What a wonderful few weeks away to recharge and find inspiration for the final costumes of the season and set next season off right. Paris was, of course, Paris – meaning it was delightful with its little cafes, adorable shops and fabulous couture exhibitions. I enjoyed visiting the Louvre and Dior where the smallest hanging thread drove me insane but chatting with the stitchers at Dior made up for it. Seeing Galliano pieces and reverse engineering them made me realize how brilliant he truly is. Shopping in the garment district was delicious but difficult as well as I could only purchase the smallest amount due to luggage space – or lack thereof.

A week at the Prix de Lausanne was an eye opener as I realized disco ball tutus that were not tacked correctly and showed a dancer’s bottom seemed to be de rigueur but I am happy my dancers were well covered and could be seen without sunglasses. It also had me realize this is a competition just like the others where the best does not always place as there are larger forces present (aka money talks). It was a little bit of a disappointment as I had hoped for a higher level of integrity but as we all know, life is not fair so accept it and move on or don’t accept it and don’t. I chose to shake my head and move on with a warning – the prix is a wonderful experience but don’t take it too seriously.

During my time away, tariffs became prominent in North America news. There was some, oh wait no there isn’t, oh yes there is and wait what? There isn’t? Very complicated but for exporters such as myself, it is easy. The client pays the tariff. So what exactly does that mean for US customers hoping for one of my pieces? Quite simple really. As usual all shipping and duty is paid by you and now please enjoy the gift from your government that a tariff is now added. Because of this silliness, even in person deliveries will now need the costume to be shipping ahead, paid in full which includes the final costume cost, my travel expenses, duty, shipping and yay – tariffs!

And because of all of this mess, this means I need variation info even earlier as we need to ensure the costume arrives before I do. Enter May 1, 2025 which is when my calendar for next season opens. You don’t need to know your variation but do need to know when you’d like it delivered and how many you need. Read thru my terms of reference carefully please.

Exciting times ahead and very pretty ones too as I carefully unpack my Paris pretties and prepare for some Dior inspired costumes ahead.