Vionnet makes its mark at PFW

INTERVIEW_For a woman with everything, including several gold mines, Kazakh oligarch Goga Ashkenazi's purchase of the fabled Vionnet Paris fashion house in 2012 was the chance of a lifetime, even if not everyone in fashion welcomed it.

With no real background in fashion, the glamorous, Oxford University-educated Ashkenazi -- who counts Britain's Prince Andrew as a friend -- is all too aware of her critics. Some in the industry hate her, she has said, adding that they see her as nothing more than a rich girl playing at fashion.