Discussions of Style
The French Institute in New York is taking a page from "Inside the Actors Studio": Top designers from French fashion houses will participate in intimate discussions with the chief curator at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Paris, Pamela Golbin.
"Fashion Talks," a three-part series, will have Ms. Golbin interviewing the artistic director of men's ready-to-wear for Hermès, Véronique Nichanian, on Friday, November 9; the creative director of accessories label Roger Vivier, Bruno Frisoni, on Friday, November 30, and the artistic director of the women's wear label Nina Ricci, Olivier Theyskens, on Friday, December 7.
Ms. Golbin said the discussions will explore the cultural importance of fashion in France and in America — throughout history and today. In France, at the end of the 19th century, the notion of "fashion designer as artist" was born; in America at that time, the focus was on mass production, which made for a booming ready-to-wear market, she said.
This history informs the countries' design preferences to this day, according to Ms. Golbin. "The idea is to have a transatlantic conversation about how designers see themselves in contemporary fashion," she said, of of the series.
Talks begin at 7 p.m. at Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison avenues. Tickets, which are $20 each for French Institute members and $25 for nonmembers, are available at fiaf.org, or by calling the French Institute at 212-307-4100.
