Talking clutch performance with Brett Heyman

Clutches, in all of their sequined fabulousness, have torn their fair share of shawls and snagged many an evening gown over the decades.
Enter the pearlescent, vintage-inspired Edie Parker line. Instead of sparkly decor that's appliquéd, these beauties have their shine inlaid into the acrylic cases.
But it's the edgy sayings in Edie Parker-stylized script - dope, wild, free, and my favorite '80s exclamation, word - that take the accessories beyond Judith Leiber-apropos to millennium glamour.
"I'm just a cheeky person," said the brand's CEO and creative director, Brett Heyman, who lives with her husband and two children in New York.
Despite hefty price tags - $800 to $2,000 - Heyman insists pretty-hued handbags aren't just for galas. These clutches are for ladies who don't mind carrying the same purse to work they might tote to brunch or the symphony.

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Heyman was one of 10 finalists for the prestigious Council of Fashion Designers of America Award given out earlier this month, and her Edie Parker bags have a high-profile following.
Kate Hudson was the first A-lister spotted with one at the 2011 Met Gala. Other stars include Diane Kruger, Katy Perry, Solange Knowles, and Lupita Nyong'o. And Oprah Winfrey is pictured inside the December issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, holding a shiny, cherry-red custom Edie Parker with Oprah written in gold.
Heyman, 34, met with shoppers at Saks Fifth Avenue in Bala Cynwyd this month. Then, before she was whisked off to the Neiman Marcus in King of Prussia Mall, we talked.
Question: What is your fashion background?
Answer: I worked in public relations for both Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana. But I always wanted to do something creative professionally. After I had my daughter, I decided I'd give it a try. (The Edie Parker handbag line is named after Heyman's daughter, who in turn is named after the first wife of Jack Kerouac.) We launched the brand in 2010.
Q: Why handbags?
A: I loved the glitz and glamour of the 1950s and 1960s bags, but I didn't want anything that would tear a dress. The traditional handbag is bedazzled with rhinestones. I don't like that. That's very limiting. These bags are all handmade in America. The acrylic is poured in New Jersey, and [the bags are] made in Illinois.
Q: Tell me about the first handbag.
A: Coming from a Gucci background, I sampled - a lot. That season there were three core styles: the Edie (oval), the Lara (with contrasting-color ends), and the Jean (square.) The Flavia (rectangular) - another core style - came out the next year. Some of the early color combinations were blue and purple, and navy and nude. I just thought they looked good together.
Q: When it comes to accessories, silver or gold?
A: Gold. It just looks better on my skin.
Q: Tell me about your collaboration with edgy jewelry designer Jennifer Fisher.
A: Jennifer Fisher is a dear friend, and I'm a fan of her work. She uses a lot of words in her pieces, too. It would be an easy idea to collaborate. We took words that meant something to her like epic, mama and taken, and we put them on the bags in a Goth[-style] font. They will be launching for holiday on Net-a-Porter.
Q: You also partnered with the art-inspired fashion label Libertine - the New York-based design duo Cindy Greene and Johnson Hartig?
A: We did a line of bags for Libertine's spring 2015 runway show, and we are working on something for fall 2015 as well. They will be available by special order in the coming months.
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Woo Youngmi Says Focus on Design and Trust Your Team

“Making it perfect, making it better, making it different — that was, and is, the guiding force for the business,” declared Woo Youngmi, long regarded by buyers as an unsung hero in global menswear. In a restrained black jumper, her hair a tousled gamine crop, Woo Youngmi’s appearance reflects the simplicity and precision of her menswear, renowned for its technical rigor. “Madam Woo,” as her employees call her, is engaging and composed even through the barriers of a translator and an intermittent Skype connection to her office in Seoul.
Woo founded Solid Homme, the contemporary menswear label that would evolve to become Solid Corporation and spawn Paris-based second line Wooyoungmi in 1988, in a country that would be almost unrecognizable to present-day visitors to South Korea. “If you think about Korea back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, there was no fashion business at all. There was nothing,” Woo recalled. “Up until 1988 and the Olympics, we were not living in a developed country. Everything was closed, limited: the culture, the clothes, the whole land.” And yet, even in a nation without a fashion industry, Woo grew up with a singular ambition: “In a very simple way, I wanted to create the nicest clothes I could possibly make.”

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Today, Woo’s business generates about $29.4 million in annual revenue and employs over 70 members of staff, split between Paris and Seoul. Her modern take on traditional menswear, distinguished by its clean proportions and nuanced application of technical and artistic details, is sold at 76 points of sale in 21 countries. But the designer is quick to stress that the growth of her company, more than a story of personal entrepreneurship alone, is inextricably linked to the rise of her country.
Born in Seoul, in 1959, to an architect father and a mother who taught both piano and art, Woo and her four siblings were exposed to a wider world from a young age, a result of her father’s extensive travel for work. “He would bring Elle and other magazines home from his travels abroad and I would realise there was another world [beyond Korea]. I was very curious about the world outside. I wanted to try all the things I had seen through the magazines.”
Not only was Woo awarded glimpses into a world beyond the then insular nation she lived in, but her family home was something of an incubator for the designer’s passion for clothes. “The environment I grew up in made me really curious about fashion,” she said. “When I was young, my mother would make clothes and textiles herself, so I began helping her and learning from her when I was ten or so.”
As Woo grew up, her love of fashion crystallized around two drivers. “I was obsessed with a silhouette and with the ideal of a particular man, which I had seen in magazines. I wanted to make clothes which that ideal of a man would wear — that was what drove me as a designer.” The second driver was her early ambition to build a real business. “Although there was no fashion business at the time I naturally thought of fashion as a business, because of those western influences.”
In 1978, Woo’s obsession took her to Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul to study fashion. However, far from being an idyllic period of youthful experimentation, her studies coincided with a period of dramatic upheaval in South Korea. Following the assassination of president Park Chung-Hee in 1979, the country was plunged into instability and descended into further chaos when army general Chun Doo-hwan took control of the government in a coup d’etat. Chun enforced martial law and closed the country’s universities. Then, beginning on 18th May, 686 paratroopers from the army’s special warfare command unit massacred 165 students at Chonnam National University in Kwangju. The killings sparked a movement that ultimately led to South Korea’s first steps towards democracy and economic progress. Woo was not personally affected by the violence, but the changes taking place in her homeland would later prove critical to the success of her business.
Following graduation, in 1983, Woo was selected to represent Korea in Japan’s Osaka Fashion Competition. “When I got into the competition I was working for LG Fashion [now LG Bando fashion] as a womenswear designer, which I didn’t like. After winning Osaka, I thought ok, now I have got enough self-confidence to do the menswear that I wanted to do. That was the starting point; that was the moment that I realised I could actually try and make a business from my designs.”
When she launched Solid Homme in 1988, Woo opened a store, studio and offices in a three-storey building owned by her sister in the up-and-coming area of Apgujung-dong in Seoul. To cover the start-up costs, she submitted a business plan to her father-in-law, who lent her the money. “I can’t remember the exact amount, but it was three months of salary for the three employees, samples and operating costs of the store.” In 1989, Woo’s younger sister Woo Janghee, joined the company, aiding her sister in building her brand’s identity.
Woo was able to pay her rent and her employees by selling just two pieces of clothing a week. But from the get-go, Woo sold a lot more. It took her just one year to repay her debt to her father-in-law.
Indeed, her nascent business benefitted from a period of significant economic growth in South Korea: between 1982 and 1987, the country’s GDP growth averaged about 9.2 percent , rising to 12.5 percent the following year. The Seoul Olympics, held in 1988, represented a turning point for the nation, according to Woo. “When I first started the business, Korea was still felt devastated. But, around the Olympics there was dramatic development in Seoul and everything boomed — really fast. The economy started to dramatically change and the country evolved into a developed country.”
“The menswear customer changed a lot as the economy expanded,” recalled Woo. “The Korean man became braver and more sophisticated very quickly and they were willing to buy more — that really drove the business and expansion. Solid Homme’s success was a product of the financial boom, based both on production and designs and our understanding of the market and the trends of the market.”
In the early 1990s, Woo’s business entered the next stage of its development when the designer was approached by Hyundai, the only department store group in South Korea at the time. “There were no men’s stores whatsoever in that period, so, after I had started my little tiny boutique, in ‘92 or ‘93, they approached me to open a store-in-store. Today, we have 21 stores with the group. Every year we opened one or two stores. There wasn’t a big jump.” In the succeeding years Lotte, Shinsegae and Galleria also picked up Solid Homme.
The additional workload of running an expanding business took its toll on the designer, however. “It was really painful to try and do three or four different jobs at once: design, retail, operations, but managing to do so was the beginning of the business’ success. I had no education for the business, or management, but I just loved fashion and I believed that I could do it.”
In 2002, another international sporting event hosted by South Korea ushered in the next chapter in Woo’s career. “When the World Cup happened, the whole country was talking about globalisation and going out into the world. The Olympics started the business and with the World Cup, I started the international business. I didn’t plan it, I don’t even like sport very much at all, but everything happened with sport.”
That year, Woo launched her second line, Wooyoungmi, at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris. Her decision to found a second line was motivated by her desire to free the scope of her aesthetic. “The man for Solid Homme and the man for Wooyougmi are completely different. Solid Homme is the Korean man, body-wise, taste-wise and style-wise,” she explained. “Wooyoungmi is a more Western, global standard. I wanted to create a designer label where I could put in more of my taste without so many commercial considerations. Wooyoungmi is my unlimited ideal man. There are no limitations.”
Wooyoungmi quickly found traction with the menswear cognoscenti. Today, the label is available in 21 countries, through 43 points of sale, and operates ‘ManMade’ concept stores in both Paris and Seoul. “I didn’t strategically plan the expansion of the business, it is just good design. The retailers, the department stores approached me. I didn’t strategically plan anything. That is what brought people to the show, that is what got the line into stores, people respect it,” she said.
Although menswear remains central to the label’s growth strategy, in recent years, Wooyoungmi has diversified its offering. Today, the label’s flagship stores stock products from tools to barware, stationary to accessories. The brand has also teamed up with Mr Porter on a series of exclusive collections, a move which helped Wooyoungmi to build wider awareness.
Now, the next generation of Woo’s family is getting involved in the business. Earlier this year, Woo’s daughter, Katie Chung, a Central Saint Martins graduate, was announced as co-creative director. Formerly, Chung, who shares her mother’s determined spirit, was art director of the business, responsible for the brand’s advertising campaigns, created in conjunction with artists.
“Katie’s role is important because she is part of a global, international generation. Through Katie the brand is evolving into the next level and becoming truly global in its outlook. I trust my daughter, but being different ages and different generations can be challenging. I am not having a design discussion with the same generation, so we fight each other quite a lot, but, in the end, it is a positive thing and better for the brand.”
Indeed, trust is central to Woo’s approach to business. “It is really important to appoint the right people. I am a designer and realistically I do not have enough time to look after everything, so once I trust a person I have to rely upon them. Sometimes I pretend that I understand everything, but I don’t,” Woo confessed.
“If we align on how we should approach the goals of the business, that’s the most important thing. That way I understand the person is on the same track with me and then I have no choice but to trust them. I can’t check every single detail of the business, if I am to check every detail of the design.”
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Marisol Deluna 25th Anniversary in Fashion Runway Show

New York fashion designer and San Antonio native Marisol Deluna presented a new collection for her Marisol Deluna New York label at a runway show held at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, Texas on November 14, 2014. The show marked the designer's 25th anniversary in fashion and helped launch her latest effort, the Fashion Initiative of the Marisol Deluna Foundation.
Ms. Deluna presented a new collection, which offers her signature lifestyle designs in vibrant colors and prints. Models from across Texas walked the runway including men, women and children along with dogs for adoption from the Animal Defense League of Texas.
The collection was complimented with hats adorned by Deluna's prints, designed in collaboration with her longtime friend and New York milliner Rodney Keenan. After the show Keenan remarked, "Marisol's modern flourish brings new life and a sparkling femininity to the classic forms she works with. Her generosity is as boundless as her talent, and I'm delighted I could be here to cheer her on and this remarkable accomplishment. I look forward to the next 25."

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In attendance, fashion historian Cameron Silver noted "Marisol Deluna'sdistinctive signature prints have solidified her reputation as the 21st century Lilly Pulitzer. She's forged a unique business model with a philanthropic angle that was celebrated by fans during her 25th anniversary fashion spectacular."
The Foundation's Advisory Committee includes Rod Keenan and Cameron Silverin addition to fellow designers John Bartlett, Keanan Duffty and David Hart who share her vision. Ms. Deluna stated, "This show underscores a core principle of our brand that fashion can be harnessed for bigger ideas in the service of others. Mentorship is a privilege."
Former San Antonio Mayor and current United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julian Castro stated, "Marisol Deluna has the support of theCity of San Antonio. A hometown girl giving back to the city she grew up in. Her fashion line and accessories are unique. Her creation of the Marisol Deluna Foundation will provide, an educational opportunity for many local students and young designers in fashion trades."
About the Marisol Deluna Foundation: Marisol Deluna Foundation, Inc. is aTexas nonprofit corporation that supports the education and mentoring of students and young designers in fashion and design arts. The Foundation works in partnership with civic, corporate and government entities to promote educational initiatives and community benefits within the State of Texas.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, Marisol Deluna began her career as a New York fashion designer in 1989. She is an active New York Executive Member of Fashion Group International and the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology Couture Council. The Marisol Deluna New York label and Deluna By Design, Inc. place fashion in the service of others alongside their signature lifestyle collections. Ms. Deluna supports the efforts of cultural, philanthropic and non-profit organizations by offering couture fashion designs, funding and educational mentorship. Her items are unique to each organization. She builds awareness, enhances public image and raises funds for various community projects internationally. In addition to couture designs, her label has offered a lifestyle collection since 1997.
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FAMOUS TURKISH FASHION DESIGNER RETURNS HOME

Zeynep Kartal is one of the most famous Turkish fashion designers worldwide. From her studio in the heart of Manchester, where she has been living for nine years, Zeynep Kartal has designed clothes for various celebrities, such as singer Cheryl Cole, and the wives of famous footballers like Coleen Rooney, English striker Wayne Rooney's significant other.
Despite having gained considerable recognition in the U.K. and all over Europe, Zeynep Kartal has not forgotten her Turkish roots, as she returns to her homeland to plan two charity fashion shows - one in the cosmopolitan city and another in her hometown of Konya, both in April 2015. This will mark the first time that she will present a new collection in Turkey.
"I am really excited about my fashion show in Turkey, especially because it will benefit my country and my hometown," she tells The Anadolu Agency. The revenue from the shows will serve as aid for destitute children, Kartal says, adding she also cooperated with Turkey's Ministry of Family and Social Policies for the project. To many, becoming a fashion designer when coming from the city of Konya, which has a reputation for being conservative, would appear to be far from a foregone conclusion.

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But Kartal says people misjudge the city. Konya is a modern city where there is "good potential," she says.
"This is another reason why I am having a fashion show in my hometown: to prove that most people in Konya are quite well educated and bright," she says. Her passion for designing came early. "I have always had a passion for designing beautiful clothes. When I was only 10, I attended a local sewing class with my older sister and my aunts. I received a symbolic award for my skills," she recalls.
With the support of her family, she was determined to become a stylist. "Twenty-five years ago today, people in Turkey did not know what a stylist did exactly. But I was determined and I studied fashion designing to make a career in Turkey," she says. But, for personal reasons, she moved to England nine years ago with her husband and her two sons. In order to improve her English, she attended classes in fashion design. Recognition in the U.K. came quickly... quicker than expected.
"I was very well received across England, with my brand 'Zeynep Kartal' gaining recognition from many celebrities even though it was quite new," says the Turkish designer. For two years in a row, she attended the London Fashion Week where some of the world's leading designing trends are showcased. Through her outfits, Zeynep Kartal wishes to make "women's feelings, ideas, and dreams come true." She has chosen to incorporate traditional Turkish motifs into her designs.
"My whole collection is a combination of silk and embroidery, both of which make women feel special," the Turkish designer said. "Silk is evocative of femininity, and is what helps women meet on a common ground." Her outfits regularly appear in European magazines such as Marie Claire, Vogue, or Hello. Kartal is also known for running fashion shows for charity purposes. Among them, a show organized for a David Beckham charity to help 19-year old Kirsty Howard who suffers from "Situs ambiguous" (the abnormal arrangement of organs and vessels). The fashion designer has never forgotten that she is a Turkish Muslim woman, she says, adding she also stressed it very often to the English-speaking media, who insistently describe her as a "British designer" (She has British nationality).
Turkey has quite a lot of successful designers, both men and women, Kartal says. "Maybe, they are not brave enough, or they have some obstacles which prevent them to be known world-wide. But, Turkey is really good at fashion and designing. There is almost no difference from Europe."
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interview with fashion designer henrik vibskov

danish creative henrik vibskov transcends the conventional titles of ‘fashion designer’ and ‘artist’ — he is the creator of eccentric universes that accompany each of his wearable collections. with projects bearing names like ‘the spaghetti handjob’, ‘the sticky brick fingers’ and ‘the solar donkey experiments’, vibskov’s oeuvre spans a wild and extraordinary range of music, exhibitions and artistic performances, making each runway show completely unique and undoubtedly captivating.
he has produced over 26 mens (and later also women’s) collections since he graduated from central st. martins in 2001, going on to participate in festivals, contests and talks, most recently presenting at the 2014 edition ofdesign indaba.designboom spoke with vibskov about where he draws influence from, processes and materials he most enjoys working with and how he dreams up those highly imaginative collection names.
DB: what originally made you want to study fashion and become a designer?HV: by accident I ended up in wrong school foundation. the course I really wanted to attend was fully booked. I went to CSM (central saint martins) because of a girl (it almost sounds like a pop song by jarvis cocker).

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I have actually been more into the music and have played the drums since the age of 10. I played some pretty dark music, and suddenly realized that the fashion and the music was very close connected towards some special codes in social circles.DB: who/what has been the biggest influence on your work to date?HV: I like when things are multiplied and technical advanced — I also like strange surreal twisted universes where things are a bit upside down.
I am influenced by many different things. it would be sad to nail it down to a few big things — it can really be anything from a movie to a walk. I also like when it has humor touch…like a whale in a swimming pool project.
DB: overall – what would you say is your strongest skill and how have you honed that skill over the years?HV: maybe my calmness? the old magazine ‘the face’ once wrote something like, ‘if henrik was more laid back he would have been asleep’ – fun note, right!?DB: what production techniques and materials have you enjoyed working with the most to realize your work?
HV: changing material is actually the most important for me — through different knit structures to print to woven compositions to….DB: what processes or materials would you like to explore further in the future?
HV: I would like to explore the woven machines more, to learn new techniques etc., etc.vibskov sent models down the runway for ‘the sticky brick fingers’ show alongside a series of choreographed dancers, performing within a shallow pool. a 150-square-meter basin filled with 4,000 liters of water served as the stage for ten dancers from the norwegian national opera and ballet, splashing their way through a sequence created by alexander ekman.
DB: what do you consider to be the most interesting developments in the field of fashion right now and why?
HV: I like that fashion has become wider than ‘just’ clothes and with more overlaps to other creative fields. maybe that is not a new thing, but it is a direction I find interesting. in new collaborations the generosity from fashion is used as a way to extend an expression in other creative worlds such as theater, music, ballet, arts etc. in that space between these different worlds funny things appear, and they are inspiring to me.
DB: does your work reflect your personal fashion taste?
HV: I think it works both ways: my work reflects on my personal fashion taste, and my personal fashion taste reflects on my work. when that is said, I am not sure if my personal fashion taste reflects on what I prefer wearing. I have some few things I use for years until they are worn out and then I try to find something similar.
DB: what do you know now that you wish you knew when you were 21?HV: I am not sure knowing what I know now would be any help to me at 21. of course, I have learned by my mistakes like anyone else, but I think it has also been good for me to make those mistakes. I’ve made a lot…DB: what are you currently fascinated by and how is it feeding into your designs?
HV: these last few weeks I have been very fascinated by horse-racing names. and how smoke can create different shades of transparency. I guess we will see later how and if it will affect design.DB: how do you decide the names of each collection?HV: it comes quite late. during the process of each collection we gather words. and at the end it makes sense to use and combine some of them.DB: what’s the last thing that made you say wow?HV: I am from the country side of jutland, we rarely say ‘wow’.
I guess we are more understated in our vocabulary.design indaba conference 2014dubbed ‘the conference on creativity’, the design indaba conference is all about how design, creativity and innovation can positively impact the world. so much more than a ‘how-to’ conference, this is a forum fueled by inspiration that breeds ideas, ingenuity and innovation. the conference is an opportunity to listen to the world’s foremost creatives, entrepreneurs and trendsetters. it’s the not-to-be-missed creative event in africa.
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HOW RIHANNA'S GO-TO DESIGNER ADAM SELMAN IS MAKING IT IN FASHION

Designer Adam Selman’s breakout moment was the dress seen 'round the world. It was hard to miss the over-230,000 Swarovski crystals hugging every curve of Rihanna’s body for her crowning as a CFDA Fashion Icon this past June. It was certainly a look, and it put Selman on the radar of everyone in fashion in a big way.
The moment came after the 31-year-old Belton, Texas native had been working with the pop star on both on- and off-stage looks for years. The buzz continued to build around him up until his spring 2015 show in New York in September, which included a nod to the now-famous, see-through frock -- and an appearance by Rihanna herself.
“I was going to make Rihanna a pearl option for the CFDA [Awards] as an extra piece,” Selman explained to us in his Garment District design studio recently. “We ended up making it and having it beaded in the same technique, but it just wasn’t right [for the event]. It was obviously all about the Swarovski dress in the end, so I took that and expanded on it. I knew that I wanted a 'wow' piece in the show, but done in my way. So it wasn’t about a gown, it wasn’t full length; I just wanted to make it cute and I knew people were going to want that from me.”

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It, along with the rest of the collection, was definitely what people wanted. Since last season, Selman has brought on The Grocery Store in San Francisco, Net-a-Porter and Intermix as stockists, adding to influential names like Opening Ceremony, Browns of London; K3, Candy and Whim Gazette all in Tokyo and Rare in Seoul. It’s been a bit of a slow build: Selman launched his eponymous line in 2013 after over a decade working in the custom sphere, designing costumes for everyone from Michael Jackson to Britney Spears, The Scissor Sisters, Lady Gaga and, of course, Rihanna.
Now, Selman is choosing when and how to grow his label. With three collections already under his belt and a fourth in the works, we chat with the designer about transitioning from costumes to ready-to-wear, his next collection and why fans and supporters (like Rihanna) keep coming back.
When exactly did the “fashion bug” bite?
So I originally was going to go to school for sculpture, which is why I went to Pratt. My parents were like, ‘You need some sort of business’ so I was like, fine I’ll do fashion. I had done theater and all that nonsense. My mom taught me how to sew at a really young age because I really wanted a vest growing up so it was just like a natural progression. I never really knew about 'fashion' fashion, but it was just a nice transition. I learned more about fashion whenever I got to New York.
Did you end up learning that business that you were supposed to at Pratt?
Not at all really. But I wasn’t really looking for that either. I was like, ‘I’m a creative guy and I don’t need that. I’m an ideas man.’ So all the business end has just come from working on it and just being hands-on and cognizant of what is happening around me. I try to pick up tips as I come to them and as I grow.
What is one major lesson that you took from your time at Pratt?
I think the biggest advice that a professor gave me was that there are so many powerful stylists in the world and styling is such a powerful profession and they do such amazing things with clothes that you always want to make sure to design your clothes like you would want them styled. So if you don’t want it to be worn backwards, make it so it can’t be worn backwards. Just make sure to drive the point home; don’t just say, 'I’ll style it later.' That’s not designing; that’s styling. Just make sure to design it how you want it to be worn.
So you interned as most people do. Who were you working for then?
Well I started at Nicole Miller and then a professor told me that a friend was looking for an intern and that turned out to be Desi Santiago, who was like a performance artist and jewelry designer. We would, like, make bamboo cuffs and sit around and eat fried chicken and make jewelry out of the bones. He introduced me to Zaldy and I interned for Zaldy after that and I worked for him for 10 years.
Those internships obviously influenced your progression.
Definitely! I think like those internships, working, school, living in New York and going out played a part. Going from Nicole Miller, I really wanted to do corporate fashion and athleticwear and things like that. That’s why I went down that road but when I met Desi and Zaldy, that’s when I switched to nightlife and the legendary club scene. It just made me look at fashion in a whole new way and also the possibility in New York that you don’t have to take a particular road; Just because you want to be a fashion designer, it doesn’t mean you have to take the most corporate position. That was my New York dream.
Did you find that going out was a big part of your development?
Yeah, I was definitely never a big party boy but I was always going out. I think it just helped me define my style. You can get away with a lot more after midnight than you can at noon. I would always wear like denim head to toe: skin tight jeans, cowboy boots, denim, denim, denim. Or like denim Daisy Dukes. It really just helped me develop my own voice like ‘this is me, this is who I am and who I want to portray.’ That was always evolving, but that’s what I learned about myself. Plus, you meet fun people and you just end up having a lot of fun.
So at what point did you decide you wanted to go into costume design?
Well I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss and I worked freelance for Zaldy, so I was my own boss in a way. He had a fashion collection for like four years and he stopped doing that and started doing the custom stuff, which I had a huge part to do with. We had like RuPaul, Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Rufus Wainright and the Scissor Sisters. I went on tour with the Scissor Sisters for two years and was sort of like their ‘wardrobe boy.’ I really learned what worked on the road and what worked for stage -- that was a huge thing, just learning what worked.
After that, we were working on Britney Spears for Zaldy; and Mel Ottenberg, who was my boyfriend at the time [and still is], got the job [styling] Rihanna and he had never done stage/performance stuff, so he asked could I help. Originally, I was just going to consult and keep working with Zaldy on the Britney tour, but the next thing you know I’m doing half the costumes in a super tiny space with a friend of mine. It was so surreal. It just happened, it was never like ‘I need to branch out, I need to leave.’ It just organically happened.
Why do you think Rihanna has kept working with you all of this time?
I think the Mel connection didn’t hurt. But also, I think it was because we really worked on it together. Even when other people were making custom things, I’d have a voice in that as well to make sure it was the right fabric and the right fit. But I think my motto, especially with Rihanna, is that a lady likes options. So if they asked for a red dress because they were going to shoot a video, or there was one reference that they really liked, I would show up with that red dress and three other red dresses and then I’d throw some wild card in there. I just wanted to keep it going so that she’d be like, ‘oh wow I have to keep him around,’ and she did. I just wanted to show her that I was always pushing and I wanted to show her what I could do. I mean, I really needed that job.
Did you employ that same strategy of creating lots of options when you started doing your own collection?
Definitely! I like playing with pattern and playing with shape, so a lot of things will be the same pattern but I’ll make it in silk and I’ll make it as a sweatshirt. That way I’ll see which one works better and sometimes they both look great or only one looks great. I like to give myself options too to make sure I’m doing the right thing. Sometimes I present that to buyers but sometimes it’s like, that was an epic fail. But that’s fun too, though.
Is it just you making that selection process or is it your whole team?
It’s really my whole team. That’s everyone in the studio like Marley [Glassroth] and Bri [Magnificio] -- I rely on my girls heavily -- but I also get Mel involved and Jen Brill, who helps me with creative and I like to get her opinion on the clothes as well because she’s my kind of girl. But it’s really just getting all of them involved.
So when you’re coming from not getting too much of the business side in school and then doing one-off, custom pieces, what is going into the buying process like?
I really like it because I love feedback. I like to hear what people are saying. I did my sales the first season and I was like ‘OK, I never want to do that again.’ I hired Goods and Services because Joey, who owns it, is a friend of mine. They’ve been great in helping me shape my collection. They’ll give good advice like ‘maybe you want to think about this,’ or ‘don’t go too far down that development road, you should focus on this.’
Each season I’m trying to grow a little bit. So this upcoming season is knits and this past season was this “denim not denim” story. So each season I’m trying to capture a little bit more. With sales and press and buyers, it all plays in.
With that last “denim not denim” collection, is there a reason you decided to finally do a runway show? Even though it still had the feel of a presentation, it was really a small runway show.
I wanted it to be really fun and really intimate and I also wanted the pictures to be great. I wanted to make sure that I had really clear shots of the clothes on the runway and also in the vignettes. The inspiration for the set really came from Laura Mars and just those vignettes from the movie. That’s what I live for in fashion, it’s that moment. So I wanted these groupings of girls, under my name, giving you a moment.
When you’re going to design, how do you shift from designing for one person to designing your line.
I still keep my sensibilities, but if it’s for, like, Amy Sedaris, I know she likes pom poms and [a particular] fit of something, so I’m always thinking about her. That goes for Amy, Beyonce, Lorde; I’m thinking about them as opposed to the idea that I’m trying to get across and the clothes that are going to do well in stores and the overall feeling of the collection and the mood of it all.
So thinking about the future, where are you looking to expand to?
Well I’d love to do men’s! I’d also love to do accessories -- well more accessories -- and bags. I don’t really want to do an ‘It bag’ situation but each season I do a bag. I did a jumbo backpack and then I did a boucle backpack. This time, I did these baby bags and these little raffia bags. I mean everybody needs a bag.
Next time I might do a little evening but for the most part I think evening and gowns are more of an earned thing for a designer. So before I do evening I want to make sure that the clothes are in the stores and are selling well. I’ve already got great celebrity things. I mean, I want that and obviously need it but I’m not focused on getting a celebrity in my clothes, I’m more focused on getting the clothes in the stores and just getting them on girls.
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