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Interview with Fashion Designer Carmen Marc Valvo; Author Discusses Race and Gender Issues for Future Generation

Aired February 08, 2006 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS: His parents hoped that he'd be a plastic surgeon. He still works with stitches, but a very different kind.
CNN's Sibila Vargas has the story now from the New York Fashion Week.

Oh, my goodness. Nice jacket.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Ah, you noticed. You see, I knew you would notice, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I notice everything about you, Sibila.

VARGAS: You've got a great eye. But I'm at the Carmen Marc Valvo show. And of course I'm looking a little extra fabulous this time, because I'm actually wearing one of the designs.

And I have the designer with me right now. How are you?

CARMEN MARC VALVO, FASHION DESIGNER: Good, very good.

VARGAS: You're just moments away from showing your fall collection. How do you feel right now?

VALVO: Calm. Excited but calm. All of the craziness will start when they say OK, you're up in two, you're up in three, and I go. I guess the same thing when you're on. So we just a few more seconds and then I'll get nervous.

VARGAS: I know a lot of celebrities love your style. They wear your dresses. Every time I bump into somebody, they're constantly talking about Carmen Marc Valvo. Define yourself.

VALVO: Well, I think my clothing really appeals to a woman who is very confident. She's sure of herself. She is feminine. She believes in classicism and also believes in sensuality. Always put together, never overtly sexy, but just right there, willing to take a risk or two.

VARGAS: And you're into hidden luxuries, like I have a -- there's a new term here. I see this is one of your hidden luxuries right now. Tell me about that.

VALVO: It's actually -- I wanted all the -- the collection wanted to be very, very feather weight. So all of the furs are actually based on lace, a metallic lace. So instead of having them with heavy backing, they're very, very lightweight. They move. Just something special.

VARGAS: I know you have one of your models that you're show us some of your styles.

VALVO: She is here with me right now. This is, again, a part of a -- these are biased strips of satin, which are hand-applied onto a lace of metallic, Chantilly lace, then lined again in a nude chiffon. So very, very light feeling. Even though it's fall, I want the feeling of lightness and airiness, and like the wind blowing in your hair. You're out in the tundra. It's cold but -- just something special and gorgeous. Just I think really beautiful.

VARGAS: I know you have another blue dress that you want to show us as well.

VALVO: We will put it over you. She can do this. Oh, I'll take that thank you. This is, again, one of the stripping details. Again, print on top of lace, on top of netting, on top of more lace and then more chiffon. And about 64 pattern pieces, I think it was. And I can't remember, six days? I think six days to sell. It's one of my favorites.

VARGAS: It's beautiful. Lots of detail. And, you know, when I speak to a lot of women on the red carpet, they're always telling me that you design for women of all sizes and shapes. You like the curves.

VALVO: I think a woman is supposed to have curves, and that's what I design. I mean, it's one thing to put something on Taylor, who is gorgeous. And she's supposed to be six feet tall, and, you know, a special size. But, you know, the American woman comes in all shapes and sizes. And when it goes into production, I want to make sure that it fits all women. And so and I like to glorify and enhance their curves. God gave them them for a reason, and so I work with it.

VARGAS: I'm always talking to makeup artists or people on the street. What's the one accessory, in very short little time, that you think women will need this fall?

VALVO: Black hose. Stockings. Dark stockings on their feet, definitely. Maybe fur lined in lace, huh?

VARGAS: I love your fur. Thank you very much. A pleasure.

VALVO: Thanks so much. Nice seeing you again.

VARGAS: Back to you, Kyra.

VALVO: All right, Sibila, you got to ask Carmen Marc Valvo why he didn't listen to his parents and become a plastic surgeon?

VARGAS: Do you want me to ask him?

PHILLIPS: Ask him!

VARGAS: Why didn't you listen to your parents and become a plastic surgeon like your dad wanted you to do?

VALVO: Because I was a stupid! Stupid, stupid, boy. I should have known better. Crazy, right?

VARGAS: I think you're doing all right, though.

VALVO: Do you know what -- they said my father used a needle and thread and so do I. His was more invasive, and mine is kinder.

VARGAS: Right. And you're still doing somewhat of surgery, you're just making women beautiful without...

VALVO: Without the nip and tuck.

PHILLIPS: So is he going to give you a kinder discount on that jacket, Sibila?

VARGAS: I don't know, but I'm going to work on it.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you better call that hubby of yours. He needs to start saving. Sibila Vargas, thanks.

Straight ahead, some say a funeral is no place for political attacks. Others say Coretta Scott King was an activist who would have approved the causes and the caustic comments. Let us know what you think. E-mail us at livefrom@CNN.com. We'll read your comments later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: In just three and a half months, we have seen the passing of two extraordinary African-American women. Rosa Parks, who died in October, and Coretta Scott King, who was laid to rest just yesterday. Amid the tributes at Mrs. King's funeral, there were questions about the future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOROTHY HEIGHT, NAT'L COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN: Coretta Scott King was a woman, a beautiful woman, a gentlewoman. But she also was a woman who taught us a lot about how to live.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON, AUTHOR: I think if we want non-violence as a philosophy, to just not be frozen as some abstraction that had historic significance, but rather as a living, breathing thing -- which is what King would want it to be, what Coretta would want it to be -- then I think each of us have to ask that question of ourselves, will we carry that manner?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A new generation of women are finding new roles and challenges. Kristal Brent Zook is the author of "Black Women's Lives." She joins me live from New York.

Kristal, great to have you with us. And when we think about the death of Coretta Scott King, of Rosa Parks, of Betty Friedan, all recently, there is a necessity to keep the movement moving.

KRISTAL BRENT ZOOK, AUTHOR: Yes, there is. Absolutely. And you know, Coretta Scott King had a certain grace about her, a dignity. A lot of people have spoken about her quiet leadership. And that's all true, but from my perspective in writing this book, it sort of begins in 1980.

It begins where it seems like the story of black women and struggle and leadership sort of ends. I don't know why, but you didn't hear a lot in the following decades and, you know, 1983 was the year that she finally got her holiday, Martin Luther King holiday, and in some ways that's where the stories begin in this book.

That's the year that, for example, one of the women in the book, Sarah White started working in a catfish plant in Mississippi and began her long, long struggle for equitable wages for, you know, time and a half for overtime, medical assistance on the job.

They had absolutely no rights. They didn't even have the right to use the bathroom all the way through the 1980s, so those were some of the stories that I wanted to continue and to talk about that just seemed to go untold for some reason.

PHILLIPS: Yes, in the book, I love how you have -- chapter by chapter, you decide what this person did and what they achieved. And you just talked about Sarah White. She's the activist, one of the activists that you talked about in your book.

Then you talk about the artist. Let's talk about Gina Prince- Bythewood and how she discovered the reality of racism and how she deals with it now all these years later.

ZOOK: Well, Gina was interesting because I didn't expect her -- I knew about her work in film and television. She wrote and directed "Love and Basketball," a very well-received film, but I didn't realize that she was biracial at the time that I went to interview her. I happen to be biracial as well.

I didn't realize that she was adopted and raised by white parents in an all-white community in Northern California. So by the time I got to her, I realized that her story was going to be about much more than just being a film director and, you know, producer and television -- interesting television voice.

Her story was really going to be about so many other layers of identity and how she discovered her African-American sense of self, so it took on a certain complexity that I didn't expect, but was glad to see it.

PHILLIPS: Another chapter, the executive. Let's talk about Candace Matthews.

ZOOK: Candace Matthews is a woman who is fascinating because she's president of SoftSheen-Carson here in New York City, which is a division of L'Oreal, the largest cosmetics company in the world. And so she has a very prominent position, and she's quite influential. But what I found interesting is the way she balances work life issues and her home life and the way she's able to do this while still moving up the corporate ladder.

And this is something that so many women of all races are dealing with right now. I wanted to focus on her story because she actually is in a situation where her husband stays at home and raises their two daughters, so I thought her story was unique for that.

PHILLIPS: As you interviewed each one of these women in different types of professions, did you find that most of them, if not all of them, had a mentor, a Coretta Scott King or a Betty Friedan or a Rosa Parks or somebody, a female that represented power and influence and it pushed them internally?

ZOOK: Absolutely they did. Sarah White stands out because she -- to this day, she still speaks about Fannie Lou Hamer ...

PHILLIPS: Oh, wow.

ZOOK: ... who, you know, was part of the civil rights movement in Mississippi, grassroots organizer, very, very influential. Sarah actually wrote a letter to her recently as part of sort of a writing exercise. She feels that close to her still.

She feels like she's carrying on her legacy, and in fact, she is. I mean, in 1990, Sarah was one of the leaders of the largest strike of black workers ever to take place in the history of Mississippi, and, you know, it was mostly women, women working in this catfish plant who wanted the right to take a day off if they were sick without getting fired.

You know, they wanted the right to be able to use the bathrooms as needed, just basic human rights and dignity, so she absolutely has carried on the legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer.

PHILLIPS: And then you met -- you went to Bakersfield, Vermont. You met Rosalie Williams (ph), the farmer. Pretty interesting chapter.

ZOOK: Yes, another interesting one. And those happen to -- well, two of the women happen to be women who come from mixed racial backgrounds out of all the women in the book. And in both cases I didn't plan it that way.

But it is interesting because I think that with -- and especially with the way the census will be looking in the next 50 years, we will be seeing a lot of mixed race children, but Rosalie's case was so different because she was raised in all-white community by white parents except they denied the fact that she was dark, as she put it.

She refers to herself as darker because she has no words. They really don't talk about race in that town, which is -- I think the town is about 98 percent white as well, so she was completely isolated. And to this day -- she's 49 now and has had to really grapple with -- which is different from Gina's case, the filmmaker.

She's had to grapple alone, in a sense, in an isolated way with her identity, and I'm not sure that she's quite there even at this age. She still struggles with the town's perception of her.

PHILLIPS: Kristal Brent Zook, the book is "Black Women's Lives: Stories of Power and Pain." Just out of curiosity, just real quickly, have you had a mentor, someone that has inspired you?

ZOOK: I've had so many mentors, yes.

PHILLIPS: Too many to talk about, including all the women in the book.

ZOOK: Absolutely. They have taught me so much.

PHILLIPS: Kristal, thanks for your time.

ZOOK: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, Coretta Scott King's funeral came almost 38 years after her husband's. Here's a look at what was different.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): More than 10,000 people attended Coretta Scott King's funeral in the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Her husband, Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 funeral was held at a much smaller venue, the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he was a pastor. Only 1,300 people were able to attend.

The six-hour service for Mrs. King included dozens of speakers, including four presidents. No presidents attended Martin Luther King's service, though Vice President Hubert Humphrey was there and three other presidential candidates from that year: Robert Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Eugene McCarthy.

Georgia Governor Lester Maddox refused to attend the funeral. Maddox had 64 state troopers stationed at the state Capitol that day in case violence broke out. Ironically, Mrs. King became the first African-American to lie in state at the same Capitol.

After the private funeral at Ebenezer Baptist Church, a mule- drawn wagon pulled Martin Luther King's coffin through the streets of Atlanta to Morehouse College. Tens of thousands of people gathered to pay their respects in the streets and at a public service at the college.

While several speakers and speeches at Coretta Scott King's funeral were notable, many people consider the most memorable speech from Martin Luther King's funeral to have been his own. At his wife's request, the speech was speech was played on tape at the service.

In it, the Reverend King said he wanted a short funeral and that he didn't want to be remembered for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, but rather a life dedicated to serving others. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You remember earlier in the newscast we asked you to e-mail us about what you thought about the political comments that were made at Coretta Scott King's funeral. The question was, was the King funeral an appropriate place for political statements? Here's some of the e-mails.

Becky says, "I can't believe that Mrs. King would approve of such disrespectful behavior from supposedly intelligent people. These people were not honoring her. They were trying to advance their own politics."

Richard J. Nussbaum (ph) says "as woman who spent much of her life speaking out against racial discrimination, war and social injustice -- and whose legacy is based up on these values -- it would have been inappropriate not to raise these very issues at Coretta Scott King's funeral."

Michael McGreevy (ph) says, "are you kidding? The whole affair was an embarrassing political stump parade. To the last, Coretta was used by her 'admirers.' God rest her soul, and God help those politicians" -- or "these politicos." Sorry.

Jimmy Fullwood (ph), finally: "After viewing the funeral on CNN, I would attend any church at which Reverend Joseph Lowery preaches. Both former President Carter and Reverend Lowery only spoke the truth, and the late Mrs. King would have said the exact same thing had she given her own eulogy."

"Catch a wave and you are sitting on top of the world." I bet you would still have that eight-track. Come on. Catch a wave at the Moz (ph), and you could be sitting on 30 grand. Surfing's finest show their stuff on short notice.

And breathtaking animal rescues. We might ruffle your feathers, but we won't leave you begging for scraps. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Dude. It's surfing siren song. The thunderous noise of gigantic waves hitting the beach at Half Moon Bay, California.

Reporter Bob MacKenzie didn't walk the noise, but he did cover this year's super bowl of surfing for our affiliate KTVU.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DERIDDER, SPECTATOR: It is like the Super Bowl of surfing. You get to see something that you wouldn't see any place else in the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what is that?

DERIDDER: Huge waves and foolish people. BOB MACKENZIE, KTVU CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Foolish, maybe. Brave, certainly. Twenty-four top surfers from around the world came to contend with the legendary waves, and thousands showed up to watch.

There are no bleachers at Mavericks. The early arrivers grabbed spots along the bluff while late comers dispersed along the beach or found a rock to sit or a piece of cliff to lean against.

Though this year's waves were no match for the 50 foot monsters we saw last year, there were spectacular rides in this afternoon's finals, positioning as a the major factor in the sport. To catch a wave, the surfer must be in the right spot at the right moment and judging where the wave will crest is partly strategy and partly luck.

Of a half dozen surfers, maybe only one will catch the wave, and only the world's most passionate surfers even want to catch a wave at Mavericks. Wiping out is a serious matter at Mavericks. Those galloping tons of water can take a surfer right to the bottom, and there are rocks down there.

Then there are the minor hazards such as the jealousy of other surfers.

RANDY COVE, CONTESTANT: There are certain elements that come into play. Every time you go out and you go surfing, you have got a target on your back. You know, why is he in it and I'm not, kind of thing, you know.

MACKENZIE: And it isn't only the surfers who are at hazard. Paramedics had to rescue a couple of spectators injured by debris sliding down the cliffs.

It was a surfer named Jeff Clark who in 1975 discovered these waves. He kept the secret to himself until the late 80's when others joined him.

Today the Mavericks contest is one of surfing major events.

And here's the winner of the $30,000 first prize, Grant Baker from South Africa.

GRANT BAKER, MAVERICKS WINNER: Twenty foot wide, big bombs. I mean, I had a hideous wipe out. You know, I made waves that I shouldn't have made. I mean, it's, you know, what a day.

MACKENZIE: In the surfing world he who has mastered Mavericks is king of the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, work came to a stand still on the LIVE FROM pod while we all watched a golden retriever struggle to get out of an icy pond. After too many tense minutes, some dog gone heroes came to the rescue.

Firefighters in Douglas County, Colorado, were on their way back from another accident when they got a dog in distress call from a golf course. They fetched an inflatable boat and eventually retrieved the retriever. The near pupsicle was bundled off to the vet, tail wagging all the way.

Given all the recent flap over the bird flu, well, this rescue also had its risks, but Marian Morris of Arkadelphia, Arkansas--wow, where is that?--didn't stop to think of her own safety.

Instinct took over when she found her brother's pet chicken Booboo floating face down in the family's pond. The retired nurse grabbed the exotic bird and began mouth to beak resuscitation. Here's how she described what happened next, "I breathed into its beak, and it's dad-gum eyes popped open."

We've learned that Booboo got its name because it startles easily and probably fell into the pond during a fit of vapors.

Well, it's the top of the hour. Nine small Alabama churches apparently torched in the past week. LIVE FROM looks for clues just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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