quickly is, you know, it's a different kind of magic and art than filmmaking.

39:06But there's something to it that still thrills me. Everybody's putting on a show. Yes, that's the lesson. So what did you think? What have you thought of the red carpet so far? I was thinking about last season when it was really rainy and everybody's dresses were wrinkled last year. And it was the designer debut. There were so many designer debut red carpet looks. So it was like extremely intense. Whereas this time, it felt almost the opposite, like so casual. I mean, not only because the Gallagher brothers were wearing jeans on the red carpet. And honestly, I think looked great. I mean, Liam was wearing at least some sort of like smoking-esque jacket.

39:48He was not wearing a windbreaker. Okay. He wore sneakers. But yeah. So, you know, the larger Hollywood narrative this year at Venice is that this is, and this was true at Cannes as well, is that it's not, there aren't a lot of Hollywood movies here. There aren't a lot of really big ticket, huge star, like huge red carpet moments like four or five years ago, when Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck got together, back together, I should say, like they one of their first couple re debuts was on the Venice Film Festival. And she obviously on the on the red carpet for the last duel. And she looked amazing.

40:32And it was just this whole like, oh, my God, can you believe that this is back together? We just don't. There's no one with that wattage and no movie with that wattage this year. It's a lot of people that we love. You know, I think so. Wild Horse Nine is the new Martin McDonough movie that debuted here and then went to Telluride and kind of started its Oscar campaign. And John Malkovich is the star of that movie. and he's a beloved actor who's going to be kind of doing the it's time oscar campaign this year and he was there in in dior you know looking like i thought he looked great and it was a very malkovich vibe but it's more it's more quirky i guess it's less like traditional ambassador red carpet if that makes sense yeah i thought john malkovich was by far the best dressed person of the of the week because he has amazing style like he I mean he had a fashion brand for a long time I think right I didn't love the the Kendall to be honest even I mean god bless my my favorite stylist Daniel Goldberg but I did not love the Kendall Jenner Peggy Guggenheim cosplay that much like I liked the Celine the floral Celine dress she was wearing but I just like I don't like themes to be honest like I don't like theme-y stuff yeah this isn't we're aligned on on Halloween which is not for us yes exactly exactly um but it was interesting yeah there wasn't there wasn't a ton that I thought Suki Waterhouse looked great in Saint Laurent it was funny my mom crew from LA was posting I'm like oh I'm at that premiere yeah they were not that impressed but um these are all people who work in entertainment industry and they were like cool and she suki waterhouse also is you know obviously um a very beautiful and talented person but one of the rare ones where up close i thought it looked as good as in the photos which isn't always the case yeah and and the other person that i i didn't see in person but have seen many photos is i think amal cluny looked really good in that one black dress she always looks amazing but i thought there was something about her looks she wore a black dress that had like a caged some sort of like very subtle cage detailing on on the top and then she wore like a polka dotted off the shoulder oh and Stella McCartney um yeah dress I thought she looked it she always looks pretty but like I really like those are things I would want to wear it was she I thought she looked like particularly really glamorous this, this time around.

43:12She did as well. Also, you know, she arrived in the first water taxi photos were her and, you know, all silk, which you and I have experienced the humidity in, in Venice these past days. And she looks unbothered. Whereas I don't really think that I could like my silk would have just been absolutely drenched instantly. It is, it is incredibly humid here. It's incredibly sweaty. It's crazy. It was I was like, oh, I now I remember what humidity is. Yeah, I hadn't experienced it in so long. We should say we had a lot of fun dressing up. You looked great in your Dolce & Gabbana. Thank you so much. We did.

43:53And you were wearing Goliath. Yes. And in my blue blue of my dress was you. You had a little blue. We didn't do it on purpose, but we could have been bridesmaids in a second wedding for sure. Yeah. No, we had it. It was a very lovely mom's night out. And we did, you know, there's a extensive water bus system here in Venice. And so for the most part, you take the shuttles back and forth. They've done a great job with the public transportation this year. I haven't been stranded on the Lido once. But for this occasion, you and I took a water taxi to the dock where all of the the celebrities are photographed getting off the dock.

44:37And, you know, we did the photo in the back of the taxi and it was really fun. That's not how I live all of the time. No. In fact, never. But besides that. But yeah, we had a great time and a very fun premiere that did feel like everyone was excited to be there, that it was kind of it was the the event. And then that rolling into a Oasis was the big night at Venice. One more note on the red carpet. I am just looking at this photo of Rooney and Kate. And by the way, Vogue.com, guys. All the best looks from the 2026 Film Festival. You need to have the outfit credits on here. I should not need to look this up.

45:23You all need to get the outfit credits on there. Rooney and Kate Mara at their premiere of the Werner Herzog film. Yeah, bucking faster. which I want to see this movie and also look like I thought a lot of the Louis Vuitton there's a I follow this Instagram something by Sasha and she does red carpet she's she's unflinching in her red carpet reviews and she posted a bunch of Vuitton looks from a person who I'd never an actress I'd never seen that were really terrible this Rooney Mara Vuitton look is kind of weird. I kind of love it. And then K Mara's wearing Armani. And again, there were so many gorgeous Armani looks on the red carpet.

46:10This is a little odd, but I think they look awesome in these dresses. They look awesome. And also I have seen the film. I won't spoil it for those who want to see it. But just to say they are they star in the movie together and they are they are the co-stars they do everything in the film together and it is um uh an offbeat you know film so that they look great and a little strange and are coordinated and are doing this together is it's not costume dressing but it's just it's in the spirit of the thing which i really appreciate yeah jack o 'connell and dior i don't love it i would have lost the scarf i would have lost the scarf.

46:54I mean, we love Jack O 'Connell, though. I can't wait to see Ink. Yeah. Ink is Danny Boyle's new movie. It opened the festival about when Rupert Murdoch, who's played by Guy Pearce, bought The Sun and Jack O 'Connell is the star. And so it starts in the it's 6970 in the UK. So the clothes and the and the suiting in that worked for me. I should say that. I mean, you know, it's just kind of doing, you know, Mad Men light, but they all look very handsome. Great. I can't wait for that. Okay. So we had this amazing time. Thank you, Amanda, for organizing this, this dream content. It was really awesome.

47:34My pleasure. Now you now you've seen it up close. It was amazing. I'm so glad I got to go and experience it and have a better understanding of how that world works. Because that's all people want. They should just have like a someone with a one of those like video cameras on their heads going around because it's really fascinating just to see the different mix of people and what they wear and and all that stuff um so the next morning we got up and we went to the Fondation Dries Van Noten where we were where there is a um there is an exhibition that that launched with the Venice Biennale called the only I believe it's called The Only Protest is Beauty.

48:17Let's just look that up just to make sure. And it's the first, yes, The Only Protest is Beauty. It started April 25th, and it's going through October 4th. And it's the first exhibition from the Fondazione Dries Van Noten. They only bought this palazzo, this very famous old, old, old palazzo, I think a year ago or something, and got this exhibition up and running. It is it was true. First of all, we were walked through the exhibition by Dries Van Noten, the man who, by the way, does not know me. He greeted us and gave us a whole tour. He certainly doesn't know me. It was astounding. I was so thrilled.

49:03Thank you, Lauren. Thank you, Dries Van Noten. It was what a privilege. And so, yeah, he walked us through the whole exhibit and explained the concepts and pointed out, you know. told us about all of the artists that he'd curated and how they'd updated the palazzo. I mean, unbelievable. It was amazing. Four-person team put the show together. It is a mix of design and art and fashion. And as you mentioned, as we have lunch, I would suggest maybe the only good restaurant in Venice or only specific kind of restaurant in Venice. It kind of went back to that conversation Eugene Rabkin and I were having about is fashion art is fashion design.

49:50And I think this exhibition, it was really about process. And they chose people who there are only, I think, three fashion designers in it, Ray Calcubo, Christian Lacroix, and this young Central St. Martin's graduate whose name I'll have to pull up. But it was truly remarkable to see all these different makers of things, their work kind of in conversation with each other and how much research and time. And Dries said something about, they used to do four collections a year. So they just kind of thought about it that way, like we can do this. But the level of research to have the Venice jeweler next to the upstate New York sculptor or whatever next to the the British maker of chairs like it just was so there's so much we could have spent we spent a few hours we could have been there for the entire day and honestly I wish I could go back it's I won't be able to but it is it was astounding and such an incredible experience and so inspiring.

51:06And yeah, it was interesting thinking about it after the night before. Yes. And what Dries said to us in explaining the exhibition and what I have been thinking about since we went was, and also to that conversation you had with Eugene of is fashion art or is fashion design. And this, you know, is clearly on the art side of fashion, this is identifying what that half of the experience, but also for me, kind of reminded me that art is, you know, we have just been talking about performance and the performance of the Venice Film Festival. And there is something, you know, big and demonstrative. And I associate art with a capital A with like this idea of like divine inspiration and I do think that that's a major part of it but there is just at the same time execution and and and hard work and building and engineering and just the actual making of the art there's a practicality and an intention and a follow-through to all art whether it is a painting or a piece of fashion or a piece of jewelry or a lamp or a chandelier that that you know the the exhibit uses the palazzo's like not original but chandeliers from the 18th century i believe so um and you know and it drees identified it to us in the idea of like things being made by hand yeah and which is i think like a very elegant and simple but way of of putting it but um i was just reminded how much skill and craft and what diligent work goes into making good art as well in the in the most in the most positive way and that that itself can be a source of of inspiration yeah you have to put the work in yeah and if you put the work in something like really incredible comes out of it but if you don't put the work in and now this does kind of ladder back to that conversation I had with Eugene about what is the work, like what is the process.

53:21The exact name of the exhibition is The Only True Protest is Beauty. And it was inspired by a Phil Ox, the activist, as something that he said at some point. But the Palestinian designer from St. Martin's, his name is Ahim Hassan Musla. And I asked Dries, it was interesting to me because it's like Christian Lacroix, obviously Dries has a long relationship with him and they had done a collection together and that made a lot of sense. And putting that next to Raquel Kubo made sense to me in the conversation. But then you have this like student from St. Martin's and I said to Drew, he's like, do you still look at the shows?

54:01And he said, yeah, I engage in fashion. I still believe, like basically I still believe in fashion. And it was really interesting to me as someone who covers the business and the transformation of the business and how that has sort of destroyed the act of being a fashion designer. And yet there's this person who, he doesn't really need, like I was just surprised that he looks at student shows and he gets something out of them and was able to identify this person to be strong enough to go up against two of the most important designers in the history of fashion. And then it was also Sophie Buhay, the jewelry designer and former fashion designer whose work I have a lot of and who I've known for 20 years to see some of her objects sitting there.

54:59And, you know, in the context of this show, it was really amazing. I was really moved by it. And also it's absolutely gorgeous. And we also went to the Prada Foundation and that was, there was a great show there too. But I don't know. I just, it was a really special 12 hours. Yeah, it was. But I mean, again, what a privilege. Thank you for setting that up. But, you know, I felt like I haven't seen as much art this year as I would have liked to, given that it is also the Biennale year and many of the pavilions are up. But, you know, you go and you see a lot of things and some things you connect to and some things you don't.

55:44And to have this guided tour and thus it explained to me and to really like activate all of my brain sensors of what art and what a museum show can do as well was just really exciting. yeah it was it was fabulous thank you also to eugenia from poulos who is the like one of the chicest women alive i'm totally obsessed with her for helping to organize it and again thank you to drees it was it was awesome it was just like it was a dream it was a dream experience and then and then he said no vaporetto's on the grand canal today just so you know yeah he had everything covered. Yeah, because it was it was funny, because when they organized it, they were like, anytime, but Sunday afternoon is fine.

56:32And I was like, Oh, they must be having an event or something. It was just the regatta, which it always is fine. I always forget about the regatta. And then it's always here, but it's fine. Why have it during this period? I'll never know. But you know, these, these, these places, they they do what they want to do.

56:56we've been talking a lot about putting on a show. I wanted to chat with you briefly about the show that was the ceremony for the LVMH fries, which took place on, on Friday afternoon at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in sort of, I think it's still technically Paris. It's almost the suburbs, but there have been many memes. This was memed by Evan Ross Katz. Like that means you're a part of pop culture. does um jennifer lawrence who is a spokesperson for dior and who presented the awards they always have a big celeb she was wearing a gorgeous cover buttoned dior jacket that delphi and arnault was wearing it in white and she was wearing it in black but anyway she called fashion fascism obviously on purpose because she's a hilarious person but everybody was cracking up jonathan Anderson like blushed cracking up Michael Ryder giggling in the background I enjoyed the extended Jonathan Anderson because he was to the end you know all of the judges and designers have to line up behind her yeah it's it's really great reaction that's not quite on par with the um the Oscars reaction shot when they announced the wrong winner you know when they announced yes uh La La Land and actually Moonlight wins and everyone's pointing up at the stage just so.

58:17But you get a lot of good stuff. Jonathan Anderson, just like really several phases of laughing and turning away, which I thought was so funny. It was also good that he was next to the designer who does Poochie because she's like pretty chill. She's not as like in, that's a brand. They're kind of like, we'll let you do what you want. She worked at Louis Vuitton forever. I believe her name is Camille. but um she's like a chill relaxed person so it was funny because they were sort of laughing about it together if he had been next to like nicola jesquare i don't know what would have happened phoebe philo is directly is in the is in jennifer lawrence's frame and i thought he held it together very very well basically didn't even engage yeah um though then later she was also just jared's roundup of the the event included uh the rudest photo select of phoebe filo that i've ever ever seen and i depend on just jared for a lot of my news but you gotta not pick a photo where phoebe filo's eyes are closed that's that's my note to the photo editors at just jared.com i am curious what trousers she was wearing which is uh obviously at the end in the end all we care about is what Phoebe Philo is wearing yeah um what would Phoebe Philo wear but so there's a new Phoebe Philo drop on September 8th I have gotten the catalog as as they call it um okay to to look and there's a pair of navy drill like cotton drill darkest navy like ink trousers with a little carpenter pant loop and I was like I wonder if those are the ones don't tell me this right now they're really good don't tell me this you know and it's like where yeah but i'm i guess i guess september 8th i'll still be here do they even sell phoebe philo in venice there must be one place there's gotta be well don't tell me where it is for you um but i also thought there's this great video of her and michael rider who worked for her for i don't know 10 years chatting before the and they're laughing and it was everybody's analyzing this video and then severing who's the ceo of selene she basically did like a linkedin leadership post talking about and it was really well done like if you're gonna do a leak thought leadership post on linkedin you do this one about like generations working together and then have a video of the two designers sitting there chatting.

1:00:57And it was, it was like excellent corporate marketing. I thought that was really funny. My least favorite part, and I love this stuff. Like I could watch these videos for hours and people just kept sending them to me. Like, did you see this one? Did you see the way this one reacted to this? Do you? It's so fun. But the one thing that I did not that I was like, guys, this is too far is Stella McCartney, who, by the way, her company is not owned by LVMH. They let her buy it back because nobody wanted to be in business together. But as someone who used to work at LVMH said to me, oh, she gets a free green pass forever because she's like very sustainable.

1:01:38She's always like helping everybody. Anyway, she did like one of these. It reminded me of and I realized that the Ellen DeGeneres Oscars selfie was 2014. 2014. Wow. Which I thought it was like 2022. But it reminded me of that where she like did a selfie with Bernard Arnault. And I think Delphine is in it. And I was just like, guys, no, this is going too far. I'm happy to see Bernard Arnault and his wife and two of their children, a photo of them with the Pope. Like that is when I want to see I do not want a selfie of these people. It was so I I was like, and it's so. Pope, yes. Stella McCartney, no.

1:02:20Exactly. I was just like, I don't like it. Like out of all, I think that Bernard Arnault has been doing some brilliant press. His response to the Le Mans series was brilliant. His joining of X was brilliant. The selfie, the Stella selfie. But it was actually like a very well composed photo. But anyway, I just was like, this has gone too far. And this is making me. you know how I keep talking about how this industry has consolidated and peaked like to me that is the like yeah image of that it is and it reminds me of the beginning of our conversation where you know it it does feel like the opening of the fashion world a little bit from this very closed you're not invited you can't like these aren't public events right and the thing about the Oscars that I think, you know, it's obviously like almost 100 years old.

1:03:14And the Oscars were invented as a marketing tool, by the way, by the studios 100 years ago. But so it has a lot of history and film history grandfathered in, but it is also just exciting because it's the one time a year where all of the famous people are in a room together. And then you get to see it. And this is not that different it's just for the fashion world you know they're the london uh the bfc the british fashion council has tried to make their fashion awards global they call it the fashion awards i think this is a good example maybe lvmh and caring and otb and all the other and chanel and hermes should really start to support one of these things and make it a bigger deal because they kind of feel a little prevent the reward shows feel a little provincial the lvmh prize is the closest thing obviously it's but it's only that group so it doesn't um it feels a little bit narrow but yeah it would be fun it is it is just fun to see them all together and especially like phoebe did a an interview with this video this very famous he's this film this video journalist Loic Prigent.

1:04:34I don't ask me. I'm going to get made fun of so badly for this. But Loic, no one uses the last name anyway. She did a very quick interview with him spontaneously. She never does interviews. So that was interesting to like just to hear her speak because she rarely, rarely does um but it's fun like it if they want fashion to be a pillar of pop culture like right you get memed by evan ross katz yeah like that is what it is you know and it is also it's a little bit like we were talking about the festival where the more people that can participate even you know in this in this performance then I don't know then it it brings more more attention yeah and you know one one person mentioned to me that the fact that they all came and they were all in the room and thinking like Marc Jacobs wasn't there because he's not owned by LVMH anymore again why was Stella McCartney still there anyway I'm just joking I'm not really joking but I am kind of joking like I'm not trying to be too mean about that But what this person said was, you know, the power is with the executives.

1:05:50All of these people showed up and did their job. And 10 years ago, 15 years ago, it was kind of the opposite. Like what Bernard Arnault basically did. And in the context of like all the stuff that happened with John Galeano last week, it's interesting because he was the poster child for this is he built them up and made them stars. and then he it's not that he knocked them down but like his need for them became less because he sort of the building them up is how they built the brands and so it's an interesting thing where now these people are really company men they're designers for hire and it's less about them being the center of it it's really about the company being the center of it and that sort of leads me to the next the final thing I wanted to discuss with you which was Virginie Viard who was the creative director of Chanel for I think about five years from the time Karl Lagerfeld died until 2024 she is releasing a memoir and in on September 30th in in France by Edition Stock which is like like a big publisher, I believe they're owned by Hachette, like a big imprint that is essentially a tell-all of her life at Chanel.

1:07:10No one has written about this. It's public information. Like it's on the, you can pre-order the book. Is it your impression that so it's been embargoed or like a deeply protected secret because they want to make a splash? It must be. I mean, it's called A Glance or A Look, A Life at Chanel. Un Regard, Un Vichez Chanel. Yeah. Which roughly translates to like A Glance or A Look, A Life at Chanel. And the book in the notes, which they have, I don't think, I think they were in English, not sure. It says the book is an attempt at an intimate answer in the form of a story of emancipation. So she's going to talk about her life and work at Chanel for all those years and then about when she left.

1:08:03So the question is, is it going to be like, she got fired, whatever. Like it's not, it's not that, I imagine it's not actually going to be that dramatic, but the cover is extremely, I'm going to send it to you. It is extremely dramatic. And it comes out on September 30th, like a few days before the show. They're clearly trying to... I mean, it does feel like... And the marketing arm is different than the author arm. And they clearly know that they have something. And I would imagine that it's not been easy to be Virginie Viard in the era of Matthew Blasi fever. So, you know, I think, yeah. So I'm sure that the marketers know that and are playing into what our perceptions of it will be.

1:09:02But who knows whether the book has anything to do with that. Yes, her abrupt departure in 2024 without any public statement raised many questions. The book is an attempt and an intimate answer in the form of a story of emancipation. Okay. And she tells the inner workings of a house rarely told from the inside, the ateliers of Rue Cambon, the birth of the collections, the legendary fashion shows, the numerous collaborations, the metamorphosis of contemporary fashion, and above all, the profound artistic partnership that united her with Karl Lagerfeld. Look, I can't wait to read this book. I think it sounds really interesting.

1:09:39My question for you is, as someone you intimately understand the fashion industry, you are a consumer you're an observer you are I don't know what intimately like a year ago I had to ask you what a skew is because I didn't realize that it was SKU so let's stop keeping unit but for anyone but but the point being you are a fan the thing that is interesting and I had Patti Powell on last week to talk about Chanel and who she was an executive for a long time and she's still a beauty executive but she was a fashion industry executive she's mad at Bernard on our nose. She knows all these people. She's also a 40 year Chanel VIC.

1:10:16So she is an interesting and what she said to me was the reason and she loved Virginie Chanel. The reason Chanel works is they put Chanel first. And I think that that's what the LVMH prize you could see they're putting LVMH first, they're putting the brands first, even though they value these people and understand and want to let them be creative, which is why that too has worked so well is that Chanel comes first, but they're also letting him do what he wants to do. And I think it's a personality thing too. Like he is the right balance of creative force without being all about him. But do you, like, are you interested in her at all?

1:10:57Because she wasn't, she was always the messenger. She was never the star. And like, would you, if this, I mean, you speak French, so you could probably read this kind of, But like, would you engage with this book? I will engage with your interpretation of it. And what I wanted to ask you was like, do you think that this will be any sort of business insight into the family and how Chanel is run? And is that interesting? I don't, because otherwise, you know, I wasn't really, I'm not a Chanel consumer. um not yet anyway and um and I certainly wasn't in that era because she wasn't you know that that Chanel did not feel kind of at the center of honestly pop culture in a way that I do feel that the Matthew Blasi clothes and kind of and it helps that there was this whole wave of of new designers and you know it was kind of like saved by the bell the new class and so it does all feel a bit more narrativized but yeah I wasn't paying attention so I wasn't paying attention back then like I knew what you know the bag was but I and I remember that show when they they all went like shopping in the grocery carts you know um and I could tell you who are a couple of the celebrity ambassadors are um but you know I do think that not the revitalization but the the invention and And honestly, really just the sense that Chanel is the thing right now.

1:12:41And I do feel like I have a visceral reaction to the clothes and the colors. And that I would want to try to wear these in a way that I have no idea how I would have worn any version-y stuff. Yeah. Or at least I would like to live a life where it made sense to wear these. So I do respond to the clothes. But I do also think I'm just responding to the narrative and the moment of it all. Well, it's interesting. I went to the opening of Jennifer Guidi's show at Gagosian on, was it Thursday night here in Paris, last Thursday. And she's a Los Feliz based artist whose work I like, and she's friends with my friend Gabby.

1:13:20And so I got to say hi to her. And she was wearing head to toe Chanel. She looked amazing. She was wearing like a silk tweed skirt, a knit top, and then the shoes. And she, just what you said. I don't know her. Maybe she is just a collector of Chanel. I doubt it. I doubt. And the Virginie product was really good, I think. But it has created a new life for Chanel, a new era for Chanel. I think the book itself, my guess, is that it will be read relative. I don't know. It depends. I would love to know more about the Wertheimers and their process. And Bruno Pavlovsky, who is the president of Chanel Fashion, his process and his relationship with Karl Lagerfeld, he speaks to the press all the time.

1:14:15So you kind of have an understanding. I hope she's able to give a little bit of insight into how the family has managed the business because I do think I mean, this is a business that should be shot should be taught in business like Harvard should have a course on Chanel itself, especially after this last phase because it's from it's been owned by the same family for decade, I think like 100 years like it's the business story of fashion is really yes, it's the Arno. and it's Bernard Arnault and LVMH of the modern era. But the reason all of this exists is because of Chanel. And so I hope that there's insight into that and I will definitely be buying it and using Google Translate to help me parse through.

1:15:02But I think my guess is that it'll be read widely enough in France where people still read books and engage quite a bit in this kind of... Like the thing about fashion is it's a part of French culture. It's like if there's a big movie, there's a book about Chinatown comes out. I read that because I'm interested in Chinatown and movie making. And I like that writer. It's the same kind of thing here where in America, I don't think there's as much interest in who the designer of Chanel is really, but there is interest in Chanel, the brand, whereas in France, Like this is a fabric of their society, part of the fabric of their society and their culture.

1:15:46So like, I do think it will be read. I'd also just depends on what she says. I just can't imagine that it's going to be that dramatic. We'll see. If it was going to be that dramatic, I think there would be more conversation around it because I only heard about it this past week. And and I think WWD will probably run one short item on it and act like it's not a big deal. it would be interesting for her to do like a New York Times story with Vanessa Friedman. Like if I were her, that's what I would be going for. But maybe she feels like she's a shy person. Maybe she's like, I want to just be on my own.

1:16:22This is the mediated. Yeah. Yeah. So we'll see. But it's fascinating stuff. Amanda, I want you to get something from Chanel. I know. And a few months ago, you told me that, or I think you said on this wonderful podcast, which I listened to that the the move is to go to the lesser trafficked European cities and so I had been thinking like am I going to go to the Chanel in Venice I don't you know the I've only walked by one which I think is like it's more the accessories boutique I don't know how much clothing they had and then I saw a 10 year old in there through the window and I was like I don't really think that this is going to be my experience she's with her family you know and you know children deserve the world but I was kind of like I don't know if this is my my Chanel uh so I haven't been in yet but maybe someday I think you should just walk through I don't know and then you can report back okay I think I might go buy some I might go to Laguna B instead and buy some Murano glass to take home that's yeah that's that's more responsible and honestly you we can get you can get Chanel somewhere else but I do want you to have something someday.

1:17:34We'll figure out what the right channel is. It's a goal. It's something to work towards. Yeah. Amanda Epic, International Moms Night Out. Thank you for this wonderful experience. Thank you. Thank you to Dries Van Noten. Thank you to Venezia and the Regatta and your friends for getting you home. Yeah. Thank you to everyone. And I'll talk to you soon. Yeah. Have a great rest of your trip. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Fashion People is a presentation of Odyssey in partnership with Puck. The show is produced and edited by Molly Nugent. Special thanks to Puck co-founder John Kelly, executive editor Ben Landy, producer Maya Tribbett, and director of editorial operations Gabby Grossman.

1:18:17An additional thanks to the team at Odyssey, Kelly Turner and Bob Tabador.