Sighs and Whispers

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with graphic artist David Lance Goines.

Incredibly multi-talented, Goines is an artist, calligrapher, typographer, printing entrepreneur, and author, yet he probably best known for the posters he illustrated for local Berkeley businesses, which have been reproduced and sold worldwide. Most notably would be the work he has done for the legendary Chez Panisse, which was opened by his former girlfriend Alice Waters—his book covers and annual posters for the restaurant helped define the visual identity of it for food lovers around the globe, in much the same way his other posters have created the visual identity of Berkeley. Goines first moved there to study Classics at UC Berkeley but was expelled in 1964 for his part in the Free Speech movement. A passionate activist and artist, Goines intimately discusses how passion, community and a lack of fear have aided him in creating a very long career doing what he loves.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-david-lance-goines

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest David Lance Goines

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with pop artist Mel Ramos.

Sacramento native Mel Ramos was a progenitor of the pop art movement in the early 1960s – alongside his friends and contemporaries Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, he was one of the first artists to use comic book illustrations in his art. Ramos gained fame and notoriety for his paintings that combined commercial goods and idealized female nudes. Still creating these “commercial pin-ups” at age 82, in this discussion Ramos reflects on his long career as an artist and professor, his inspirations and creative process, and his family life.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-mel-ramos

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Mel Ramos

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with graphic artist Sandy Dvore.

Originally from Chicago, Sandy Dvore left advertising to move to LA to become an actor in the early 1960s. Several years of failure and a chance encounter resulted in him becoming a highly successful graphic artist in the entertainment world. For many years the highly coveted back pages of The Hollywood Reporter and Variety were reserved for his vibrantly illustrated ads that broadcast the latest news for the megastars of cinema and music. From there, he became a sought after titles designer for films and television. His opening credits for television shows helped shape American culture in the 1970s and 1980s—a few examples include The Partridge Family, The Waltons, and The Young & the Restless. In this deep, intimate discussion, we discuss his rags-to-riches story, the aftereffects of computers ending his career, loneliness and searching for creativity in the face of depression.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-sandy-dvore

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Sandy Dvore

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with model, actress and yogi Ingrid Boulting.

One of the most memorable models of the late 1960s and 1970s, Ingrid Boulting was raised in South Africa and England. Starting as a ballerina she fell into fashion, where she became a favorite of Richard Avedon, David Bailey and Sarah Moon, and appeared in Vogue (all international editions), Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen and many other magazines and ad campaigns. In 1976 she starred alongside Robert DeNiro in the movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished novel, 'The Last Tycoon' in 1976. Throughout this period she studied meditation and yoga as a method of grounding herself, and later moved to Ojai, California, where she became a yoga teacher and opened her own studio. In this deep, intimate discussion, we discuss the projections placed on her due to her beauty, healing through yoga and shadow work, and, of course, her experiences in fashion and films. Behind the striking girl in the fashion photographs lies a far more interesting and complex woman.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-ingrid-boulting

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Ingrid Boulting

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with fashion designer Anna Sui.

Born in Detroit in 1952, from a young age Sui became obsessed with fashion, music and New York. Sui achieved her dream when she moved to NYC to study fashion design at Parsons, but left after two years to work as an assistant designer at a juniors’ sportswear label. In 1980 she started her own company with $300. With the help of best friends Steven Meisel and Paul Cavaco, Sui launched herself into the fashion stratosphere in 1991 with her supermodel-heavy first runway show. In 1992 Sui opened her first store and won the CFDA Perry Ellis award for new talent. Sell-out collections at the major department stores and celebrity endorsements from such megastars as Madonna led to more stores, diffusion lines, perfumes and a makeup collection. Anna speaks openly about her slow road to “overnight success” and the business deals and collaborations that allowed her to expand her empire and to maintain control privately of her company. A fascinating interview for anyone interested in the inspiration, research, hard work and business behind the clothes you wear.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-anna-sui

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Anna Sui

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with photographer and filmmaker Jerry Schatzberg.

Originally from the Bronx, Jerry became intrigued with photography while working at his family’s fur business after WWII. He started as a photographer’s assistant in the mid 1950s, before striking out on his own and shooting for Vogue by the end of the decade. Perfectly placed and well-suited to document the pop culture shifts of the Sixties, Schatzberg photographed such luminaries as the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan while also hosting raucous parties for them at his studio. As celebrated as his subjects, Jerry appeared often in the gossip columns as a “man about town” especially once he became part owner in two of the hippest nightclubs in town—Ondine and Salvation—and was engaged to Faye Dunaway. Breaking into moviemaking in 1970, he won the top prize at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival for his third film, Scarecrow. Attracted by offbeat characters and unconventional plots, Jerry was part of a new auteur movement in 1970s Hollywood. He directed over a dozen films over the following decades, and now in his nineties he continues to write scripts and produce exhibitions and books of his photographs. Inspiring as a creator of photographs and films, Jerry Schatzberg is equally as inspiring for his thoughts, perspectives and passion for life.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-jerry-schatzberg

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Jerry Schatzberg

This week on LADY’s After Hours, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with fashion designer Vicky Tiel.

Vicky Tiel started designing clothes as a pre-teen before studying fashion at Parsons in New York. Alongside her college friend, Mia Fonssagrives, she moved to Paris at age 20 in 1964, where they quickly became the toast of the town. Snapped up to be costume designers on the film ‘What’s New Pussycat?’, they met Elizabeth Taylor at the studio—she became a client, friend and investor in their company. Mia-Vicky opened their first store in 1968 at 21 Rue Bonaparte; Vicky maintained a shop in that location for over four decades. Tiel married Elizabeth Taylor’s makeup man and spent several years traveling the world with the Burtons, while also designing youthful fashions that captured the essence of the “Swingin’ Sixties.” She went on help establish the couture salon at Bergdorf Goodman in 1981 and design the red ball gown Julia Roberts wore in ‘Pretty Woman.’ For the last few years, Tiel has focused on her perfume lines, which she primarily sells on HSN. A natural confidante, she provides advice for women on love, life and beauty. Full of enthusiasm, Vicky is a delight—she’s an intriguing mix of a keen businesswoman, a hopeless romantic and a great girlfriend that you want to dish all your troubles to.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://ladyworld.tv/after-hours-vicky-tiel

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Vicky Tiel

This week on Sighs and Whispers, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with model, Playboy Playmate and journalist Marilyn Cole Lownes. From a small seaside town in England, Marilyn got her break as a Bunny at the Playboy Club in London in 1971 before becoming the January 1972 Playmate of the Month and 1973's Playmate of the Year. A notorious beauty, she enjoyed the finest excesses of the 1970s before settling down with her longtime on/off love, Playboy executive Victor Lownes, in 1984. She discusses how passion inspired the course of her life (taking her from modeling to journalism and tango), Playboy now and then, and what is was like to be the first full frontal centerfold.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://www.sighswhispers.com/episodes/episode-04-marilyn-cole-lownes

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Marilyn Cole Lownes

This week on Sighs and Whispers, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with legendary television producer Russell Morash and his wife, Marian Morash. Working at WGBH in Boston since 1957, Russell Morash’s programs have been integral to the success of PBS – he produced Julia Child’s ‘The French Chef’ and ‘The Advocates,’ before creating ‘The Victory Garden,’ ‘This Old House’ and ‘The New Yankee Workshop.’ Marian learned to cook from Julia, ran a successful restaurant in Nantucket and became “Chef Marian” on ‘The Victory Garden.’ Russell Morash is the winner of 14 Daytime Emmy’s and the recipient of the 2014 Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award. Together they discuss how they created a long, beautiful and happy life out of following their passions.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of images, head to https://www.sighswhispers.com/episodes/episode-03-russell-marian-morash

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guests Russell and Marian Morash

This week on Sighs and Whispers, fashion and cultural historian Laura McLaws Helms meets with legendary fashion designer Norma Kamali. Opening up about her life, work and creative process, Norma is incredibly insightful about the choices and decisions she has made throughout her career in order to maintain her independence in the fashion industry and also discusses what continues to inspire her after fifty years designing.

For full show notes, episode resources and a slideshow of Norma’s designs, head to https://www.sighswhispers.com/episodes/episode-02-norma-kamali

Produced and hosted by Laura McLaws Helms

Featured Guest Norma Kamali