Rachel Crespin
Fashion Magazine Editor
(Continued)
I was around when Donald did the show on Broadway with Diahann Carroll, "No Strings" and when he did the clothes for Julie Andrews in "Star". I saw all the early sketches he did for them.
What else can I tell you about Donald? Only that he is an amazing talent. He was way ahead of his time and he had class. He knew how to make a woman look like she had great class and quality; that was very important.
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She would wear suits, low heels and carry her Gucci or Lederer bag. Everyone had a great bag and a great pair of shoes and the clothes had to be Donald Brooks or Mainbocher, if you could afford it. If you look at some of the garment details from that period or earlier, you can see his influence on Donald.
After 1971, the youth quake came along and there was a great energy and a different quality. Donald's things were very ladylike and we went into a very unladylike period. We entered a period of abandon, dancing at Studio 54, craziness and drugs. It started fueling a different kind of design and designer.
Donald was a serious designer and his clothes were always very proper. In comparison, Halston did clothes with great taste, very American in feeling but they were not [as constructed]. He was using sequins, chiffon, tie-dye and he did that whole collection of cashmeres. There wasn't anyone in New York who didn't have his cashmeres.
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