Photo Credit: Haili Pue / Carmen Marc Valvo's book
Photo Credit: Haili Pue / CMV mingles with guests & signs books before the show
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue / Guests enjoyed drinks & hor d'oeuvres before the show
Photo Credit: Haili Pue / CMV's book signing
Carmen Marc Valvo & Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue / Carmen Marc Valvo available at Neiman Marcus
Photo Credit: Haili Pue / Guests of the show
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
I got exclusive Q&A time with Carmen Marc Valvo before the fashion show took place. Valvo discusses the release of his book, colon cancer becoming an inspiration for the main color his new line, that little black dress, & tips for your red carpet moments.
So tell us about your new book....
CMV: "We decided we should do it for colon cancer research. So with the, you know, assistance of Katie Couric, who is a dear friend of mine...she agreed to do the forward. And then they were like 'Wow this is really great' and they gave the book a lot more texture and importance. Then it went to off & went on & off and 'red light, green light' for many, many years. You know how that works.
How long did it actually take you to get it into print?
CMV: "3 months."
"3 months?!"
CMV: "You think the fashion world is crazy? They have no concept of the printing industry. It was crazy, it was supposed to be a Christmas launch for 2011 and they decided to change it because the proceeds have gone to colon cancer research so they moved it up to March. By moving it up to March we basically had 3 months to do it all. Which means the release from the photographer, the models involved , all the agencies involved - any store that was involved, any advertisting..and we're talking about some photographs, if you would look, go back 18 & 19 years ago...these agencies aren't even in exsitence."
Okay, so speaking of your book coming out this month you also have an inspiration which is colon cancer for your lines. So talk about your line for the spring & summer.
CMV: "Well because I knew, well, I didn't know at the time what was going to break that the collection is really centered around blue. And that's really weird because I'm opening with blue, but blue is a prodominent color of the collection. Blue is the color of colon cancer. Which most people didn't even know. I actually asked Katie Couric this question 6 years ago when I was in New York...I said 'Katie do you have a color?' She said 'I don't know? Brown?' And I went 'Are you serious?' And she goes 'I don't think I have a color. But if we had one it should be brown.' And I told her 'That's disgusting.' Anyway, I realized & finally figured out that blue was our color and that was many, many years later. I've been trying to promote it like pink is for breast cancer. I mean it's a great color blue it's a good color. We do have corals, we have other colors obviously...
....blacks, So let's talk about the little black dress. What your thoughts are on that? How many should one women should have? And it needs to be a high number because every time I buy something black I tell myself 'you can never have enough black.'
CMV: You have the iconic black dress...Coco Chanel, she was the creator of the iconic black dress and most people really don't know that which is really kind of shocking to me. But she did create it and that was during a war torn Europe and she said 'you know we have limited fundings, we have the one perfect iconic black dress.' But that was then & this is now. There is the one iconic dress it's Breakfast at Tiffany's. I say that over and over again. She wore two dresses in the entire film. That was it. But she had hats and scarves and she had jewelry and she changed those black dresses into many different incarnations creating the iconic black dress into something that was really different and very special. So I think you need a basic little dress with a double faced pull for day in day out. Dress it up, dress it down with a scarf, beads, whatever....jacket. You need a flirty little black lace number because that can take you black tie optional. I think you should have a little fifties party number....and then from there you can continue because you can never get enough black."
So we all dress up and we all look fantastic but we all also know that it can get really, really stressful to make sure you look fantastic when not only trying on the dress but when you walk out the door. What are your tips for women when their getting ready for their red carpet moment?
CMV: "If you live alone you're in trouble. Number one. Definitely. If you're living New York let's hope you have a really nice elevator operator, or doorman - they of course let you in or out they can make sure nothing's spilling out. I don't know, I think the most important thing...is to feel confident, feel beautiful, and feel sexy. Those are the most important things that a woman can do. But there are many steps leading up to that. The dress is really the most important thing. And a lot of times women don't have a preconceived notion of what the dress looks like. Be open to different possibilities, because you never know. It's like a lover, you never know. You just have to try it on, it may be a perfect fit.
"The most important thing...is to feel confident, feel beautiful, and feel sexy."
So when we talk about a red carpet moment tell us really fabric wise what your nightmare fabric is and what your favorite fabric is to work with.
CMV: I love all fabric I really do. Probably more in love with lace. It is probably my latin background, I love lace. It's mysterious, it's sexy, it's feminine, it's gorgeous. It's everything you want it to be in the fabric. You have to treat it carefully. Be careful how you treat it so it doesn't look matronly. I love chiffon. I love anything that's feminine but chiffon is probably one of most favorite fabrics cause I can rouche it...it moves for you, it's really beautiful. It's sexy.
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Bright colors come into play in the Carmen Marc Valvo spring line. This is a bright green dress embellished around the color. An absolute lovely dress. I can already picture myself wearing this for spring break with a metallic gold clutch & metallic flats or wedges. I need to incorporate this into my spring apparel!
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Absolutely lovely layered light pink dress. Accessorize with black jewelry that makes a statement or pearls.
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Whites made a bold statement and the design of this dress is so unique, feminine, & flattering.
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
This dress received the nod of approval from the audience.
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
This floor length, gorgeous evening gown received applause.
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Valvo's embellished dresses were absolutely stunning and flattering!
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue / Close up of the fabric
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
Photo Credit: Haili Pue
This is exclusive for Flavor of the Week readers. You saw it first here. Enjoy & check out Carmen Marc Volvo SS11 line for fresh ideas this spring! He is an amazing designer!
Sensationally Yours,
Haili
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