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This Domain is For Sale,
Serious Inquiries please contact Marie Tabsch
As I watched the horrors of the JFK, Jr. plane crash, the scene that repeatedly played in my mind was that of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy telling her three year old son, known to the world as "John John," to salute his father's casket as it passed by. That it perhaps one of the most unforgettable and moving images of the Twentieth Century. As I remember that scene, I cannot help but think of how much I admire Jackie Kennedy Onassis, not only for surviving the ordeals she did, but also for changing the perception of the first lady. One of the things that everyone remembers about her is her style, grace, and gorgeous fashions that created the look of not only a young first lady but of the era known as Camelot. It is said that behind every great man, there is a great woman, but in this case, behind every fashionable woman there is a great designer. That great designer happens to be Oleg Cassini, a giant in the world of fashion who is single-handedly responsible for creating the Jackie Kennedy look we have come to adore. Born in Paris in 1913 to Russian parents, Oleg Cassini began his career in Rome.
Oleg, 86, lives in Long Island, New York. He shares his estate with a menagerie of pets including eighteen dogs, fifteen cats, thirty goats, six sheep, one half-ton sow, two Vietnamese potbellied pigs, one donkey, two parrots, twenty-two full-size horses, and two miniature horses. He has been a long-time supporter of conservationism. He was the recent Guest of Honor at the 13th Annual Genesis Awards, which award members of the media for spotlighting animal cruelty and animal rights issues. Oleg was honored for his new line of coats called "Evolutionary Fur," cruelty-free fur coats that are fully synthetic but retain the feel, warmth, and fashion of real fur. The line, which was introduced along with Monterey Inc., has provided what the market needs, a big-name designer to begin using faux fur instead of animal pelts. Cassini realized the importance of conservation after creating a leopard coat for Mrs. Kennedy. He later found out that over 250,000 leopards died in the early sixties. Since then, he has attempted to redeem himself, and with the creation of these gorgeous coats, he may have very well done so. Other designers such as Yves Saint-Laurent are also adopting the use of synthetic furs in their designs. If designers adopt the use of synthetic furs rather than the traditional animal coats, they can save up to forty million animals a year.
Cassini's designs will officially be launched at a fashion show in October in Washington, DC. Yet he is already causing reactions from the public. Gretchen Wyler, president of The Ark Trust, at one time owned every type of fur available before she had her epiphany and began bringing light to the issue of animal abuse. Known as the Secretary of Style during the Kennedy administration, Cassini is proving that he not only has style but a heart. We congratulate Mr. Cassini for his most deserving Genesis Award, and thank him for not only changing the world of fashion with his designs but also teaching us that we can be stylish as well as caring. -Kareem Tabsch is a freelance writer who specializes in celebrity interviews. He has interviewed celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Bob Hope, Joan Rivers, Julio Iglesias, Barbara Mandrell and others. He writes frequently on animal related issues as well as on the entertainment industry. He can be reached at Kareem@thepettribune.com |
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