Love Letters for Narciso: Sarah Jessica Parker, Claire Danes, and More Pen Odes to the Beloved Designer

The CFDA will give Narciso Rodriguez its 2018 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award on June 4. The 57-year-old designer has been recognized by the CFDA before; he took home the Designer of the Year prize in 2002 and 2003 after launching his independent label in 1997. Many designers have won more than once, but no one else in the history of the Awards has done it two years in a row.

Recognition from your peers is meaningful—we often hear designers say so from the CFDA stage. Still, Rodriguez’s true champions are the women who have worn his clothes so faithfully over the years—women like Claire Danes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianna Margulies, and his most famous client of all, Michelle Obama, who chose a red-and-black dress of his design the night she celebrated her husband’s election.

Now more than ever, dressing celebrities is an integral part of brand building, but few designers can claim to have as loyal a cohort as Rodriguez. And the ones who do, often have contracts with their actresses; theirs is often a financial relationship. Rodriguez breeds devotion not only with the extraordinary, yet understated cut and fit of his dresses, but also with his sensitivity. He is most trusted designer to these women, but he is also their friend. Testament to that can be found in the photo here of Margulies and the designer on her 2007 wedding day, and the beautiful words she’s written to him.

In honor of his Lifetime Achievement nod, four faithful clients penned “love letters” for Narciso and shared them with Vogue. Read them here.

Dear Narciso,

We have known each other over 20 years. I walked you down your very first CFDA red carpet in 1997—or was it 1998? Over the years you have dressed me in your most beautiful creations, I can’t count how many times. Every one of them a treasure. But when asked to write about just one particular dress, I can only honor the wedding dress you made for me. It truly was the most stunning dress I have ever worn.

I remember calling you from Paris, right after Keith proposed; you were the first friend I called after I told my parents. You were so excited for us, and you immediately said yes when I asked if you would make my dress. You were brimming with ideas: cut on the bias, backless, simple, flawless dresses; every time you would call me with another idea I would salivate over the design and tell you whatever you came up with I knew I would love. And then, two weeks after we got back from France I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t want to ruin your vision of me walking down the aisle, I was nervous to tell you, afraid that I would disappoint you somehow. When I finally plucked up the courage to let you know that I would actually be seven months pregnant by the date of our wedding, you didn’t hesitate, you were thrilled for us and never paused for a second, your joy was intoxicating and I was so grateful for that.

I stood in your studio with my bulging belly as you literally drew the design on me, showing me how you would wrap white-on-white beaded leaves and vines all around me, on a backdrop of luscious chiffon. Your optimism carried me through my nerves and doubts. On the last day of our fitting, one week before the wedding, you put the dress on me, it was beautiful, sleeveless with strands of tiny beads so delicately placed, swirling around my ever growing form. You stood back and looked at me in the mirror, and with a gleam in your eye, you said, “You look like a princess, we need to give you capped sleeves, like a princess.” I felt like a beached whale, you just laughed in your sweet way and found some tulle and created these perfect little capped sleeves, with long gloves to match.

Getting ready with you on that day is one of my fondest memories of our friendship. You were meticulous with every detail, the dress was perfection in every way, and indeed, I felt like a princess. You held my train and we walked to the landing of the stairs before going down to the ceremony. Just me and you, standing on that landing, all was calm. I put my hands on my belly and looked at you and I remember as if it was yesterday saying to you, “This is exactly how this day should be, I can’t imagine it any other way.” And it wasn’t just because the dress was magnificent, and you made me feel beautiful despite my condition, it was because you are so special to me. That you were there, next to me, guiding me through my anxiety with your gentle, sweet disposition, your hand in my hand, in that moment I felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

I love you,
Julianna

Dearest Narciso,

Sung to the tune of “L-O-V-E” by Nat King Cole
L is for the Lust your frocks induce
O is perfect Odor you produce
V is Very Very extraordinary
E is Even more than only simply “we adore”
And
Love’s the only thing we want to share
Love deserved for all that you laid bare
Bare our souls to tell you
There is no one near as good “vous“
Stealing hearts, committing a Love Coup
My dearest Narciso,
There really is no one like you.
You are so deeply loved and admired.
By friends, family, and peers.
It is deserved and only right you should be celebrated.
Lifetime achievement. Yes indeed.
I join all those who stand in ovation and who send congratulations and a bounty of LOVE.

Xxx,
SJ​

When asked to recall a specific Narciso dress, I can’t help but rewind to the very first one. It was, as first dresses go, a fairly big one: an Oscars dress. I was going as a presenter. I was 17. And I, like many 17-year-olds, was pretty sure I knew everything there was to know about all of the things in the world. Narciso was designing for Cerruti at the time and I met him at his studio on a rainy day in Paris. His head was a little down, his hands were in his pockets, a big window loomed behind him, fabric was draped on big tables all around him. He asked me in a soft voice what I had in mind. I have no idea what I actually said, but I know what I was thinking: Sexy! Red! Strappy! In sum, Sophisticated.

That is when he began, in his brilliantly discreet way, to school silly, 17-year-old me. Lesson number one was to dress my age, which is, essentially, sartorial code for knowing thyself. Thank goodness one of us had a clue. That clue turned into one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever worn. In fact, it wasn’t even a dress. It was a pale-blue cashmere tee, tucked into a silk bias skirt, perfectly finished with a diamond necklace that looked like a string of daisies.

Narciso has, over the course of our decades-long friendship, designed too many beautiful dresses to count; not least of which was the one I wore when I walked down the ultimate carpet: the wedding aisle. But as I catch up with the maturity that I imagined I had as teenager, I will always treasure the dress—and the self—that Narciso first saw in me.

Darling Narciso,

I know—why am I calling you that? You are always my Ricky and I am your Lucy, ever since I gave you that photo of me dressed as Lucille Ball. But “they” wouldn’t understand.

I cherish so many things about our friendship, I feel blessed to know you. We met at a difficult time for both of us, nursed each other’s wounds, cheered each other on. Taking walks around Tompkins Square Park, watching as you took notes, made sketches or just snapshots, but everywhere you were finding inspiration.

Visiting your showroom (more like an artist’s studio) and seeing the piles of books and tear sheets spread everywhere for ideas, bits of fabric samples pinned to sketches—and later visiting to have you fit certain pieces right on me—it was a lesson in your process, which had been a mystery to me.

There is no one more deserving of this Lifetime Achievement award more than you. You’ve been dedicated to making beautiful clothing in spite of the many times that I know it was a drain on you and you couldn’t imagine continuing for another season. But you always persevered and put heart and soul into the work.

You graciously made me a tuxedo to wear to an opening 10 years ago and I will never forget how special and confident it made me feel, it didn’t matter how nervous I was about my show. And when I wanted to do a “real” self-portrait in my studio wearing a big puffy gown (as if that’s how I worked), without hesitating you offered to make one for me.

We’ve both grown in so many ways, and while our lives have become busier, I’m comforted in knowing that you will always be in my heart, my dearest Ricky.

I love you,
Lucy
(aka Cindy)