Valentino Garavani's quote on Harper's Baazar.
In these days, as usual, putting the files in order in our historical "drawers", we have found a historical article in which Valentino Garavani claimed to use Philip Martin's. We propose it to you.
It was 2011 when the designer Valentino Garavani called Philip Martin's. Asked by Mauro Trimigliozzi, the president: “I was passed on the phone - he says - saying it was“ Valentino ”. I put it down thinking it was a joke and replying that I was Roberto Baggio. But it wasn't a joke: he ordered me 12 liters of Maple Wash and Maple Rinse because he was moving to Beverly Hills and could no longer buy from his hairdresser in Rome ”.
In the same year, the designer, without saying anything to the company, was interviewed by Harper's Baazar and mentioned Philip Martin's in his daily routine. A big surprise. Below is the entire article translated into Italian, while in the photo the original published article can also be found here.
The Article
10:30 A.M. I really love to sleep late. Now that I am working much less, I prefer to stay up at night, reading or watching TV, and get up later. I wear cotton pajama pants and a T-shirt to sleep. In the morning I put on a blue terry robe from Pratesi. I like to get up immediately and have my breakfast at a small folding table. My breakfast is rather simple, as are all other meals: berries and Greek yogurt and tea, and a cup of hot water with lemon. People believe I have huge, rich banquets all the time. It's just the opposite, as I hate rich food, and I follow a rather strict regime. My room in Wideville [outside Paris] is enormous, so walking to the different places in the room is already a good morning exercise. I hate baths; instead I just take a shower. I use L'Occitane bath oil and a mild shampoo, Maple Wash, from a small Italian company, Philip Martin's.
10:45 A.M. Getting ready is long. I start to get dressed, which takes more than one hour, but there are calls in the middle and playing with my dogs. I always wear Caraceni, my tailors in Rome, mostly jackets with light-colored pants. I own 300 suits from them, but I keep ordering again and again. Sometimes I wear Ralph Lauren. My shoes are Jo from the 1930s hn Lobb, Berluti, or alligator shoes made to measure in Naples. My cologne is Jo Malone's Dark Amber. My first telephone call is usually to Giancarlo [Giammetti]: "How are you? Did you sleep well?" That kind of conversation. I make two or three calls during my preparation to the most important people in my life. Giancarlo and I have built this family of friends—they are the only ones who have daily contact with me. I like to call them many times a day; that way I feel closer to them even if they are not with me. But I hate long calls. I don't use the computer, fax, e-mail, or text messaging. I don't read about fashion, and my only information comes from TV—CNN or Italian news channels. I read an Italian newspaper, but they bore me because they just talk about politics and scandals in politics. I prefer TV.
12:30 P.M. I do a tour, weather permitting, of the gardens, followed by my six pugs: Mary, Maude, Milton, Monty, Molly, and Margot. It all started with Maggie, their mother; since then I've loved the sound of names with M.
1:45 P.M. Lunch is mostly in the jardin d'hiver, with a great view of the gardens. I am alone or with an associate or a friend, usually Giancarlo or Bruce [Hoeksema]. I try to eat a simple diet: no sugar, no milk, no dairy except goat cheese, no gluten pasta, Bio Rice, no meat, some fish (not the ones with mercury), vegetables, no potatoes, no bread except rice crackers or grissini, one glass of red wine, sugarless sherbet, all sweets made with almond milk and xylitol sweetener, and one coffee a day.
3:00 P.M. In the afternoon, if I don't have meetings in town, I go to the office of the [house's] property and go through all the matters of keeping this house running, especially the gardens and the trees. Or I work on my virtual museum, valentinogaravanimuseum.com. For me, it has been the first major contact with modern technology and the digital world, though I still cannot really move through the Web site without help. Now we are focused on further developing the site, which is a new, easier way to enter the museum. You can see gowns from my collections, read weekly stories, and catch Carlos Souza's [Valentino's longtime PR chief] "Instaglams" of the month. What do I collect? Ask me what I don't collect! I am maniacal about china—I know all the ones I own, and I personally choose them for dinner. I think I own more than 100 different sets. I love the antique sets, like the Meissen or the Russian, and some from P.K. Silesia, a German company, from the 1930s. Glassware is much simpler, clear, mostly from Nason Moretti in Venice. If I go to Paris for shopping, it's mostly at antiques stores—I love Galerie J. Kugel and Galerie Camoin Demachy. Maybe I'll pass by Galignani to buy a book. I love biographies, especially the ones of the great kings and queens or of a great personality of our times. Now I'm reading a long biography of Cesare Borgia because I love The Borgias on TV. Or maybe I go to see a friend for tea. If I stay in Wideville, I spend most of my time in my archives, a kind of small museum, full of memorabilia; and I work on some new project for the stage or just go through books and letters.
5:00 P.M. Four times a week I have Pilates class. My sports outfits are from Nike.
7:00 P.M. After the TV news it's time to change for dinner. I put on something more casual if I am by myself, a sweater from Malo and pants from Brunello Cucinelli or a knit shirt, and comfortable slippers from Jimmy Choo or Belgian shoes.
8:30 P.M. It's now time for dinner. If I have a few friends over, I will have a table set in the big dining room; otherwise I eat by myself in a smaller dining room. Never in front of a TV. Even if I'm alone, I like to be at a proper table with nice china and good food. The diet is even lighter than lunch: never pasta at night, some fish and vegetables, and a glass of Brunello di Montalcino.
9:30 P.M. I go in the media room, where I can watch an old movie, or if somebody knows how to use it, Apple TV, so we can get the latest movies. I love black-and-white movies from the 1940s and '50s, mostly American ones. My favorite is Some Like It Hot. I like the French Nouvelle Vague too. Today I like more and more TV shows. Of course Downton Abbey was a masterpiece, but I also like Homeland. I love music that is kind of soft, like Coldplay and the great operas.
12:00 A.M. I go to my room, and after the usual two or three phone calls to wish goodnights, I watch a bit of news or I read. The bedsheets are made of linen, exclusively white, and have my initials embroidered on the corner of each pillow. They are made just for me by a lovely lady in Rome. I sleep with two large pillows and one smaller, always with an open window. My bedsheets are, of course, ironed every morning and every night. Only Mary, the youngest pug, sleeps with me, on her pillow on the bed. She is quiet until 8 A.M., then she starts to worry if her food does not arrive.
2:00 A.M. I switch off the lights.
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