CHASING DVF
- Nolan Browne
- May 15
- 3 min read
My hustling philsophy in life has always been, until they say no, there's always a chance and if you're at that stage where you're almost there, don't give up and read the below.
Jane Fonda, Arnold Schwarzenneger, Bruce Springsteen, Hugh Jackman, Chris Martin, George Lucas, are just some of the global elite who walked into the gallery I managed at Claridge's.
One afternoon DVF walks in. I've never met someone so charming, who's aura and style just envelope you instantly, and despite her international fame and influence, made you feel so at ease. It was quite astonishing, it was like I was talking to an old friend. DVF ordered a ton of books for her suppliers and was easy to deal with. The next day, she launched the Claridge's christmas tree, an always glamourous affair and I'll never forget a voice in my head said ' go on, stand next to her and get your picture taken' so I did, ignoring any protocol.
Seven years later and I'm sitting in Soho House thinking of guests to have on A Life Curated. DVF pops into my head, I email her directly and she got back to me instantly. In brief she said, 'let's do it' and copied her assistant in. It wasn't as easy as I thought. I put together the questions and emailed them, organised a call and got the ball rolling. Whenever I thought we were about to record it went quiet. Really quiet. Deeply disheartened and at times dejected at being so close, I never let the flame go out. Even if it was months and months until we reconnected. I also have a wild imagination, a bit of a dreamer, and think anything is possible. This misguided hope, kept me going.
About a year later, I'm sitting at home and I read that DVF is attending the BOF Awards in Oxford. I see on Instagram she's staying at Claridge's. I had a gut feeling her jet would leave early the next morning, so I woke up at 6, jumped on a lime, cycled to a florist, got them to make a small but beautiful bouquet of Calla Lilies, printed the questions, wrote a hand written letter and gave it to one of my favourite concierges at Claridge's who delivered it straight to her suite. An hour later she calls me. 'That is so sweet of you' she said, 'lets record next week when I'm in Venice' Pure ecstasy. I'd done it. Not quite however. My texts went unanswered. For months and months.
We're almost at two years now, and one sunday afternoon, I went for a long run, when I came back home (DVF wasn't really on my mind) but again a small voice said 'text her'. So I did . She started responding and I didn't let up. I knew exactly when to message her and what to say to keep her engaged.
A few weeks later I see she's in London, I text her, 'let's do it' 'No, I haven't got time, call me next week'. Urrrggggghhhhh, I thought, but the next week I did, she picked up, and we organsied the episode and recorded.
'You never give up do you', DVF said 'No, I replied'
The episode is naturally my most downloaded, and doors have opened with ease now and instead of months, DVF replies in minutes when we occasionally message. A proper icon and class act.
If you want something so badly, just never ever give up. You'll get there for sure.
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