The first time I visited Moscow was in 1968 with my father. It was during the Brezhnev years and life there was so different than in the rest of Europe. Our bags were full of chocolates, lipsticks and pantyhose, which made all the people we met so very happy. Twenty years later, I went with my children and even though it was the beginning of Glasnost, it was still another world. Today Moscow is one of the most exciting capitals in the world. Like New York, it has so much energy and joie de vivre and I love it!!

I am staying at the Ritz Carlton, the old Intourist building with a beautiful view on the Kremlin.  A whole group of us are here for the opening of a DVF retrospective at the Manezh Exhibition Hall.

When I land on Tuesday night, one shipment of artwork is still held in customs and we are reminded of the 2 forces of Russia. One side is aggressive, fast and “all is possible”, and one is bureaucratic and everything is “nyet.” Panic is not an option and at the end all arrives and goes well!!  Bill Katz, the ultimate art insider makes it happen with the invaluable help of Luisella, Robert, Marissa, Colleen, Franca, Fariba and Lourdes. I will never thank them enough. It is a non stop excitement for the next 4 days organized by Aizel, my smart and wonderful partner in Moscow.

Visit at the Garage, the new Centre For Contemporary Culture, founded last year by Dasha Zhukova. Situated in one of Russia’s architectural masterpiece, designed by Konstantin Melnikov, I catch the last day of the Biennale curated by Jean Hubert Martin…FANTASTIC!!!

Photo shoot with 4 young Russian designers and an appearance on the most viewed TV show “Let Them TALK.” Dinner with banker Roustam Tariko at the magnificent Baccarat restaurant. The food is delicious and very refined, the young French chef introduces himself… my brother Philippe and his wife Greta are with us as is editor in chief of Vogue Aliona Doletskaya.

Thursday is a day of interviews and meeting people. Lunch at Vogue Café, and cocktails at the DVF shop where I meet my Russian customers. Dinner for 30 at Café Pushkin, my favorite restaurant in Moscow. My husband, Barry and Ali, my son’s fiancée and my friend Hamilton South have joined us… it is their first time in Russia!!!

Friday is THE DAY !!! I am a little nervous and have not slept well. I walk to the museum for last minute checking… no one else has slept either… but things seem to be ready!! At 2 o’clock I go to the University where I  speak in front of 500 students of the school of journalism. I begin to relax as I tell my story in front of the nicest audience I ever had. Mostly girls, pretty, intelligent, polite. My brother is in the room… so is Natalia Vodianova, my beautiful friend who actually gave me the idea of this exhibition.

I cross the street for the press conference at the Manezh. Olga Sviblova, the smashing powerful director of The Moscow House of Photography Museum and Multimedia Art Museum introduces me. I am very humbled and  moved….I think of my father who left his native Russia in 1929…I dedicate the exhibition to him! Back at the hotel, I do my make up and change into a gold dress. Naomi Campbell and her Russian boyfriend, Vladislav Doronin pick us up and we arrive at the Museum where a huge crowd is waiting. Olga, Naomi and Natalia officially introduce me. It is very very exciting. I meet the American Ambassador, John Beyrle, the Belgian Ambassador, Guy Trouveroy and many dignitaries… people seem very happy… the show is a success!! Dinner at the elegant Bolshoi Restaurant…food  is delicious. I am exhausted, but the night is not over… Aizel has arranged a Studio 54 evening at We Are Family night club… it is great fun!!!!

Saturday is off duty… we go and visit the Kremlin, its churches and the Armoury Museum…all magnificent!! It is snowing slightly just to remind us that we are in Russia. Last dinner is in a Ukranian restaurant that looks like a farm… chicken Kiev and meatballs ! Before leaving on Sunday, I rush to the New Tretyakov Museum and see an extraordinary show on Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes… lovely way to say good bye to Moscow, its beauty and its dreams.

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Sunday noon… I land in Madrid… the sun is shining and the sky is blue. The new airport of Barajas is spectacular and I feel very happy. I am staying at the Palace Hotel, where I am the guest of Telva, the leading fashion magazine in Spain. Every year Telva gives a huge party and two awards, one to a national designer,  and one to an International one. Angel Schlesser and I are the lucky recipients this year.

I decide to go out and enjoy the day. On my way to the Prado, one of my favorite museums in the world, my memory takes me back to when I was 17 and living in Madrid. It was a different Spain then, Franco was in power and the country was very held back compared to the rest of Europe. I had enrolled myself in a Spanish course at the Facultad de Filosofia y Lettras but the country was in turmoil and the University was often closed because of strikes.  At the Prado, I see my favorite, Goya’s El Coloso as well as an exhibition on a lesser known Spanish master, Juan Bautista Maino. I salute Velasquez on the way out and decide to go to the contemporary art Museum of Reina Sofia. Unfortunately it is closed and I choose to walk through the botanical garden before hitting the Thyssen Foundation. On the way there, I walk by singers and mimes…one of them, Neptune, all painted in blue catches my attention. I go back to give him some money… he is totally immobile but he thanks me with his eyes. I feel good…only two blocks to the Thyssen. But by the time I get there my wallet has mysteriously disappeared!! You always hear of pickpockets, but you think it will never happen to you…well, guess what? My cash and my credit cards are gone, but fortunately I am OK!

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Ellen Barkin and Daniel Craig

Do you like serious theatre? Would you like to see 2 major actors, super stars doing an outstanding performance? Then go to the Schoenfield Theatre on Broadway to watch Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman in Steady Rain!! The play about two policemen in Chicago is riveting and poignant!! A fantastic achievement!!

What a crowd of amazing women in the same room the other night at Cipriani!! Never have I seen so many powerful, committed women all sitting looking glamourous and being so concerned and efficient. Wendi Murdoch, Queen Raina and Sarah Brown (left with Nicole Kidman and Liya Kebede) spoke and were so compelling in their dedication for White Ribbon Alliance that everyone in the room decided to do something!! So, be ready and expect something fun and useful to happen for Mother’s Day 2010 in all DVF shops that will enhance the exposure and raise money for White Ribbon Alliance.

Do you think I was nervous before my show? Well, not as nervous as I was Monday night in Toronto for the premiere of Tanner Hall, the movie my daughter Tatiana co-directed with her friend Francesca Gregorini. It is the story of four girls in boarding school as they are becoming women. It is a beautiful, sensitive, deep movie… the audience loved it and I am the proudest woman in the world.

View the trailer…