Haute Couture Clients 2008

[LetThemEatCake]

Melinda Gates shops at Nordstrom in Bellevue. (which is the eastside of Seattle for non-Washington locals...Microsoft and money and they're putting a Neiman's there next year) My mother works there and still sees her quite frequently in Savvy. They have a couture section but I doubt she peruses it.

[LUXXX]

Originally Posted by Mota3089

She apparently shops at The Gap and Old Navy for herself and her children. I don't know about Bill. I've heard that she's been spotted many times at those stores.


This makes them both Tightwads of AMERICA!

http://www.tightwad.com/

I've heard Bill is quite frugal when it comes to material possessions...his children don't seem to be traditional heirs/heiresses, in fact he has said he will be leaving the bulk of his fortune to charity which seems kooky to me, because his children may want to continue on with what he has done...they live in an amazing home but they aren't overly spoiled form what I've heard, at least not in a superficial way.

He and his wife aren't particularly glamorous though.

[cygnenoir]

Originally Posted by LetThemEatCake

Melinda Gates shops at Nordstrom in Bellevue. (which is the eastside of Seattle for non-Washington locals...Microsoft and money and they're putting a Neiman's there next year) My mother works there and still sees her quite frequently in Savvy. They have a couture section but I doubt she peruses it.

The couture section at Nordtrom is not couture Couture, if you know what I mean. It's high-end designer. $5000 Donna Karan Signature rather than French Haute Couture.

She does shop there as well. I should not say how I know so much about some of Melinda's shopping, but let's just say I have a friend on the inside.

[LetThemEatCake]

Originally Posted by cygnenoir

The couture section at Nordtrom is not couture Couture, if you know what I mean. It's high-end designer. $5000 Donna Karan Signature rather than French Haute Couture.

You're right. I havent been to the store in quite a while and I know the Downtown Seattle store has a bigger section with a Chanel boutique but I just remember seeing the word 'Couture' the last time I was visting mom @ work. For what it's worth, mom says that Mrs. Gates is a very nice and not uppity (like a lot of eastside women) type of person.

[fashionista-ta]

^ Just a reminder that we should probably stay OT & discuss those who are HC clients vs those who could be

[LUXXX]

Becca Cason Thrash was interesting in the couture video...from working class girl to couture buyer...cool story. I like the Houston socialites...they're straight forward...LOL

[LetThemEatCake]

Originally Posted by fashionista-ta

^ Just a reminder that we should probably stay OT & discuss those who are HC clients vs those who could be

Back on topic. I'm going to re-watch the secret world of couture...I liked the elderly lady who wouldnt allow any cameras in her closets so she had a whole rack of Dior couture wheeled out! And the woman (forgive me for not remembering names) who called Karl a genius. I want to know their world!

[LUXXX]

Originally Posted by LetThemEatCake

Back on topic. I'm going to re-watch the secret world of couture...I liked the elderly lady who wouldnt allow any cameras in her closets so she had a whole rack of Dior couture wheeled out! And the woman (forgive me for not remembering names) who called Karl a genius. I want to know their world!

The older women would probably be fascinating to talk to...especially the one who used to go to shows with The Duchess of Windsor and the other with Jackie Kennedy...it's pretty cool to think of time when fashion was so exclusive and women always dressed up...

I liked that Baroness who worked for YSL too...she had so much insight and her voice was great!

[KKnardi]

I find the documentary "The Secret World of Haute Couture" very fascinating, even though I knew everything about the couture-world! Thanks for posting it!

[borjacapella]

Liashoes posted this in another thread

Mouna Ayoub

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Mouna Ayoub (Arabic:منى أيوب) (born on February 27th 1957(reference needed) is a well-known French socialite and Businesswoman of Christian Lebanese origin. Very mediatized [1], she is often the guest of the Cannes film festival, and make headlines in the French people magazines. When she was 20 years old she converted to Islam to marry Nasser Al-Rashid, a 40 year old businessman and advisor of King Fahd. After eighteen years of marriage she left Saudi Arabia and made a fortune in real estate.
In 1997 she bought the boat of Bernard Tapie [2], Phocéa, for 5.56 million euros to which were added 18.25 million euros of work. To carry this work out Mouna sold a proportion of her jewels including one of the largest yellow diamonds of the world (112.53 carats) for a price of 2.52 million euros (16.5 million francs) and a Bulgari necklace for (15.3 million francs). Mouna Ayoub has owned since the beginning of the 1980s the largest private collection of haute couture, composed of more than 10,000 items, which she continues to add to each season. In 2004, "Arabian Business" Magazine ranked her 45th richest Arab with wealth estimated at $380 million [3].

10.000 HAUTE COTURE ITEMS!!!! THAT IS A LOT MORE THAN WHAT GALLIANO HAS DONE IN HIS WHOLE CAREER!

i learn about her that she owns one of the biggest private boats called PHOCEA (http://www.phocea-mouna-ayoub.com/) and looking at pictures of it, i found this!!

it totally looks Galliano-ish, but i'd swear it's a chanel hanger... just coincidence right? karl never ever did something like that, right? right?

(credit for the picture goes to the boats page mentioned above)

[ilaughead]

^Definitely Dior. I'll find a runway picture.

[LetThemEatCake]

I adore Mouna Ayoub. I made a thread many many months ago and was trying to get more info about her. Hadnt seen that dress...it looks like Dior.

You can see her in this video

John Galliano takes over Christian Dior, Mouna is at 1:05.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwLqC-YaaQo
I havent seen her at shows lately, or else she stopped going?

[j´adore dior]

During the summer 2002 collections i saw her on tv complaining about couture prices, saying they kept getting higer and higer each season to an unsoportable rate, have no idea is she still buys couture or not.

In chile we have a couture collector, who spends his life travelling and well, collecting couture pieces, he even created a museum who opened its doors last year with an exhibition that started explaining fashion´s evolution since the XVII centuary until today, there you can see recent couture dresses from Gaultier Paris and Dior, among vintage creations from all important designers, he is said to have enaugh Dior material to create an expo about him, fingers crossed
Heres a link: http://www.mmyt.cl/exhibiciones.php?...cat=exhibicion

[nyc_art_style]

Originally Posted by baddabling

there is a whole process...
in order to even have access to the opportunity to go to the shows, let alone buy them, you must be approved by the Federation Francaise de la Couture. Like Meg has said, in order to get in you need to be invited by an existing member or inherit membership from a deceased member.

Are you serious? You have to apply to a federation in order to be allowed to buy couture? oh my goodness, this is so much more exclusive than i thought.

I knew there was a company of sorts that determined whether a house could be considered couture, but i didn't know they tested their clients as well.

Does anyone have anymore information on this federation?

[borjacapella]

^^i guess every country has it's own! there's an old lady here in Spain (madrid) who claims to wear nothing but (which i seriously doubt). Everybody in spain says she is beyond chic and elegant, although i dont quite agree... besides she is pretty self centered and in every interview i've read she just talks about her divine clothes, her "exclusive" pret-a-porter pieces, how much giorgio armani adores her, how much gianni versace used to...she even mentions that karl once told her she was the CHICEST woman he had ever met (CAN YOU SERIOUSLY BELIEVE THAT?!?!? ) i think it's all bull****!


mundo.es

i think she is just a good client, that's it: she buys one or two pieces of each designer she likes (chanel, dior, valentiono, armani, versace and balmain) every season!