'You have to have something that pays the rent and that can grow at your own pace.'
I knew the world I wanted to be in, but I wasn't sure I could break into that world. My mother was an incredible clotheshorse, so I grew up loving fashion. I lived in Paris during my junior and senior years at Sarah Lawrence. When you're in Paris, you can't help but notice fashion. I wanted something to do with fashion. I would have done anything. I would have swept floors. I would have licked envelopes. I just wanted to be part of it.
In the summers, I worked for Yves Saint Laurent—as a salesgirl in the boutique on Madison Avenue. I met Frances Patiky Stein, an editor at Vogue. She told me to give her a call when I got out of college. I did and I got a job. She felt I had a special something. On my first day at Vogue, I wore Saint Laurent and my nails were painted black or red, which was very much the rage in Paris at the time for young women. The editors looked at me and said, "Go home and get changed because you're going to be doing dirt work." I came back wearing jeans. It was a dream come true.
Vogue is a seductive place because of what you get to see and what you're privy to; it's a world that I can't even explain. I thought I would do it for a year or two and I ended up staying 16 years. During that time, I rose to be one of the youngest editors ever in the history of Vogue. By 23, I was a senior editor, and then I became European editor for American Vogue in Paris.
I think I always had an eye and Vogue made that eye even sharper. An eye is a new way of viewing something old. Everything's been done in fashion. It's how you bring newness to the concept. I mean, a white shirt is a white shirt, but how do you wear it? Those are the things that editors are always searching for, particularly in a picture because you only have so long to capture the magic of fashion.
When I was almost 40, I got married and started my own business. I started with bridal because I'd had so much trouble finding my own wedding dress. You have to have a platform to begin with and then build upon the platform. You have to have something that pays the rent and that can grow at your own pace. I had bridal.
When I started, I was scared. I had worked as a design director for Ralph Lauren and I saw how hard it was to get product made, shipped on time and sold. I knew the chances for success were very slim because it's more than about talent. It's also about timing. It's about reaching your customer. It's about having allure for the press. I remember signing a lease for the store thinking, this is my death warrant, because how am I going to pay this rent? It did not take off right away. I built up my business client by client.
Now I feel like I'm always on the job. Sometimes, my daughters have dinner here with me in the office. They leave for school at a quarter of 7 and I'm usually sleeping, because when I get home at night, I work. I design in bed, from about 11 to 2. That's when I have creative time to myself. In the day, I'm juggling clients. My husband's a great, great partner—as a husband and a father. He's also a workaholic. If I didn't have somebody who was really into his own profession, there's no way he'd put up with a wife like me. I don't drink caffeine but I like to have a cocktail at night. I love apple martinis.
Women do lead differently from men. I try to share a tremendous amount with my staffers. I feel everything: the tribulations of business, the responsibility to people who depend on me to feed their families. Those things are always in my decision-making processes. Art and commerce are often conflicting concepts. You have to make compromises because the most cutting-edge things are not necessarily what sells. You have to find a balance; it's a very difficult thing to do.
Newsweek
I knew the world I wanted to be in, but I wasn't sure I could break into that world. My mother was an incredible clotheshorse, so I grew up loving fashion. I lived in Paris during my junior and senior years at Sarah Lawrence. When you're in Paris, you can't help but notice fashion. I wanted something to do with fashion. I would have done anything. I would have swept floors. I would have licked envelopes. I just wanted to be part of it.
In the summers, I worked for Yves Saint Laurent—as a salesgirl in the boutique on Madison Avenue. I met Frances Patiky Stein, an editor at Vogue. She told me to give her a call when I got out of college. I did and I got a job. She felt I had a special something. On my first day at Vogue, I wore Saint Laurent and my nails were painted black or red, which was very much the rage in Paris at the time for young women. The editors looked at me and said, "Go home and get changed because you're going to be doing dirt work." I came back wearing jeans. It was a dream come true.
Vogue is a seductive place because of what you get to see and what you're privy to; it's a world that I can't even explain. I thought I would do it for a year or two and I ended up staying 16 years. During that time, I rose to be one of the youngest editors ever in the history of Vogue. By 23, I was a senior editor, and then I became European editor for American Vogue in Paris.
I think I always had an eye and Vogue made that eye even sharper. An eye is a new way of viewing something old. Everything's been done in fashion. It's how you bring newness to the concept. I mean, a white shirt is a white shirt, but how do you wear it? Those are the things that editors are always searching for, particularly in a picture because you only have so long to capture the magic of fashion.
When I was almost 40, I got married and started my own business. I started with bridal because I'd had so much trouble finding my own wedding dress. You have to have a platform to begin with and then build upon the platform. You have to have something that pays the rent and that can grow at your own pace. I had bridal.
When I started, I was scared. I had worked as a design director for Ralph Lauren and I saw how hard it was to get product made, shipped on time and sold. I knew the chances for success were very slim because it's more than about talent. It's also about timing. It's about reaching your customer. It's about having allure for the press. I remember signing a lease for the store thinking, this is my death warrant, because how am I going to pay this rent? It did not take off right away. I built up my business client by client.
Now I feel like I'm always on the job. Sometimes, my daughters have dinner here with me in the office. They leave for school at a quarter of 7 and I'm usually sleeping, because when I get home at night, I work. I design in bed, from about 11 to 2. That's when I have creative time to myself. In the day, I'm juggling clients. My husband's a great, great partner—as a husband and a father. He's also a workaholic. If I didn't have somebody who was really into his own profession, there's no way he'd put up with a wife like me. I don't drink caffeine but I like to have a cocktail at night. I love apple martinis.
Women do lead differently from men. I try to share a tremendous amount with my staffers. I feel everything: the tribulations of business, the responsibility to people who depend on me to feed their families. Those things are always in my decision-making processes. Art and commerce are often conflicting concepts. You have to make compromises because the most cutting-edge things are not necessarily what sells. You have to find a balance; it's a very difficult thing to do.
Newsweek
