Picture This with GPP: My Appointment with Peter Knapp

Our newest blogger needs no introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, the Executive Director of Fashion, Gladys Perint Palmer. Gladys will be doing a weekly blog for Fashion School Daily titled, “Picture This.” So without further ado…

Poor Emanuel Ungaro. Enter the sixth designer to mangle his house, seventh if you count Lindsay Lohan. I don’t.

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Ungaro Haute Couture Fall/Winter 93/94 for Sunday Times Style by Gladys Perint Palmer

Emanuel Ungaro was famous for the peplum and brilliant prints by Sonia Knapp who was influenced by Sonia Delaunay — but you know that. What you don’t know is that Sonia had a brother, Peter Knapp, art director of Elle when there was one Elle. Later, dozens of Elles sprouted.

But back to Peter Knapp…

I had just graduated from Parsons and took my portfolio to Paris.

I dressed very carefully for the appointment with Mr. Knapp. Full black leather fetish, jacket, mini, sheer stockings with seams, patent stilettos; black lipstick and nail polish from BIBA.

It was raining and as I got out of the taxi I went splat on the muddy pavement. My knees were bloody, my stockings in shreds and my mini spattered.

Peter Knapp took one look, mopped up the blood, applied a collage of band-aids, then looked at my portfolio — and gave me a ton of work.

Written by: Gladys Perint Palmer

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