Suzy Menkes Celebrates the Big 8-0 at Dover Street Market London – WWD

STREET PARTY: Stephen Jones, Simone Rocha, Zandra Rhodes and a host of other designers gathered at Dover Street Market in London on Wednesday night to mark Suzy Menkes’ 80th birthday, which came complete with limited-edition merchandise, and artwork in the fashion writer’s image.

Menkes, who was dressed in a Christopher Kane multicolor paint print coat and an Issy Miyake sweater, greeted guests including Kane, Laudomia Pucci, Michael Kors, Michèle Lamy and Sarah Burton, and talked about her long career in fashion.

“I like to think that some of the things I’ve said, even if they seemed a bit tough at the time, turned out to be a turning point where a designer could do a bit better,” said Menkes, recalling her past reviews. “I don’t mean that in a bad way, it is part of my job.”

She said her most gratifying moments are when she sees “something moving forward for designers. When you catch that moment in the very beginning, and you just know that they’ve got something in them to give the world of fashion. It makes me very happy.” 

Dover Street Market’s president Adrian Joffe hosted the dinner at Rose Bakery, where the menu was curated by chefs Rose Carrarini and Harry Lomas. Guests dined on glazed beetroot, pear mustard velouté, guinea fowl, cranberry and radicchio, and a chocolate and clementine sorbet with nut brittle for dessert.

During the evening, designers recalled their favorite Menkes moments. “She helped me kick-start my career,” said Pucci.

Jones, who has known Suzy for 40 years, gave a speech in between courses.

“Each of us has got stories about you. Everybody in the room has been guided by Suzy. Always in a positive way. But sometimes your reviews were quite to the point,” said Jones, referring to a few stories she wrote about him in the early ‘80s.

Jones also asked Menkes how many articles she has written, to which she replied: “I think in terms of words, it’s somewhere around a million and a half, and that’s not including all the things I wrote secretly. I kept a kind of a report on what is really going on,” said Menkes, which elicited a big laugh from her guests.

To commemorate the event, Dover Street Market released a limited-edition Comme des Garçons x Suzy Menkes T-shirt with artwork by illustrator Darcel Disappoints. A larger-than-life figure, based on the Darcel Disappoints design of Menkes, appeared at the dinner.