Marylou Luther, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
I attended a special event on Monday evening celebrating our dear friend and colleague, Marylou Luther, hosted by Norma Kamali at her Greenwich Avenue studio. It was a night of celebration, laughs, and tears honoring Marylou’s outstanding and enduring career spanning seven decades as an iconic leader, journalist, newspaper columnist, author, and meaningful advocate for designers.
In celebration of the career and legacy of Marylou Luther, donations are being accepted in her name to support the Fashion Group Foundation and its initiatives, including Rising Star Mentorship Programs, Rising Star Grants Fund, FGI X Isabel and Ruben Toledo Scholarship at FIT, Grant-a-Wish, and Holiday Club.
From left to right, Walter Imparato, Marylou Luther, Andy Imparato, Stan Herman, Maryanne Grisz, Yeohlee, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
On April 9th, Marylou celebrates her 96th birthday. The only one in attendance who was older is Stan Herman, who turns 98 on September 17th. Among other fans of Marylou present were Ralph Rucci, Peter Som, Christian Francis Roth, Ken Downing, Dr. Joyce Brown, Lisa Silhalnek, Han Feng, Yeohlee, Fern Mallis, Jeffrey Banks, Freddie Leiba, Robert Di Mauro, Marylou’s two sons, Walter Imparato and Andy Imparato, and her grandson.
Throughout the two-hour event, Ruben Toledo’s illustrations of Marylou and images of Marylou at various stages of her life with family and friends were blown up and projected on a gigantic LED wall.
Ruben Toledo, Marilyn Kirschner, Marylou Luther, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
I was tickled to see a picture of me with Ruben and Marylou at Rizzoli, March 1, 2023, the night I moderated the event for the launch of “BE-SPOKE: Revelations from the World’s Most Important Fashion Designers” written by Marylou with Ruben’s illustrations. I was flattered that Marylou specifically asks that I be the moderator.
Norma Kamali and Marylou Luther, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Marylou offers priceless friendship to all of us, and I’m still thanking this woman,”- Norma Kamali.
FGI President Maryanne Grisz made welcoming remarks and introduced Norma, who often describes Marylou as her “soul sister”. They share a deep, long-term personal and professional relationship, and Kamali frequently cites the renowned fashion journalist as the person who “saved” her career during a personal crisis.
Norma Kamali and Ruben Toledo, photo by Randy Brooke
Norma retold the story of how, when she left her first husband and business partner with only $98 in the bank, leaving behind her fabrics and sewing machines, Marylou Luther and her husband stepped in to help her rebuild her business and get back into the design game.
Freddie Leiba and Maryanne Grisz, photo by Randy Brooke
Indeed, Marylou Luther is not only talented but generous, mentoring, encouraging, and selfless, without ego. It’s never about her, but about you! A rarity in fashion, which is much like politics. If you want a friend, get a dog! Luther is also knowledgeable and curious, making her an expert journalist and a skilled interviewer.
Ken Downing, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Throughout her career, Marylou has conducted countless interviews with fashion titans, so Norma thought it would be fun to turn the tables and interview Marylou. Norma said she would call out a designer’s name and ask Marylou to give us a minute on each one. Whatever comes to mind.
Marylou was in great form, hardly skipping a beat. She rattled off dates and details from past encounters almost perfectly, leaving us all in stitches. She recalled that Pierre Cardin invented brands. At his peak, he had 900 licensees in 150 countries. Sonia Rykiel washer idol, one of the first female designers and one of the first ready-to-wear designers.
A Gemini who turned clothes inside out so you could wear them either way. Marylou, an Aries, is obsessed with horoscope signs and will always ask what yours is! When Karl Lagerfeld died, Marylou was amazed that he left everything he had to his cat!
She noted that, when you talked about fashion, it used to be about fabric, color, and cut, but Lagerfeld made the presentation the thing! She loved the collection he did in a grocery store – she had never seen anything like it. She especially liked that all the groceries had Karl’s name on them, and he gave them to the poor afterward!
Ralph Rucci, Norma Kamali, photo by Randy Brooke
Bill Blass was a gentleman. He was more than just a creator of clothes, says Marylou. He really wanted to help others and the industry. Ralph Rucci? Marylou, dressed in Ralph Rucci last evening, remembered crying after seeing Ralph’s first collection. She was in tears. Ralph always jokingly calls her a ‘crybaby,’ and after his shows, he would ask Marylou if she cried.
Marylou learned about architecture from Givenchy who told her that Chicago has the best architecture in the United States. Halston probably did more to put American fashion on the map than anybody.
Jeffrey Banks and Yeohlee, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Perhaps the funniest moment is when she was asked about Rudi Gernreich. Marylou recalled that in 1970, he completely shaved two models, one male and one female, including their pubic hair. When she asked him why he wanted them naked, his reply was: “Until recently, I didn’t realize that you can say things with clothes. That’s what I want to do, and so I was hoping to say that if you start from scratch, you can do anything.”
Stan Herman, Han Feng, & Randy Brooke, photo by Marilyn Kirschner
Marylou observed that Stan Herman has dressed more people than any other designer in the world because he designed uniforms for FedEx, McDonald’s, United, Amtrak, etc., and, in addition to uniforms, he has been on QVC longer than anybody.
She then recounted her favorite Stan Herman story. When Marylou was at the LA Times, she wrote an article about Stan. He called her the next day to say he loved the story, but asked, “Did you have to call me short? I bet you don’t call Givenchy tall.”
Stan made Marylou realize that calling him short had nothing to do with interviewing him. “Why would I do that? I’ve never done anything that bad since.” You know what? I believe her! Because Marylou is considerate and kind, and as Norma explained, the theme of the evening was kindness. Something we could all use a lot more of.
Marylou Luther and Marilyn Kirschner, photo by Randy Brooke
Norma asked the audience if they had questions. I asked Marylou who she would love to interview, whom she hasn’t, in or out of fashion. Her response? Donald Trump!
Latest Comments:
Marilyn, You look absolutely fabulous! And this Elsa Schiaparelli bag !!!! We have met a few times at different events.…
I hope Rachel is smiling down from heaven enjoying the article and images I took