Memories of Elizabeth Taylor
I was saddened to learn yesterday that Elizabeth Taylor has passed away. I first met her in Johannesburg prior to and at a Gala at the Carlton Hotel, just after she had married Richard Burton in Botswana. Many years later, when I visited with her at her home in Beverly Hills, she said that those were the happiest days of her life. I reconnected with her later, when my friend Barbara Grant, the last wife of Cary Grant, organised for me to meet with Ms Taylor at her home in Beverly Hills and design for her.
I remember designing a handbag for her in the dazzling blue-purple violet shade of her eyes. Seeing her in person, her eyes were the same dazzling violet colour. She was very funny, with self deprecating humour and very quick wit and had a phenomenal memory, and was very kind.
The Cleopatra Clutch, the iconic handbag of Oscar winners, was inspired by Elizabeth Taylor, and worn by such stars as Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren. I later told Ms Taylor that her role as Cleopatra had inspired this handbag – the ultimate in glamour, which she epitomized. She was pleased by that, and I think of her every time the Cleopatra Clutch is worn at the Oscars. There will never be another like her, and I miss her very much.
