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DEL.ICIO.USFunding fashion led to priceless friendship
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The always gracious J. Mack Robinson let me come by his Brookhaven office on Tuesday to dine on sandwiches so I could listen to him reminisce about his unique business partnership with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
Robinson got the news on Sunday that Saint Laurent had passed away. “I was not expecting it, but his health has not been good for a while,” said Robinson, who has had his own health issues.
Both Robinson and his wife, Nita, have been in the hospital twice in the past two months — both suffering from heart problems. Because of the health issues, Robinson says that he won’t be able to attend Saint Laurent’s service later this week.
“It’ll be the first time I’ve ever been invited by Yves to a special event that I didn’t attend,” Robinson said. “I was just afraid to go out of town.”
Despite not feeling well, Robinson was in his office on Tuesday. At 85, Robinson still comes in to work every day and spends at least four to five hours overseeing the operations of the multiple companies he owns.
He has lost count of all the companies he’s owned over the years, saying it’s at least 100. “I had about 20 banks at one time.”
And he can barely remember all the industries he’s been in: carpet, lumber, banking, insurance, billboards, newspapers, television stations, perfumes, automobiles, horse-racing and printing, to name a few. Until recently, he was the largest individual shareholder in Wachovia. (But that’s another story.)
Of all the companies Robinson owned, none had quite the flair of owning the Yves Saint Laurent fashion house.
Back in 1962, Robinson owned a small insurance company in Switzerland. That firm was approached to invest in a new, young French designer — Yves Saint Laurent. Because he thought the investment was too risky for the insurance company, Robinson decided he would personally buy the fashion house.
Here was a self-made man from Atlanta (who got his start working in circulation for The Atlanta Journal and selling used cars) rubbing shoulders with the most famous people in the world — Elizabeth Taylor, Princess Grace Kelly and Catherine Deneuve, to name a few.
“I enjoyed every minute of it, even when it was losing money, because it was very interesting,” Robinson said. “It was a struggle. I had to get money wired every week to cover the payroll. I got embarrassed going to the bank. I think the bankers thought I was crazy.”
There also was hostility toward him in France, a fiercely proud country that didn’t really like one of its premier fashion houses being owned by a foreigner. In fact, then-President Charles de Gaulle made a speech criticizing American ownership of French enterprises, and he specifically mentioned Yves Saint Laurent.
Robinson owned the YSL fashion house until 1966, when he sold his 80 percent interest to a business partner for $1 million (nearly the amount he had invested in the enterprise). At that point, it was the top fashion house in the world.
“I practically gave it away,” said Robinson. (The fashion house sold for nearly $1 billion in 1999.)
There were reasons Robinson sold it. His two daughters were young, and the traveling was taking its toll.
“The whole time I owned the company, I didn’t ever miss a show on opening day,” he said. That meant he was flying back and forth at least twice a year. “Then we didn’t have jet planes. We had to stop to refuel. It was a long trip.”
Still, he admits that he regrets having sold the fashion house, especially for so little. But the memories are fresh.
“Yves always had [health] problems since the first day I met him,” Robinson said. “I insured him every year. When he would do a collection, I would drop a flat million dollars if the collection didn’t come out on time.”
Saint Laurent wanted to get into the perfume business, and he wanted to call the new scent “Opium.” Robinson refused to let him name a perfume after a narcotic. Then, the moment Robinson sold his investment, Saint Laurent unveiled Opium, which became one of the top-selling perfumes in the world.
Despite their differences, Robinson said: “We never had an argument. I thought the world of him.”
Robinson was particularly touched that Saint Laurent always included him in special events, long after he no longer had a financial interest in the house.
About three years ago, Saint Laurent put on a private dinner at the Ritz in Paris for about “20 old-timers” who had helped the designer throughout his career.
“They always put the spotlight on me,” Robinson said of Saint Laurent. “His favorite expression was: ‘If it wasn’t for this man, we wouldn’t be here tonight.’ ”
Of all the memories, the one that moved him most was when his daughter, Robin, got married. She really wanted her wedding dress to be designed by Yves Saint Laurent.
So Robinson, his wife and his daughter made several trips to Paris. At one point, Saint Laurent told Nita: “You need a dress, too.”
So after several trans-Atlantic trips for fittings and the dresses were complete, Robinson went to pay. “Yves said, ‘You don’t owe me a dime.’ ” Sitting back in his chair, Robinson remembers Saint Laurent with quiet emotion.
“He has had health problems for many years,” he said. “I’m really surprised he lived this long. He was a good friend.”
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By Casey
June 5, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
This is a great story.