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| Photographer Chris Callaway | Stylist Adrienne Young |
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| Lloyd Klein |
Lloyd Klein is a French-Canadian couturier
based in Los Angeles.
Klein was born in Montreal, Canada to French
parents. Klein is the youngest of four children. Although initially
trained in architecture, Lloyd Klein decided to make haute couture fashion
design his career after attending a Givenchy
runway show.
He initiated a self-study of the prominent
fashion artists of Europe and the United States, and developed an interest in
the work of Yves St.
Laurent, Jacques Fath
and Halston. After two seasons of presenting his work on
the Paris runways, he became the head designer for Maison Mme. Grès.
In 1997, Klein established his own label, Lloyd Klein Couture. Klein’s gowns have been worn and/or modeled by
celebrities Tyra Banks, Kate Moss, AnnaLynne McCord, Kim Kardashian, Vanessa Williams, Jane Fonda, Paula Abdul,
Joan Collins,
Paris Hilton, Tara Reid,
Kate Beckinsale, Eva Longoria,
Toni Collette, and Dita von Teese.
I just want to give a heart felt thanks to Lloyd for sharing some of his life and thoughts with us. So without further ado... Lloyd Klein.
Jonathan: What is
your bliss?
Lloyd: The moment that I can
visualize the collection in color which sometimes occurs to me at the oddest
times but when the vibration hits… I know exactly where I am headed and it
becomes my obsession.
Jonathan: In design, what is
your most sterling trait?
Lloyd: Elegance
above all - is what I strive for.
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| Photographer Robert Voltaire | Model Alex Abercrombie | Fashion by Lloyd Klein |
Jonathan: What is
the most treasured possession in your wardrobe?
Lloyd: My grandfather's crocodile belt with his the
initials JPK engraved on the front given to him by my grandmother on Armistice
Day at the end of the war.
Jonathan: What is
your guilty secret?
Lloyd: Window shopping for sports cars even though I have never
driven and never intend to do so.
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| Fall 2012 Sportswear Collection |
Jonathan: Where is
your ideal home?
Lloyd: Hollywood, California –
the only place I still dream of and then live the dream each day.
Jonathan: What is on
your bedside table right now?
Lloyd: A jaguars head made of cut crystal by a dear
friend who is the artist – I told him once that I felt I was a panther in a
previous existence and he convinced me that I was more than likely a jaguar
rather than panther – a week later he presented me with the sculpture and a
week later he passed away – it was his last work of art and it is inscribed
with the words “ Lloyd Klein the eternal Jaguar who thinks he’s a panther."
Jonathan: What if
any, book are you reading now or last read?
Lloyd: The Lover - by Marguerite Duras –
for the 3rd time.
Jonathan: What’s your
take on magazines, books versus the internet?
Lloyd: I only read emails on the
internet and magazines have power and substance… I can’t imagine reading from
a kindle – that’s a lack of romance
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| Photographer Robert Voltaire | Model Alex Abercrombie | Fashion by Lloyd Klein |
Jonathan: What’s
your music library like?
Lloyd: I adore the
campiness of Amanda Lear, the mysterious one of a kind sound of Yma Sumac, because
they are both my eternal friends but Edith Piaf is a never ending voice in my
head and Rachmanoff plays in the background of my thoughts and in my home
almost every day - all of those artists attract a very welcomed vibration to me
and I am somehow connected to their sounds at any given moment.
Jonathan: What and
where is your favorite meal?
Lloyd: OK I’d
like to be clever and say “one poached egg” but the reality is ridiculous….
Whenever I am back in Paris I go to see my friends at “La Maison du Caviar” and
I indulge in megadoses of little tastes of heaven that don’t taste the same
anywhere else…..and that’s the truth!
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| Lloyd Klein Fall Winter Collection |
Jonathan: If you
could not be in fashion, what would you be?
Lloyd: I have always felt
that I would have been a good dancer in a serious ballet company – the dancer
e’toile.
Jonathan: Who is your inspiration/style icon?
Lloyd: Madame Grès forever...
Jonathan: Who is
your favorite designer?
Lloyd: Madame Grès and Monsieur Yves St. Laurent they - are my “ying
and my yang” – I often ask myself what would Monsieur or Madame do in this
situation?
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| Little Gold Dress by Lloyd Klein Beverly Hills |
Jonathan: In 3
words or less, describe the current state of fashion.
Lloyd: Progressive, unfortunate, and exhilarating.
Jonathan: If you
could, would you wear your own designs or shop in your own store? Or who would
you suggest?
Lloyd: I’d wear any of the new
leather jackets and in fact I made masculine versions of each for myself…
Jonathan: If you
could invite up to 4 people for dinner, who would they be…dead or alive?
Lloyd: Jackie Kennedy, Grace Kelly, Anna Wintour and
Maria Callas – can you imagine?
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| Photographer Robert Voltaire |
Jonathan: Whose
opinion do you value most?
Lloyd: My conscience
and my intuition are both very influential in the conversations that go on in
my head.
Jonathan: What
store or which designer do you most like to shop in or wear?
Lloyd: My tailor’s little atelier in Paris is my
favorite place to shop and I like to wear Versace for Jeans, Dolce for jackets
and Hedi Slimane for this and that….
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| Photographer Robert Voltaire | Model Alex Abercrombie | Fashion by Lloyd Klein |
Jonathan: Do you
have a dream collaborator?
Lloyd: I know it may sound pathetic but Madame Gres was
genius and if I get to have a second choice I’d like to be pleasantly confused
by Salvador Dali.
Jonathan: If you
could pick anyone as your customer, who would you select and why?
Lloyd: Lynn Wyatt or
Nan Kempnor - because they will be
forever the quintessential curators and arbiters of what is fashionable and two
heroines for my industry…. the front row will never have the same meaning
without them.
Jonathan: What’s your
advice to the “newcomer?”
Lloyd: “Don’t go
there!” but if you have no other choice because you are passionate than always
follow your heart and passion and never look at what the others are doing.
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| Photography: James Russell and Ann Rutherford |
Say hello to Lloyd on Facebook or visit his web site to check all the latest.
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