PHOTOGRAPHS: ALAMY; CLAIRE ROTHSTEIN; BILLAL TARIGHTGROWING UP, LIKE A LOT
of children, I was something of
an escapist. My chosen escape?
Technicolour musical comedies,
such as The Sound of Music, Funny
Face, anything with Cyd Charisse,
everything with Catherine Deneuve.
They were extravagant, glamorous
and fantastical; they were larger
than life. I loved musicals because
they portrayed an enhanced reality.
In real life, sadly, you do not often
dance in the street, or get dressed up
every morning in a matching frock
with your sister, like in The Young
Girls of Rochefort.
I was born in Geneva. My mother’s
style was very Eighties – all matching
suits, big blow-dries and blood-red
nails. Fashion, however, came to me
mainly through the movies – after
all, I was living in Switzerland, a
country that is as neutral when it
comes to style as it is politically.
The minute I graduated from
my boarding school I knew I had
to be in Paris, and moved there for
university, studying drama on the
side, then I moved to LA to pursue
acting. I think my ambition to
become an actress stemmed from a
simple desire to be the leading lady.
But I soon realised that the life of an
actor is not dreamy at all: it’s hard,
you have to take a lot of rejection
and you’re not always going to get
The Philadelphia Story role.
I stayed in LA for a year, but I
sensed that these dazzling women
could inspire me in a different way:
through design. And so I moved to
New York in my early twenties and
studied at the Gemological Institute
of America, setting up my jewellery
business, Sabine G, straight after. Injewellery I found a career I adore.
For me it’s all about the creation of
a character. For example, when I was
designing my Harlequin collection,
I was inspired by the bold, fabulous
women from the Sixties, captured in
Slim Aarons’ party photos.
My other great love is couture –
and it is bold and fabulous. To me,
couture is something that is not
reality; it’s pure and perfect fantasy.
My most significant experience withFrom Hollywood high life to
haute stuff: Society jewel
Sabine Getty lifts the lid
on her dressing-up box to
reveal the allure of coutureTatler September 2019 tatler.comit was making my Schiaparelli wedding
dress in 2015. My husband Joseph
and I married in the same church in
Rome as his parents, and I wanted
my dress to be extraordinary. I didn’t
even think of it as a wedding dress,
but rather, ‘W hat could I create that
would be so magical and make me
feel like a character out of a movie?’
I wanted to be the total opposite
of Maleficent – I wanted to be a
good fairy. I ended up creating aOriginal Gshoulder-less column dress with
two suns embroidered on the waist
and two more on the long sleeves.
I wore an enormous hooded cape,
with a 23-foot train and a huge sun
on the back, embroidered with half
a million sequins.
It was then I experienced first-
hand what it takes to conjure this
fantasy, how many hours of work
and how many skills come together
to create a piece of dreams – I justSabine Getty wears Jean
Paul Gaultier couture in
Tatler, December 201809-19BYST-FashionSabine.indd 74 02/07/2019 08:20
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