Menkes

Suzy (1942). English fashion journalist with the International Herald Tribune. She was born in Beaconsfield in England. She is capable of harsh judgments: she has had “disputes” with various designers and big companies in the sector, who have then excluded her from the presentation of subsequent collections. But she has never renounced her right to criticize. Certainly, her approval favors the fortunes of runway shows, which never begin until she has arrived. She always sits in the front row: she often begins to write her article on her laptop and is even capable of finishing it on the backseat of the taxi taking her back to her hotel. She has an unmistakable presence, emphasized by her beloved vintage jackets and above all her curious hairstyle: a sort of turned back quiff, the kind of “banana” that used to be fashionable for children, years ago. Her incorruptible nature is legendary and it is said that she only accepts flowers and chocolates from the large fashion houses, returning gifts that are too expensive to their senders. “I alternate positive and negative opinions, everything depends on the collection,” she has always said about her articles. She is the personal friend of many designers, but she does not allow herself to be influenced or intimidated by any of them. Christian Lacroix once said of her, “Sometimes I can tell that she is being extra harsh on me precisely because we are friends.” Her dry writing style has had success because it is based on the link between fashion and political-cultural events and costume. Her vision is not just the result of her personality, but also of her degree in History and English Literature from the University of Cambridge (1963-1966), where she took a Bachelor of Arts degree followed by a Masters. She was the editor of Varsity, the Cambridge student newspaper. She has an excellent knowledge of different styles, having also studied in Paris at the École Guerre La Vigne, which later became the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. Here she learnt to sketch designs and make toiles. The “coup de foudre” came when she had an opportunity to attend a runway show by Nina Ricci and was fascinated by it. She began her career in journalism in London. She was a “junior reporter” on The Times from 1966 to 1969. Afterwards she became fashion editor at the Evening Standard (1966-1977), at the Daily Express (1977-1979) and again at The Times as Fashion Editor-in-Chief (1979-1987). She then briefly moved to The Independent (1987-1988). She joined the Herald Tribune, succeeding two legends, Hebe Dorsey and Eugenia Sheppard. Stakanova-like, it is said that she sees 600 collections a year. For her frankness she has been nick-named “Samurai Suzy.” She is the widow of the foreign correspondent, David Spanier, has three children and divides her time between London, Paris, and her house in the Ardèche. She wrote and published The Windsor Style, a tribute to Edward VIII and his wife, Wallis Simpson. For more than 200 pages, the reader is given the opportunity to inspect the wardrobes of the celebrated couple and the jewelry cases that were a genuine weakness of the Duchess.