Fashion Motivators

Theirworldtheirwords

Get inside the minds of the makers and breakers of nyc’s fashion scene. A select group curated by Chiun-Kai Shih.

Db Kim

Principal, Daroff Design

D.b. Kim: Soy latte, genmai cha, oatmeal with walnuts and maple syrup.

Exactly who I am now!

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? Inspirational playground.

What makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion

Expectations are unlimited.

What is your favorite drink? “C”, champagne!

Terrycloth running pants!

Bettina M Chin

Special Projects, Opening Ceremony

At a very early age — 4 or 5 — I became quite picky about what I wanted to wear. I wasn’t on trend 90% of the time, but I didn’t care.

How has nyc fashion impacted other parts of

If there’s any place in the world that has had that kind of far-reaching impact, it would be NYC. All these cultural cornerstones have been influenced by fashion in one way or another, and NY, in a way, can make that influence meaningful. In fact, my workplace, Opening Ceremony, is a testament to that: our universe is very connected to music, art, politics, film, TV, and other cultural institutions, whether it’s about the partnerships we have, the projects and events we do, and the people with who we’re friends. I take a lot of pride in what OC has come to mean over the past decade, which is beyond fashion.

I left the corporate law industry to join Opening Ceremony because I was so inspired by what it represents and has accomplished in the NY fashion industry. That said, I don’t think OC would be the same if it started in any other city — NYC and its history are very much a part of OC’s DNA.

China Young

Creative Director, Dubbel Duffel

A decorator.

When my Mom took me to the Versace store on Rodeo drive. I threw out my comic book and slept with the Versace lookbook.

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? NYC will always be a place where the world cultures come together and create magic.

Julie Bensman

Writer & Editor, the Fashion Spot

I was definitely a tomboy growing up, but I did like to search through my mother’s old trunks filled with vintage silk scarves and chunky jewelry from the 80s. I didn’t have any sisters growing up so it was a way to feel feminine by playing dress up alone in my room.

How has nyc fashion impacted other parts of world culture?

Fashion icons have become influencers in nearly every other arena, and vice versa. I suppose it makes sense that if you have good sartorial taste, that discernment translates to music, politics, et cetera, Look at DJs like Harley Viera Newton collaborating with Cole Haan or Alexa Chung with Madewel — it gives NYC fashion brands a chance to make their labels more dynamic, while also celebrating their hometowns and the tastemakers who make it tick.

Read Wall

Designer, Read Wall

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? Being from DC, I think I see how eclectic NYC is, more so than if I had grown up in it. I can still see the forest and the trees, I guess. From a global fashion scene standpoint, I view New York as still very much about the product. Other fashion cities have been transformed by art and critics into their own beast, but you can still see market economics hard at work in New York. In a way, New York is more honest and straightforward, if one can say anything in fashion, it’s that.

What’s makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion hub in the world?

New York acts as a great center for American fashion. There’s a strong component of engineering and construction (not just design) to all things in New York fashion that I think is unique. Each global hub has a distinct personality, and New York is quintessentially American.

What is your favorite drinks? Bourbon, preferably Woodford Reserve), in a glass, with ice.

Adam J. Schoenberg

Co-ceo & Founder, Hook + Albert

Fashion and I have been dating for some time — probably going steady since I was 10 years old. We fell in love about 10+ years ago when she gave me the ability to stand out from the clutter. Heading down the career path of a sales executive, I needed something that people remembered me by, and that came in the form of unique accessories. I almost always wore a real flower in my lapel and can’t recall a meeting where someone did not comment on it (good or bad). The second they did, I knew they were engaged.

How Shas nyc’s fashion scene impacted other parts of

Fashion is all about individuality and a story — how do I feel? How do I want people to perceive me? Jay Z got inspired by fashion in run this town by saying the famous line, “All black everything, black cards, black cars, black on black….” The color and its meaning helped frame that line and his look for most of that year. Take politics — when Anthony Weiner is having a tough day in the press and needs to relate to an audience, his people may tell him to take his jacket off and roll up his sleeves, as that “look” makes him appear warm. It all starts with fashion.

Saturdays Surf NYC From Left: Colin Tunstall, Morgan Collett & Josh Rosen

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? Colin Tunstall: It’s huge! It plays a huge role in all aspects, from design, marketing, advertising, to trendsetting and consuming. What happens in NYC sets things in motion around the world.

What makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion hub in the world?

Josh Rosen: New York City is not pretty or romantic like Paris, not cold and dark like London, and not organized and smart like Tokyo. New York City is a dirty, fast-paced pit of creativity. Sink or swim, get it done with a trillion pound weight of cement sitting on your shoulders. People fight for their spot here. Once you start making it work, you can’t stop. You can’t rest. That’s what makes it unique here. People truly care about there work and put everything into it. We are also so cramped together that you can’t help but be influenced by other creatives. You see so much in a day here. You’re not in your car, you’re on your feet in the streets observing, absorbing, and then creating.

Morgan Collett: I think it has inspired me to be comfortable with my own sense of style and dress. There are so many different types of people who all have their own fashion sense. It is important to be true to who you are when it comes to style and that is one of the most important things. Don’t wear a suit because others are wearing one, but because it’s what you want to be wearing.

Jermaine Hall

Editor in Chief, Vibe Magazine

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? We’re the masters of fabulous unkept looks. It’s amazing how we’re able to look like we just got of bed and threw on “this old thing,” but in reality these are well-planned get ups.

How has nyc’s fashion scene impacted other parts of

I think Jay-Z said it best — hip-hop and art are family and have always been these rebellious forms where all participants have looked cool. Very fashion-forward folks. The trends start there and bubble out to the rest of the world. The couture lines might not be housed here, but they’re certainly looking to hip-hop and art for inspiration.

What is your favorite drink? Vodka Gimlet. So refreshing. Especially in the summer.

Jonathan Meizler

Designer, Title of Work

Fresh juice: carrots, celery, romaine, cucumber, beet and ginger!

When I was able to dissect a Charles James gown at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

What makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion

There are multitudes of ‘cliques’ in the city — from uptown socialites to east village rockers, fitted and muscled chelsea boys to tribeca artists to brooklyn hipsters — you can walk a mile and be surrounded by a completely different demographic.

The color orange

Kelsey Zimba

Designer, Zimba Collections

A fashion designer! My mom was receiving college applications for me from Central Saint Martin’s when I was 10 years old. She asked me why they were sending them to me, and I said, “Because I need to know what it takes to be a fashion designer!”

What makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion

Nyc’s Fashion District is unlike anything I’ve seen anywhere else in the world. I love that you can go to one store for any type of silk, organza to 4-ply crepe, another for just spandex, and another for just buttons — all within walking distance of each other. It’s fabulous. But the Fashion District is struggling to survive right now, as rents soar and production goes overseas. What will happen if our designers don’t have the tools they need to create? So much of the truly creative process happens through the designer’s hands, not through a tech pack.

Marcus Teo

Creative Director, Teo Creative

My own cereal blend, soy milk and blueberries. One soft boiled egg. Toast with homemade butter and apricot jam made by The Rutabaga Liaison’s Seth Johnson.

How has nyc’s fashion scene impacted other parts of

The impact is tremendous. If not for fashion and fashion publishing, the current state of the art world would not exist. Many years ago, several influential editors, Dennis Freedman, Stefano Tonchi, Ingrid Sischy, amongst others, turned their sharp editorial focus on the aloof art world. With the backing of fashion magazines and companies like W and Prada, the art world came into full media light and eventually, the public eye. The rise of the politician under fashion scrutiny is also a NYC fashion media pastime which became a common hot topic. When Vogue embraced the hip hop world, music and fashion collided. Fashion designers are now a common shout out in hip hop lyrics. And it all started right here in NYC.

Michael Macko

Editor at Large, Valet

An Egyptologist, Cleopatra was my favorite movie as a kid and then the King Tut exhibit came around and that sealed the deal.

What makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion hub in the world?

I would have to say the diversity. One day you can be surfing on Rockaway Beach, the next shopping for vintage at the Brooklyn Flea, and then go to the Met or the Galleries at Fit and see amazing historical fashion. No two days should ever be the same in NYC. If they are, you’re in the wrong city.

New York City is like a fountain that constantly quenches the thirst of my creativity.

Michael Bastian

Designer + Founder, Michael Bastian

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene?

New York is the city you look to to find actual clothes you’re going to wear. It’s less conceptual than Paris or Milan. We’re a bit more focused on the realities of getting dressed in the morning.

How has nyc’s fashion scene impacted other parts of world culture?

New York represents the idea of a ‘city’ to most of the world: dense, exciting, always moving, cosmopolitan, unexpected.

I’m inspired every day just walking around my neighborhood in Greenwich Village. I’m right in the middle of NYU and The New School, so I get a lot of inspiration from the students.

Another designer’s stuff. I’ve gotta represent the brand, as they say.

Tim Rush

Vp, Global Communications and Fashion Relations, Bumble and Bumble, Smashbox and Darphin Paris

An architect, or a cocktail waitress. That was the joke I told when I was 5. I thought I was very funny and it always got a laugh.

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? I’ve been able to watch it evolve. I think NYC used to be criticized for being too much about business and commercial, not creative. From a hair point of view, the stereotype was flat irons and ponytails, and the super creative looks were reserved for London and Paris. I think this whole view has changed a lot. Now many designers are very interested in collaborating with hairdressers to create a unique look to work with the clothes.

I try not to repeat trends I’ve already lived through — espadrilles and pleated pants.

Nathalie Sears

President, Liebeskind

My great grandmother was a seamstress in the ateliers of Christian Dior. I spent my summers as a child with her. We made garments for my dolls all day long. The last one, the ugliest one, I still have it. A pink polka dot dress with green little scissor buttons. From that moment, I wanted to be in fashion.

NYC inspires me everyday. I love that NYC is made of little villages. On Wall Street where I live, bankers show you the way classic suits should be worn, while in Soho, fashion is a free for all. Brooklyn neighborhoods let you have a peek on up and coming trends. There is freedom in NY.C You can’t be free like you are in NYC fashion-wise.

Wouldn’t be caught dead in flats, without my yoga mat, lipstick and my Liebeskind Berlin bag. It fits my life.

Phil Russo

Creative Director

An architect.

At a very early age, before I knew the meaning of the word.

How has nyc’s fashion scene impacted other parts of

Fashion is woven into the very fabric of what NYC constitutes as a city. Whenever a NYC thematic emerges in music, art, politics, etc. the thread of NYC fashion and its emotional connection comes with it.

A speedo.

Rafe Totengco

Creative Director Handbags, the Jones Group

I wanted to be an artist, but somewhere along the way I got side tracked with fashion and I haven’t considered anything else. I’m having too much fun.

What makes nyc’s fashion scene unlike any other fashion

The melting pot phenomenon is unique to New York. Everybody comes to New York with a dream: designers, models, stylists and photographers. As long as you’re talented you’ll do well. Nobody cares where you’re from because it’s assumed you’re from somewhere else.

Everyday there is something new that’s happening that you can be a part of. The possibilities are endless. It’s sensory overload and you have to focus.

Allen Osborne

One Model Management

A writer. I watched “The Waltons” too much and decided I wanted to be like John Boy and be a journalist!

I can’t say that I did so much at a young age as I fell in love with a model who I became an agent for after college.

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? It’s the largest market in the world. For men, we may not have all the couture lines that Milan or Paris have, but clients from all over North America book their models from NYC in addition to the local clients we have here.

I moved here from Los Angeles and while I loved living there, I quickly became adjusted to a city that breathes fashion as opposed to a city that’s all about acting. I definitely gave up my floral LA shirts in favor of solids and a lot of blacks and grays!

Todd Snyder

Designer

What role does nyc play in the global fashion scene? I think New York is the center of fashion. A lot of the trends start here, and if they didn’t, they still influence a lot here.

How has nyc’s fashion scene impacted other parts of

I think it’s all tied together. It’s hard to say who influences who. Creativity attracts creatives. I think we are in a renaissance of sorts. I see a lot of music, food, art and politics all coming together. I’m proud to have Obama as our president and gay marriage being legalized. I didn’t think it would happen with my generation, but it shows me the new generation is going in the right direction.

What makes nyc’s fashion scene Unlike any other fashion

First, it’s the best city in the world. There is such a spotlight on NYC for everything. Movie releases all start here, Jimmy Fallon is taking over The Tonight Show in NYC. And, Anna Wintour is based here. Enough said.