Interview

With an interconnected set of boxed rooms designed by New York wood worker Andrew Ondrejak, Phillip Lim's laid-back house of cool showcased the designer at his most poised. Lim has a devoted following, and that's the sharp way he tailors and details, with hand-stitching or rolled edges, making the Lim man a dandy, but with more swagger. At the center of his show, a young model sat and played Miles Davis on the piano while boys stood in a James Dean meets Nick Carroway way. Models lounged in Lim's glasses (he'sone of the few designers who succeeds in both accessories and garments in equal parts), slick and leisurely. As always, his prints are tops, with subtly busy paint splashes on two piece suits, or small, thin grid-like lines on jackets. The designer, who rushed around effusively, coat over his shoulders, showcased his ease with materials, from lambskin shorts to silk zip ups. The drink of choice was Maker's Mark, for a man of fine taste enjoys a Southern bourbon, now and again. (LEFT: LOOK 12)

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People's Revolution, Kelly Cutrone's PR firm, snuck in not just two, but three shows at once. Nicholas K, Mara Hoffman and Whitney Eve (Whitney Port's line, in its first time at the tents) all shared the stage, for no apparent reason. But they all have Ms Cutrone in common. Starting late and impossibly long, the three designers did have a little more in common: ice cream-bright colors and a glam slant. Nicholas K and Whitney Eve's programs each mentioned sherbert at least once; Mara's show was seaside themed. So many show notesread "80's!" or "DYNASTY!" and there was some truth in that as Nicholas K, via an electro soundtrack and neon colors that also felt very "Saved By The Bell." Back to schoool, indeed.

When Whitney sent out her ruffled, business-ready looks to a soundtrack of pop favorites, the room was pleasantly surprised (her The City friends cheered, and then preened). She's forgotten all about school, after all.There was a whole lot of  bright geo prints.Meanwhile Ms. Hoffman's casting call must have read "exotic," as tanned and oiled models sported African and Indian prints, in flowing silk, chiffon and georgette. "Two's company, three's a crowd," but at Fashion Week that's not so bad.

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Designer Ruthie Davis remembers her first trip to humdrum department store Lord & Taylor with her mother, at the age of two. She left with a pair of patent leather Mary Janes that the salesperson just couldn't convince her out of them. Davis still pays pay homage to that younger girl, with bright, fluorescent flashes, albeit with sky-high heels and that same passion for patent leather.

Ten seasons into Davis, her self-titled collection, she's succeeded in making extreme shoes for extreme shoe fetishists. Case in point: Backstage at a Beyoncé show (a huge Ruthie fan), the shoe designer gave Knowles a new pair of her ‘Links' heels; that night Beyoncé was photographed wearing them. Other fans include Gaga and Alicia Keys, who are attracted to the designer's almost-camp sensibility, like the PVC-laden, Malibu Barbie-themed summer collection or 2009. But Davis is more than candy colors and California sunsets; she tells Interview about her recent inspirations—Rem Koolhaus, Judy Jetson, Italian noir comics—and Fashion Week, her futuristic fall line, and why high heels always come out on top.


LEILA BRILLSON: Thanks for sharing your sketches. Can you tell me what it's like when you design a shoe?

RUTHIE DAVIS: I always start each collection with a key concept or feeling. I start to brainstorm ideas based on the marketplace, magazines, buildings, people, places, etc—and then I create a storyboard that puts my ideas into one overall theme for the season. Since I now have ten seasons to draw upon, I also spend time looking at what worked for me in the past, what is selling well and where there are areas I need to focus on to improve.  

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The decadent statement pant is a ridiculous and exciting tradition, its signature barely wearable materials and unfathomable pricetags. Remember Balenciaga's 100K golden leggings? When they debuted at Nicolas Ghesquière's Spring 2007 collection, no one mentioned anything but his apparent C3P0 fetish. Made only on special order, and popularized by Beyonce at the MTV movie awards, no simple slacks would ever come close. They also made plated ones that cost less, which is probably what you saw in the papers.

But one not-so-slack pant did come close last season, when Maison Martin Margiela held the fashion world up to its own image, quite literally, by lining his men's collection with mirrors. While disco-inspired jackets and trim were adventurous but reasonable, these incredible, all-reflective leggings looked absolutely impractical, which made them complete fun in an over-the-top, paraliyzed Lady Gaga kind of way. And yet somehow, covered in glass, you could walk.

The latest entry into fancy pants came from Gareth Pugh, the Britain's designer of futuristic torture devices. When Pugh decided to try his hand at menswear, his legions (literally, the lines outside his London shows are notoriously nightmarish) of admirers froze in anticipation. First of all, men's looks don't allow for as many sci-fi theatrics, and menswear tends to be, well, more sellable. So while his collection trotted out Edward Scissorhand look alikes, his satin trenches and military tuxes could conceivably be worn in this dimension.

So wearable that pieces of his collection have been, in fact, produced (he notoriously didn't sell a stitch of clothing until Spring 2008), and showed up at Colette in Paris. Both genders are featured, but its the slinky, patched leather trousers that put Gareth at his most Pugh. He took on the statement trousers with leather (Balenciaga chose gold, and Margiela used mirrors), embroidering the leather so it had a voluminous, patchworked feel. A trend with legs, indeed.

For more fancy pants, check out our September issue.

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