COMMUNITY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR DESIGNER, FRIEND BATTLING CANCER

Local artists and admirers turned out in style March 13 to toast and support local designer Jane Ryder at Hats On: A Benefit for Jane Ryder, at The Agora Borealis in Shreveport.

Ryder, best known for her stunning bridal creations from Jane Ryder Millinery and Accessories and her work on the television series “Salem,” welcomed guests for an afternoon fashion show. Food and cocktails were provided by Andrew Randall with Krimson Kook, and a silent auction featured items donated by area artists. Funds raised at the benefit went toward Ryder’s rising medical costs associated with her recent diagnosis of cancer.

The Hats On event was produced by Chloe DuPlessis of The DuPlessis Agency, who described Jane as a longtime friend and client.

“Jane did our wedding,” she said.

“She jokes that it’s the tallest wedding she ever did. She came on about two years ago as a client. We’ve been so blessed because she’s uniquely gifted. When we heard about her diagnosis, we had already planned to have a March event, so we decided to go ahead and have it and tweak it a little bit. Everyday Jane gives to those around her in some capacity. We want to pause today and really celebrate an amazing woman and a wonderful cause.”

Ryder was visibly moved by the show of support at the event. Laughter was present in every corner of the room but it was tempered by a palpable resolve to face the diagnosis and continue the fight.

“THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ABSOLUTELY ANYONE. I WENT FROM NEVER HAVING TO TAKE A TABLET FOR HEADACHES – I DON’T GET THEM – TO STAGE 4 GALLBLADDER CANCER, IN THE SPACE OF A FEW MONTHS."

–JANE RYDER

“This can happen to absolutely anyone,” Ryder said. “I went from never having to take a tablet for headaches – I don’t get them – to Stage 4 gallbladder cancer, in the space of a few months. Even though I have a life threatening illness, I’m not dead yet. I have every intention of fighting to the end.”

Ryder found out about her cancer when she visited a spine doctor about some unrelated back pain she was having. “They put me in pain management to try to figure out what to do,” she said. “When they did the routine blood tests they realized something wasn’t right and said ‘let’s just look at some other things.’ My lymph nodes were elevated but I had none of the symptoms of gall bladder cancer – I still don’t. If I hadn’t hurt my back I would have been back on ‘Salem’ now without a clue.”

As of this week, Jane is facing her sixth chemo and a few days after that, she will go in for another PET scan. “The PET scan will tell me if the chemo is working,” she explained. “My CA19-9 tumor marker started off as 4000. It dropped to 2000. My doctor told me a few days ago that after he looked at my blood test it had dropped to 800. Normal range is 0-37. This means the chemo treatments are working, after only the first four.”

Ryder refers to her oncologist, Dr. Kirtan Koticha, as “fabulous” and “a real go-getter.” “We also call him Doogie Howser because he’s so young,” she said. “He doesn’t take no for an answer. I’m getting stuff that wasn’t even invented two years ago. He always calls to check on me personally.”

It is true that cancer brings good and bad days but when Ryder’s dearly loved family cat Tabby died this past week it was a real low point. “I have low days at least once a week. Yesterday was busy and it was one thing after another. Then, the cat died. That combination of a bad day, a blood transfusion, different nurses, then Tabby dying was kind of like the last blow. I’ve never had an animal die before. I was in a lot of pain but I had to go with her to the emergency vet. She had been acting a bit weird, but we had her for 23 years with never a problem. I kind of hoped she was going to see us through this to the end.”

Ryder said her condition has also been tough for her 22-year-old daughter Samantha and the rest of her family. “I’ve never been sick,” she said. “It’s been a shock and it’s been hard for them to wrap their heads around it. Samantha has days when she’s fed up with coping, but she really thinks I’m going to be fine. She tells me, ‘It’s going to be okay, Mom.’” Ryder’s friends from the television show “Salem” have also gone the extra mile for her. “The great thing about ‘Salem’ is that you get to work with the same people and they become your family. Since this started, our costume designer and team have checked in on me every single day. They came over and did my garden. They will not let me go down. They refuse to let me. They tell me, ‘No, you’re too strong.’” Despite all the hardship, Ryder has remained grounded, with a little help from her friends. “I spoke to a dear friend back in England the other day,” Ryder said, “and she said, ‘Jane, you’re really not being grateful enough. Do you realize you’re living the dream? It’s not where you wanted to end up, but if you hadn’t gone to the States, you’d never have owned a house, never been able to do your things with your movies.’ And she’s right. I’m living the dream.”

Caroline Newell is Ryder’s sister and she called the event and the turnout “spectacular.”

“Just the look on Jane’s face was worth the price of admission,” she said. “That smile just lit up the place. The show must go on. Jane lives that.”

“If I had to use one word about Jane it would be ‘charming,’” Newell said. “Everybody is charmed by her. Jane immerses herself in people. And there is nobody more creative than Jane, coupled with that wonderful can-do attitude. This is the first time in her life she’s had to face ‘can’t.’ And it’s hard.”

Newell shared just a bit of history from Ryder’s early years. “Jane has a seriously high IQ,” Newell said. “She actually had a chance to go on Broadway as the Artful Dodger in ‘Oliver Twist’ but she had gone back to England. The FBI also wanted to recruit her from high school. She could have done anything.”

When Ryder first came back to the states she began doing costume and makeup for “Ten Little Indians” for the Shreveport Little Theatre. “She really found her niche when she started doing hats,” Newell said. “That process sparked something in her. She has an abundance of creation. If you’ve ever looked at a flower, it’s perfect. It’s amazing, but organized. Jane can make things look like that.”

Ryder explained her designs. “Usually, my designs are very organic, especially my hats. I don’t always know what I’m going to do ahead of time. I am entirely selftaught. If I’ve been interested in something, then I’ve figured out how to do it. That is a lot easier to do now, though, with the plethora of information on the Internet from fabulous instructors,” Ryder said.

One of the best moments of Ryder’s professional career was watching one of her creations at the Academy Awards.

“I had a dress at the Oscars,” she said, “on an Oscar winner’s wife, Shannon Oldenburg, wife of Brandon Oldenburg. I also enjoyed seeing one of my fascinators worn by Joan Riverson an episode of ‘The Fashion Police.’” There was no shortage of people present willing to gush over Ryder and her designs at the benefit at Agora.

“I came to know Jane through her clothes and hats. They’re fabulous, definitely European-edge fashion,” Jennifer Carter said.

Earlene Coleman agreed. “Jane can do anything,” she said. “She’s very talented. When I was wearing a cast, I just needed something I could wear over it. I found a pair of pants at a local store and they were $600. I showed them to Jane and she said, ‘I can make some of those for you,’ and she made me three pair.”

Coleman no longer has the cast but still wears the pants, which are structured in a modest white fabric with pin stripes. They were remarkably tailored but roomy and comfortable.

“I used to have someone that bought clothes for me but Jane can do anything you want,” Coleman said. “If she had been in New York, she would have really been discovered.”

Anita Holloway bought one of Ryder’s slightly Steampunk creations, a brown paisley stovepipe with feathers and a timepiece attached.

“I’m calling this The Hat,” Holloway said, smiling. “To me, this is just so unique and it sums up Jane’s personality and her creativity. I’m so blessed to have a piece of her.

Sometimes people connect through Facebook but then one day they meet in person and you realize there’s just so much more to them. That’s how I feel about Jane Ryder and what she has done for our community. She’s talented and involved in the arts. She’s just brought so much to the Shreveport community.”

Linda Sperandio was also in attendance wearing a midnight blue feathered hat from Ryder’s collection. “Jane is just so innovative and creative,” she said. “She puts things together that you wouldn’t even think would go together and they just look great.”

Ryder’s friends from “Salem” have been there for her, as well.

“These are some really talented people that love her to pieces,” Newell said. “They think she hung the sun, the moon and the stars and every galaxy in between. They are her people. It’s incredible.”

Katy Larsen, owner of The Agora Borealis, said Ryder was at home in that professional world but that she was good at making fashion accessible and wearable for people here in Louisiana. “Jane is very worldly, but she has been bringing it to a classy level that most people here do not have the eye for.”

“She has taught us to have the eye for it,” Celia Sawyer said. “Everything she does is exquisite and tasteful. She can make anything.”

Larsen said, “Jane is just an exuberant, inspiring woman that will beat any odds to get things done and who’s to say this won’t be exactly the same way? She’s amazing. She’s always been there for everyone else. We want to give some of that back to her. We just want to show how much we love and appreciate her with this event.”

GABBING ABOUT FASHION AND GEOGRAPHY WITH RYDER:

Q: Who are some of your favorite designers? Ryder: “Of course, I love Chanel, but I also like the Lebanese designers Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad. Their designs are so romantic, very overthe-top romantic. I also like some of the Japanese designers because they are very structural.” Q: Trends you love? Ryder: “Never follow trends. You should set them.” Q: Trends you don’t love at all? Ryder: “It’s all relative to the time and the age of who’s wearing it. A lot of stuff I wore back in the ’70s and ’80s, someone should have shot me! Anything bloody goes nowadays. One man’s meat is another man’s poison. One of my hats that was my daughter’s favorite started out as one that wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do. I finally just let it go the way it would go. My daughter said, ‘That’s my favorite so far,’ so I said, ‘Well, then I give up.’” Q: Best thing to do for your wardrobe with $50? Ryder: “Don’t poo poo Goodwill. I pick up designer stuff at Goodwill, some with the tags still on. You’ll see me put it all on a dress form and say this all cost less than $25. I love old pea coats. I’d make a bodice out of really expensive material but the skirt out of something less expensive. Then just set it off with a good handbag and shoes.” Q: Thoughts on your British side? Ryder: “What is it about us British? We won’t ask for help. We won’t go to the doctor. We’re raised to be that way. In England, you get up and dust yourself off and you move on. That part of me has given me the fortitude to cope with this. I’ve been given a short life expectancy, but if I’m going to go, I have no intention of going without a fight.” Q: Any first and/or longstanding opinions of life in America? Ryder: “Avoid election time.”

WANT TO HELP?

Friends have created a Go Fundme account for Jane Ryder. Go to www.gofundme.com/ JaneRyderCancer.