The Battle of Versailles by Robin Givhan

Author:Robin Givhan
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250053855
Publisher: Flatiron Books

Ten

Waiting

Early on Sunday morning, November 25, jet lag and adrenaline playing a tug-of-war with everyone’s bodies, the designers and models, who had not even been to their hotel, made their way to Versailles.

While the models were forced onto a bus for the thirty-minute drive, the designers all had private cars and chauffeurs. Liza Minnelli, the star of the Americans’ production, had a driver too, but she opted to meet the models at their hotel and ride with them. The models were thrilled by the display of camaraderie and impressed that Minnelli was so approachable. They were all one big show biz gang.

Upon arrival at the palace, the Americans were duly awestruck. Rings of balconies rose up around the Théâtre Gabriel’s massive proscenium stage. The ceiling soared 118 feet above their heads. This was three dimensions of unwieldy, challenging space. Who could appreciate the stitching or details on a dress from a balcony seat? What could compete with chandeliers that created a galaxy of twinkling crystals? The theater was majestic, regal, and … as cold as an icebox.

Over the next two and a half days, the Americans did not settle in. The models and designers never got comfortable. They navigated the theater swaddled in overcoats, scarves, and hats. They quickly discovered that the bathrooms had not been stocked with toilet paper, their hosts had not provided food or water, and the French crews that ran the theater’s lights and other backstage operations adhered to their union contracts ruthlessly. Like American Teamsters on a loading dock, they came and went as their labor rules dictated—not a minute earlier, not a minute later.

The Americans had expected logistics to unfold smoothly. After all, the tough decisions had already been made, such as the order of the show and the amount of time each designer would have onstage. The designers had planned that the first day and a half at Versailles would be spent making a few last-minute fixes on garments, working with choreographer Kay Thompson to block out each segment, and going through a technical rehearsal on stage.

Then there was the big Norton Simon party for Minnelli and Halston on Monday night at Maxim’s. Of the other designers, only Burrows had been invited, along with Halston’s favorite models. It was Halston’s coming out at Maxim’s, not America’s. On Tuesday, the day before the show, the American designers would have their dress rehearsal.

It did not work out that way.

The Americans’ commitment to arguing with each other was impressive. Resentments over the order of the presentation lingered; they bickered over who was to be the biggest dog in the pound. They were aggravated with the French because of their inhospitableness, but instead of directly confronting them, which the American designers were too insecure to do, they squabbled with each other.

The garments came together, but the music nearly didn’t. The sets were sized all wrong for the stage and had to be remade. Thompson didn’t have enough time to give each designer his or her fair share of attention.

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