BY DESIGN : Fashion’s New...
Jane Booke’s sweeping jewel-colored velvets stand out in rooms full of people in black. Her career started in a similar way. She wore one of her own design, a flowing silk charmeuse and brocade dress, to Stephanie and Bernie Taupin’s 1993 wedding.
“Every five steps I got stopped,†she says. Two days later, Darleen Whaley, owner of the L.A. store Comme Des Fous (and who was also at the Taupins’ wedding) called and asked to see more. “I gathered up things from my closet, and she ordered 31 pieces.â€
While Booke, 38, is the kind of woman who wears a pink cut-velvet dress to a Fourth of July party, she was surprised to find others who share her love of romanticism. Other women, it turned out, responded to Booke’s designs, including Alana Stewart, Janice Dickinson, Laura Dern and, perhaps, Madonna, whose stylist borrowed a pink princess dress and green velvet cape for an upcoming video shoot.
“Women have strength and security; now they want femininity,†reasons Booke, who lives in a hillside cottage with musician husband Jim Cregan and their daughter, Camille.
Booke takes her inspiration from a variety of sources: the legendary French designer Madeleine Vionnet, fairy-tale drawings and trips to the south of France. “I loved old chiffon dresses I’d see there,†she says. “I bought some of them, but they’d rip instantly. I started making my own with new chiffon.â€
Booke’s velvet boxer shorts ($100), cotton gauze dresses ($250), and velvet, brocade and silk charmeuse dresses ($500 to $800) are sold at Comme Des Fous, Theodore and Henri Bendel in New York.
