Party at the Ritz in Vogue
To salute the Ritz Paris before the legendary hotel closes for two year's worth of renovations, Vogue's Andre Leon Talley penned a touching feature of his memories as a loyal guest of Room 454. In additon to Talley's own tales, he recalls the iconic designers that frequently inhabited the hotel for both work and play, such as Karl Lagerfeld and Oscar de la Renta.
Since we're not fancy enough to actually have our own Ritz memories, it's fun living vicariously through Talley's, which include a luxe Christmas stay complete with an in-room tree and feast, regular run-ins with Tom Cruise (pre-crazy) and Nicole Kidman, breakfast with Haider Ackermann, and lunch with Stefano Pilati.
He also recounts the days of Gianni Versace, when he would showcase his couture collections over the Ritz pool. Then there was that one time when Lagerfeld occupied the entire floor of the Imperial Suite for his show and supermodels "Naomi Campbell, Shalom Harlow, and Kate Moss came to [Talley's] room—a simple one with two armchairs and the bed in a neoclassical alcove—and took naps," adding "Karl and I walked in to find them all lined up asleep under layers of fine piqué sheets, like fairy princesses, false eyelashes still in place." To be a fly on that wall.
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So sad to hear about the Ritz Paris closing for 2 years!! I have incredible memories from visiting there not long ago (http://bit.ly/zJW1lX). Also, they served the absolute most divine chocolate martini I've ever tasted.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous photos!