Victor Cruz Talks The Success Beyond The Game Campaign, Fashion And Football

Dubbed the best-dressed player in the NFL, it makes sense that HUGO BOSS Fragrances and the NFL would select Victor Cruz as the ambassador for their joint “Success Beyond the Game” campaign. The fashion circuit regular is the campaign’s only ambassador, which is meant to celebrate achievement both on and off the football field. The New York Giants wide receiver dishes on being the face of the campaign, what he’s thinking while he’s playing football, and his favorite Hugo Boss scent.
When did you know you wanted to be a professional football player? When I was around 11 years old and my dad first put me in the sport. I was extremely scared, extremely nervous. For my first ever little league game I scored a 60 yard touchdown and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a football player.
What are you thinking about when you are actually playing the game? I’m thinking about how I’m going to beat the defender across from me each and every play. How I’m going to get in his head, so that I can continue to dominate him throughout the game. Figure out the way to beat him, figure out his tactics against me, and try to combat them with what I do.
You’re known as the best-dressed player in the NFL. How has your personal style developed? It just developed naturally as I began to grow more into fashion, be more enthused about it and wanted to know more about it. That’s how my style has evolved and changed and that’s led me to where I am today and what you see today. I’ve always been a lover of fashion as far back as I can remember.
Who would you say your style icon is? My style icons have to be Johnny Depp, LeBron James, Tom Brady, Pharrell, and Kanye West.
You’re on the front row as a regular at fashion shows; what do you like watching about them? I like watching what trends are forming within these brands. I also gain inspiration for how I like to wear some of my pieces and how I’d wear my clothes, judging off what is coming down the runway. Just knowledge, just seeing how they’re curated, seeing how these elaborate setups and elaborate runway shows are curated for months on end, all to go out and show for 10 minutes or 15 minutes. I think that’s one of the biggest things I like to see out of the shows.
How did it feel to be selected to be an ambassador for New York Fashion Week men’s CFDA? It was amazing. To know and to be recognized by your peers as one of the leaders of fashion in your respective sport and to be named as an ambassador for an entire fashion week I think is truly the highest honor you can receive from a fashion perspective individually. I had a lot of fun. It was a really good time and I’d love to do it over and over again. It was definitely a dream come true.
What was it about the Success Beyond the Game campaign that got you interested in joining it? I think it was just the brand. Hugo Boss is one of the brands that has been around for such a long time and have always held themselves in high regards with the masculine look they’ve had over the years and the longevity they’re created for themselves. To still be relevant now after all these years is truly a testament to their brand. I feel like that goes hand in hand with what I do from a masculine standpoint and strength. I think we share many of the same characteristics.
As per the title of it—success—what have you been most proud of? I think just being able to be here and play in the NFL. Coming from a small town in Patterson, New Jersey, a lot of guys don’t even see their neighboring town. For me to not only be in the NFL, but to be playing at a high level and to be on a team that has won a Superbowl, those are the things that are really a testament of what I’ve done. I think those are my biggest achievements thus far.
Regarding the fragrances, which one is your favorite and why? Boss Bottled Intense because the fragrance lasts such a long time and it’s really a nose grabber. When you walk into the room people just want to know what you’re wearing. They can smell it on you and they really like it.
How does Boss fit into your personal style and grooming routine? It goes hand in hand. I have my spray routine. I do it every day. It’s kind of my life. It’s part of my routine and that’s what I do to get myself going.
Do you wear a fragrance when you’re playing? I spray the morning of game day while I’m getting dressed and heading down to the stadium. I put on some cologne, just to make myself feel good. Whenever I smell the scent of that cologne it makes me feel good, it makes me excited to start my day.
What kind of grooming tips have you picked up working with your shoots and Hugo Boss? Some of the grooming tips are continuing to use moisturizer for my face, even as a man. Guys don’t really want hear they need to use face products and clean their face; it doesn’t come naturally. For me applying moisturizer has really made a difference to my skin and made a difference in the way I feel about myself.
Do you have any treatments you prefer? Absolutely, I definitely treat myself to a massage at least once a week. As you know football isn’t the easiest sport to play. It’s not the easiest on your muscles, so you want to continue to stay on top of your body to make sure you’re ready to go week in and week out.

DESIGNERS PEER INTO THE FUTURE, AND DEEP INTO THE PAST

"This is the season of oy."
So said one well-known buyer exiting a show on day two of London Fashion Week, verbalizing a sentiment festering among the crowd. After a lackluster week in New York, where the collections generally lacked both new trends and color, London opened with a series of shows that, but for one or two exceptions, were falling flat.
And then J.W. Anderson showed his spring 2016 collection on Saturday afternoon, and the mood changed. Though Anderson, 31, is now the creative director of two fashion houses — both his eponymous label, based in London, and the LVMH-owned Loewe, based in Madrid — he continues to bring new ideas to the table while excelling commercially with his knitwear, making him a favorite with both critics and buyers. Saturday's show brought out a mishmash of bra tops, harem pants, big shoulders, ruffles and bold, arty prints that, crinkled and ruched, gave a steel blue bustier dress edge a contemporary zing, while sheer overlays added a gauzy softness to a pair of matching sweater and trouser combos. Interspersed were pieces that will likely be popular with buyers and shoppers: sweaters with ruffled collars and bell sleeves, crisp track jackets with ribbed-knit panels and square-toed boots. While the garment shapes were by no means new, Anderson's treatments of them were — and yet it all stayed true to his label's aesthetic.
Other designers were in a similar state of mind. Mary Katrantzou, who looked to the ultimate of frontiers — the cosmos — for inspiration this season, produced a collection of dresses patterned in a maze-work of lace, embroidery, metallic pipings, chrome pearls and jewel-like prints that rivaled the majesty of a starry night sky. Floral prints and loose sleeves called to mind Romanian dress; but no period in Romania ever produced clothes that looked like these. Roksanda Illincic offered a collection of dresses and feminine separates whose necklines and layered skirts were precision-cut into new, geometric shapes; while Christopher Kane, who continued to reference his past collections, used cutouts in new ways, evoking not sexiness but, in keeping with his theme of "crash and repair," damage. Clear plasticky skirts edged in pastels looked modern, too. While Burberry's spring 2016 collection rehashed past favorites, like broderie anglaise dresses and military-style coats, it avoided specific decade references. And Peter Pilotto produced a collection that, like Roksanda and Anya Hindmarch, combined the feminine with a focus on geometry to produce clothes with strong commercial appeal. Fresh ideas were also to be had among young designers like LVMH Prize winner Thomas Tait, Marques'Almeida and Alexander Lewis.
But not every designer in London had his or her eye fixed on the future. Emilia Wickstead, Simone Rocha, Erdem's Erdem Moralıoğlu, Giles's Giles Deacon and Mother of Pearl's Amy Powney plunged deep into the annals of English costume history — some successfully, others not. Simone Rocha's full skirts, puffy sleeves and ruffles were nicely juxtaposed against roped bodices and bandoliers that had a rubbery, 3D-printed feel, as were the pie-crimped collars and tiny pink florals of Mother of Pearl's Victorian-inspired dresses with sporty details like ribbed cuffs. Erdem also went Victorian this season, baring shoulders and midriffs and interposing trendier jacket shapes to keep things contemporary. Meanwhile, red carpet darling Emilia Wickstead, who pushed herself to explore new silhouettes this season, ended up with a collection of heavy dresses that were more "period costume" than fashion. Giles, who showed beneath the Rubens-painted ceilings of the Banqueting House of Whitehall, embraced this theme full-on, producing a collection that was magnificently Tudor, and interspersed with clothes (loose floral dresses, embroidered peplum blouses, printed leggings and silk skirts) that could easily make their way to a shop floor. It was the only show I attended where the clapping began before the finale, when the red-haired Karen Elson stepped out in a micro-pleated, laser-cut gown worthy of a gothic Queen Elizabeth I.
So, it was a good season in London, and it was inspiring to see designers endeavor to bring fresh ideas to the table — to create original, modern or at least thoughtful clothes, rather than rehash the trends of the '60s, '70s and '90s, as so many designers have been doing for the past few seasons. Let's hope designers in Milan and Paris are feeling similarly ambitious.

HOW THE MOST INSTAGRAM-WORTHY SET DESIGNS FROM NEW YORK FASHION WEEK CAME TOGETHER

When it comes to introducing a new collection, the clothes may come first, but designers are wise to add to the ambiance (and enhance their brand image) with a little help from set design. In a world where designers' shows and presentations make their way to social media in seconds, it's important to have an atmosphere that makes their message clear.
"Set design actually comes from the love for story," said Nian Fish, an industry guru who's produced and creatively directed fashion shows, events and films since the '70s. "It also speaks for what the brand stands for." Minimalistic fashion brands like Calvin Klein (a longtime client of Fish), Jil Sander and Céline may have pieces (custom-made benches, for example) that guests wouldn't even perceive as intentionally produced for the show. On the other hand, designers like Marc Jacobs and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel will create a world of their own for every season.
So now that we've covered the clothes, model lineups and front row rosters, here's a rundown of the most photo op-worthy set designs of New York Fashion Week, along with exclusive details on how they came together.
SELF-PORTRAIT
Fish worked with Self-Portrait designer Han Chong on his Fashion Week debut in New York, and opted for a presentation (as opposed to a runway show) so his clothes could be introduced in a more intimate setting. Chong sent Fish a photo from a fashion editorial starring model Freja Beha Erichsen in an abandoned mansion, inspiring Fish to produce their own version. "We thought it would be amazing to show the colors of the collection against this rawness from the installation," said Fish.
Fish hired prop stylist Natane Boudreau, who scoured junkyards throughout New York City for housewares like books, statues, chairs, tables and even a baby carriage. After gathering up to 120 pieces, Boudreau painted them white before passing the goods over to interiors stylist Gregory Bissonnette, who placed and piled the pieces together like a 3-D puzzle. After a 5 a.m. call time to rig the set together, the models got creative with leaning, sitting and standing throughout the fantastical backdrop.
KATE SPADE NEW YORK
If you ever scroll through the "Posts I've Liked" section of your Instagram account, chances are you'll find a few floral displays. So it's no surprise thatKate Spade New York's Chief Creative Officer Deborah Lloyd tapped into a classic spring trend for both the collection and presentation. The florists atFTD provided over 30,000 fresh flowers for the event.
"We worked to highlight the crisp colors, graphic prints and playful sophistication that are hallmarks of Kate Spade New York," said Andrea Ancel, lead floral designer at FTD. "There was a variety of colors, and within each color, a diversity of gradients and textures that brought the Kate Spade color palette to life in the form of flowers." FTD sourced flowers from all over the world for the presentation, including tulips and hydrangeas from Holland, roses from South America and gerbera daisies from California. Guests were able to take home their own arrangement of blooms from the custom flower bar, while branded trucks gave out fresh bouquets throughout the city after the presentation.
RACHEL ANTONOFF
Rachel Antonoff teamed with stage and film production designer Brett J. Banakis for her spring 2016 presentation set, titled The National Women’s Aviary Society's Annual Birding Overnight. Banakis used his summer camp counselor background to turn the fashion designer's birding-meets-"Troop Beverly Hills" camp site into a reality in just two weeks in the Plaza Hotel's famous Palm Court.
"I could understand Rachel's offbeat sense of humor and her stylistic approach to the whole event. She was interested in fabricating an environment that would transform the experience of seeing her designs," said Banakis. "It was such a joy for me to dig through my memory bank and research the little details that made camp memorable for me." One of those details included a Lake Antonoff board made up of cardboard tags for guests to sign and hang up, recreated from Banakis's summer camp "Buddy Board," a large plywood sign with hooks for each camper to hang a name tag while they were swimming at the lake.
Banakis also worked with artist Marte Ekhougen, who created dozens of sculptural birds out of colored paper. (You can see these in Antonoff's spring 2016 look book, too.) To complement them, Antonoff and her team (along with friends and moms) decided to make 500 origami birds to hang throughout the space. "We were folding birds day and night," said Antonoff. "It feels weird to not be doing it now."
JI OH
In a departure from her typically minimal atmospheres, Ji Oh presented her collection against a makeshift city construction site, complete with scaffolding, a ladder and signage. "I love how the city matches girls who have confidence and a rebellious attitude," said Oh. "I explained my vision to my production team and they executed it very well." One of Oh's favorite touches to the presentation are the street signs customized with the brand name and funny takes on the usual phrases you see in the city.
ANNA SUI
For fashion week veteran Anna Sui, the only difference each season is the artistic backdrop at the beginning of the catwalk, which is created by Sui's longtime collaborator and artist Sarah Oliphant. "She told me this was one of her favorites to work on," said Sui. "The design [this season] was inspired by a woodcut print by Paul Gauguin, and Sarah tried to capture the feeling with her brushstrokes." The designer's spring 2016 collection took on a Polynesian theme, and to further set the mood for the show, Sui added faux palm trees along the runway.
"I wanted my trees to look ethereal and dreamy," noted Sui, so she collaborated with James Coviello, a designer she's worked with for hats and knitwear since her first fashion show. Coviello wrapped the trees' stumps in shimmer organza and created the fronds (palm tree leaves) in iridescent aqua and amber hues. Plus, the venue's air-conditioning provided an unplanned detail for the tall palms: "Each sparkly frond gently swayed in the breeze," remembered Sui. "It was pure magic."
3.1 PHILLIP LIM
When we found out that Phillip Lim was collaborating with environmental artist Maya Lin on a sculptural installation for his spring 2016 runway show, it was on the top of our must-see list for NYFW. With Lim's theme of "stop and smell the flowers," a simple message promoting pause for the brand's 10-year anniversary, in mind, Lin created large soil mounds throughout the show's venue.
The installation was made from 360 cubic yards of toxin-free organic soil piled so that some of them reached up to 13 feet in height. After the show, Lim and his team donated the soil to New York City's community gardens. In addition, the brand will make a donation to Lin's What Is Missing? Foundation, which encourages attention to species and habitat loss, and the Perfect Earth Project.
TANYA TAYLOR
Tanya Taylor also partnered with an artist: she reached out to Eric Rieger, known as Hot Tea, for her spring 2016 presentation at the Swiss Institute. Taylor discovered Rieger's work through Instagram and Rieger managed to gather yarn in intense, saturated colors inspired by the current collection in five days. After two weeks of building the majority of the installation in his Minneapolis-based studio, Rieger shipped his work to New York City.
Along with creating his largest installation yet (47 feet by 47 feet), Rieger lightened up on the density of his signature yarn work — his pieces are usually so condensed that they can resemble a solid block of color. It took most of the day and night before the show for Rieger to set up the installation. "A lot of the team started to break down mentally because they've been up since 6:30 a.m.," said Rieger. "But when 4 a.m. rolled around and I started seeing what the installation was going to look like, I was so motivated and excited to get it finished." The best part was when Rieger experienced how guests were interacting and taking photos of his work.
TOMMY HILFIGER
After Tommy Hilfiger's spring 2016 runway show, we may be adding Mustique to the list of the fashion flock's favorite vacation spots. Already a go-to getaway for royals and celebrities, the West Indies island was recreated at Pier 94 complete with a boardwalk, lagoon and an adaptation of the city's famous hangout, Basil's Bar. (Legendary owner Basil Charles manned the faux bar, fully stocked with 100 customized beer bottle props.) "This season's set is one of our most impressive yet," said Hilfiger, who has a family home on the island.
Hilfiger worked with his go-to set designer Randall Peacock to bring the laid-back island lifestyle to New York City. (Peacock has been responsible for past Hilfiger show sets, including fall 2015's football field and spring 2015's homage to the Beatles.) "The set concept was five months in the making," explained Hilfiger. The set's actual installation took up to three days to prepare before the show, which makes sense: enough sand was sourced to cover 7,000 square feet; 20,000 gallons of water was used to create the lagoon; and 14 palm trees — hybrids with faux resin bases and real palm fronds — were transported all the way from Florida.
MANSUR GAVRIEL
For Rachel Mansur and Floriana Gavriel's debut Fashion Week presentationfor their "It" accessories brand Mansur Gavriel, the duo wanted to create a completely immersive environment for visitors to truly experience their "signature repetition of product with an emphasis in form and color." Mansur and Gavriel, along with their own internal team and production company Dizon Inc., transformed the Swiss Institute into a retro-style, pastel pink department store. "Given pink is a color we often use, we felt this specific hue would create a playful and warm, yet sleek backdrop," they said. To add to the mod atmosphere, and because flowers and plants are always a source of inspiration for the brand, in-house florist Brittany Asch placed bouquets and plants throughout the space, such as anthurium, sumac, safflower, king protea and blushing bride protea.
The presentation took up the entire venue, and so there was barely room for a backstage hair-and-makeup area. Mansur and Gavriel improvised, using their office, a few blocks away, as the setup spot for beauty. "The models then had to walk from our office to the space completely dressed," they said. "It was really moving to walk alongside the girls and see reactions on the street. [Our photographer] Tommy Ton captured some amazing photos."
COACH
For Coach's runway debut and the launch of its new luxury label, Coach 1941, Creative Director Stuart Vevers teamed up with established set designer Stefan Beckman to create a runway show on the High Line in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, near the Hudson Yards, where the fashion house's headquarters is located. "Stuart was inspired by the American West and beautiful images of sunlit fields," said Beckman, who referenced films like "Badlands," "The Virgin Suicides" and "Days of Heaven" for inspiration. Vevers and Beckman decided on building a glass tent on the Hudson Yards construction site several weeks in advance, and brought on John Beitel, a landscape designer, to produce a mixture of native grasses and plants inside the venue. "We had something quite architectural and modern outside, but had the opposing nature inside," explained Beckman. "It's something strange, otherworldly, but still beautiful."
After looking at dozens of types of plants and grasses to achieve the right mix of a late summer-to-early fall field, Beckman and Beital pulled the grasses in early August to start training them to grow into the just-right color palette. About 6,000 plants and grasses were placed inside and outside the show’s glass tent (along with eight tractor trailers of dirt) as the set design crew built speakers and air-conditioning ducts underneath the flora.
MARC JACOBS
If you ever needed a reason for the phrase "save the best for last," then turn toMarc Jacobs, who also partnered with Beckman, his longtime collaborator, for his cinema-inspired spring 2016 show on the last night of NYFW. At theZiegfeld Theatre, Jacobs followed the format of a glitzy, star-studded movie premiere to debut his latest collection. "Marc loved the idea of having the girls use all of the parts of the theatre, inside and out, from the red carpet moment through the concession stand and into the theatre," explained Beckman.Having to work with such a historic city spot did have its challenges. Beckman removed 400 theater seats in order to build raised runways so the audience could have good views of the collection. For weeks, he worked on fine-tuning details for the premiere: custom tents, movie posters, stage details for the orchestra, marquee signs, popcorn-and-drink containers and T-shirts. "People are looking to be entertained, to see a spectacle and a beautiful collection, but also a true vision from a designer," said Beckman. "Marc is like a great director bringing all of the elements together to showcase the clothes. I feel like we are creating a small piece of theater every season."

The most exciting emerging young designers of New York fashion week

Photogenic husband-and-wife team Kris Brock and Laura Vassar have one of those meet cutes that you can’t make up. Both studying fashion design at Parsons, Brock asked Vassar to be his fit model for a wedding dress, and their pre-meditated rendezvous has resulted not only in a marriage but a buzzy line already gaining a cult following. Their Standard Hotel presentation was, like their debut last season, packed, filled with pretty young things (mostly blonde and lithe, it must be said) who gasped over their self-described “minimalist” – yet feminine – pieces.
Monse
As the story goes, two alums from Oscar de la Renta strike out on their own – Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia. The latter has worked on Amal Clooney’s wedding dress, and between them they dressed 14 celebrities during for the Met Gala. So you’d think that their pedigree and tastes would mean they’re aiming to hit up the Upper East Side society set-type, but their twisted shirt dresses in cotton poplin and satin stripes and clever coloured pieces all cool-evening-new-evening have a universal appeal.
Brother Vellies
Profiled already in our October 2015 issue, this ethical and sustainable label helmed by Aurora James is already a finalist in the CFDA/VogueFashion Fund competition. Made by traditional craftsmen in South Africa, Kenya and Morocco, the already It-girl-status James puts her money where her mouth is when it comes to social responsibility and delivers on the fashion front too. Her presentation was filled with everyone in the industry who mattered, from top department store fashion directors to Kanye West.
Self-Portrait
Big on the Internet already, the London-based label designed by Han Chong from Korea chose New York as its location for its presentation debut. Confused already? Already stocked in Myer in Australia, its unabashedly pretty pieces in lattice laces and embroidered translucent fabrics will surprise in both their whimsy and their very friendly price points.
Sally LaPointe
Think luxury designs – you know, for the type of women who shop at Bergdorf Goodman, the largest stockist of Sally LaPointe – and the most immediate associations are tasteful yet neutral pieces in the finest of materials. With Sally LaPointe you’re halfway right – yes, yes, with the high quality materials – but the colours and textures themselves are far more interesting yet not unnecessarily tricked out upon closer inspection.
Ryan Roche
There’s a complicated relationship to the colour pink – is it too girly, too juvenile, too much? So credit to Ryan Roche, who presented an elegant collection entirely in that colour palette without a hint of saccharine. An assured calmness.
Chromat
With athleisure one of the fastest growing segments in the fashion space at the moment, Chromat’s high tech pieces are in tune with our needs. Helmed by Becca McCharen, the label worked with Intel on a showpiece-only item that moves and expands depending on the wearer; sensors measure breathing and sweat levels.
Mansur Gavriel
We haven't been this excited about a handbag line in well, ever, so imagine the hype when it was hinted at that it will be exploring ready-to-wear andshoes next. In a packed presentation at Soho, the label evoked a Grand Budapest-like colour palette, all high saturated retro tones. The offering was chic with a hint of playfulness in brief lengths and retro shapes, with several other tempting offerings that will surely be next in line for wait-list status.

What It’s Like to Show at New York Fashion Week

Local designer Kelsy Dominick of DiDomenico Design has wanted to be a fashion designer since she was nine years old, dressing her Barbie dolls. On September 12 at the Crowne Plaza in Times Square, that dream became a reality during her first-ever New York Fashion Week runway show.
As a child, her desire to design was spurred by a school project that required students to create an outfit that represented their culture, which was more complicated for Dominick, who is half Italian and half African-American.
“It was in that moment I realized that clothing design is truly an extension of yourself,” says Dominick.
A DC native of the past 13 years, Dominick works out of a studio in Haymarket after launching her company, DiDomenico Designs, in 2009. When she learned that she was going to have the opportunity to show at Couture Fashion Week, she felt an even greater responsibility to focus on her brand.
“I found out that I was going to present and New York fashion week on March 31 of this year,” says Dominick. “I honestly was in shock.”
She spent the next six months working to create her collection. Her evening wear line, DiDomenico, is based on bespoke craftsmanship so that each garment is unique to meet the needs of the client.
“The process of putting together a collection for New York fashion week was very time-consuming and strenuous,” says Dominick. “Each and every garment was made by hand each to include a lot of beaded detail and embellishment.”
But even with six months’ notice, there’s no way to arrive at Couture Fashion Week completely prepared. To start, Dominick was working with a whole new team of people for the runway show—including models, a hairstylist, makeup artist, and model caretakers. But even though she was entrusting her creative concept to be brought to life by a group of people she’d just met, Dominick says that working with highly skilled individuals who were committed to developing her vision was one of the best parts.
“The scariest moment was honestly the night beforehand. There was a big last-minute change I want to make in one of the garments,” says Dominick. “I got it done, however, and it ended up being my favorite garment of the whole collection.”
The show itself went off without a hitch, featuring rich blue and gold gowns in a collection Dominick titled “Virtuous.” Afterwards, she was met with invitations to show in Paris and Milan in 2016.
“Even after walking across stage with all of my models and designs, it still hasn’t hit me yet,” says Dominick. “This is a lot of people’s dreams. Heck, it’s my dream, and it is definitely surreal to think that it is only the beginning.”

HOW MELISSA MCCARTHY PLANS TO FIX PLUS-SIZE FASHION

One of the benefits of being a famous actress is having unlimited clothing at your disposal. Except when you don’t. "I could not find, with consistency, something that felt young and modern and easy to wear," says Melissa McCarthy. "And then I started thinking, Why don’t I make the closet?"
So she did: In August, McCarthy launched her first clothing collection, working with Sunrise Brands to create a line of all-size, fashion-forward basics. Priced from $54 to $169, Melissa McCarthy Seven7 items will be available in plus sizes at Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and Lane Bryant. In a new twist for this market, MelissaMcCarthy.com will carry the same styles in sizes ranging from 4 to 28, small to 4XL.
The plus-size clothing industry generated $17.5 billion in the U.S. in the year prior to April 2014, and yet still 81% of plus-size women say they’d spend more on clothes if they had better options, according to a survey by online retailer Modcloth. Given that the average American woman is a size 14—which, coincidentally, is where plus size starts—that represents a huge untapped market. Lately, retailers have been getting better at serving plus-size customers: both Target and H&M have launched specialized lines in the past few years, and Isabel Toledo partnered with Lane Bryant in 2014 on an exclusive collection.
But even ultrastylish plus-size-only clothing isn’t good enough, says McCarthy. She wants ultrastylish clothing designed for women regardless of what size they are, and she wants to be able to find it in the same places so-called straight-size women shop. "Women do not stop at a magical size 10 or 12, and I thought, Why would clothes?" McCarthy says. "I have been every size under the rainbow, but my style never changed."
Going in, McCarthy says, "I think there was the assumption that they would just make their line and I would slap my name on it." But the actress—who dreamed of studying fashion until her high school best friend, the now-famous shoe designer Brian Atwood, convinced her to do comedy instead—was involved in every stage of production, pushing the Seven7 team to make their designs more contemporary.
Her collection includes items like patterned pants and formfitting skirts that plus-size retailers have typically shied away from—but that’s kind of the point, says McCarthy. "You can’t say to people that a woman doesn’t want this," she says. "I want it."

Fall Fashion’s New Eccentricity

YOU’VE NEVER HEARD of “Grey Gardens”?
The question was posed to me in 1997 by the imperious-beyond-his-years assistant to a fashion editor at the glossy magazine where I landed my first job. His boss was working on a photo shoot and my task was to call in reams of “Grey Gardens”-esque jewelry, fur stoles, shoes and handbags from fashion labels.
Once I admitted ignorance, I was speedily educated on the sartorially fascinating mother-daughter duo Big and Little Edie Beale, as seen in the 1976 documentary by Albert and David Maysles. As I nodded intently, absorbing tales of these gone-to-seed socialites and their famed penchant for turning sweaters into queenly head wraps pinned with brooches and sporting swimwear as daywear, little did I know that this lesson was part of the fashion industry’s core curriculum. The ladies of “Grey Gardens” were referenced again and again in the years to come—not quite as often as their conventionally glamorous cousins Jacqueline Onassis and Lee Radziwill, but almost.
After all, fashion loves an eccentric, from Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s to Iris Apfel nowadays. Though the industry may flirt with minimalism or last year’s Normcore trend (the wearing of deliberately undistinguished, often neutral, clothing), it never fails to boomerang to color, texture and pattern all mixed up with a dose of pure, convincing madness.
That may be one of the reasons the buzzy fall debut collection by newly installed Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele—where the petulantly twee spirit of Wes Andersonheroine Margot Tenenbaum hung thick in the air—has proved to be the runaway hit of the season. E-commerce site MyTheresa has already sold out of the label’s very Margot-esque brown mink coat (around $20,200) and the slightly surreal fur-lined leather loafers (around $890). The site’s buying directorJustin O’Shea described watching the show last February as “a revolution of the biggest brand in the world.”
Gucci’s attention-getting direction has pushed a lush form of quirky individualism to the fore. Between Marc Jacobs’s over-the-top Victorianism, Dries Van Noten’s mix of humble khaki and rich brocades and Miu Miu’s poppy retro bouillabaisse, luxe idiosyncrasy has emerged as this season’s créme de la trend.
The first line of defense may be professional assistance in the form of a savvy sales associate or personal shopper. “I think more than ever, you need a person you can trust to help you wear these things,” said Laura Vinroot Poole, owner of the boutique Capitol in Charlotte, N.C. “You can easily look like a nut.” One client, for instance, was under the impression that a floor-length beaded Dries Van Noten skirt was in fact a cape.
Ms. Vinroot Poole believes the effort is worth it. “It’s a really great escape from the tan, nude, tight Kardashian-ization of the world,” she said. “It’s a bit more intellectual and less overtly sexy.”
What’s also helpful is to make sure you maintain a baseline of polish. Naysayers may think they can cheaply replicate a Gucci look with a visit to the thrift store. Clever ones can pull it off, but proceed with caution. The ability to successfully finish off a floral silk dress with a grandiose brooch relies on a dress that fits beautifully and doesn’t suffer from stains, saggy seams or lingering scents.
Bally design director Pablo Coppola executed the new eccentricity quite expertly in his fall collection, specifically citing Mr. Anderson’s film “The Royal Tenenbaums” as inspiration. Working with ladylike silhouettes in luxe fabrics like Loro Piana cashmere, alligator and nappa leather “gives the look a certain validity,” said Mr. Coppola. His twist was gobs of bright and rich color; it takes guts and acumen to layer a forest-green angora coat over a fitted violet alligator jacket and crisp gray wool trousers, and to finish the look off with canary-yellow shoes.
The collection marked a shift from Mr. Coppola’s debut at the label last fall, which was about as Normcore as it got: gray sweaters, navy peacoats. He called it a “cleaning of the slate.” But that sort of basic-ness doesn’t really offer a designer—or a fashion lover—room to evolve and grow. “When something looks a little bit odd or weird, or someone in the studio who is very chic doesn’t like it, I think, ‘Hmm, maybe it’s interesting then,’ ” he said.
New York-based stylist Erin Walsh further stressed the importance of fit. Ms. Walsh, who works with notorious fashion risk-taker Sarah Jessica Parker, commended her client’s fearlessness but also noted that Ms. Parker benefits from an acute awareness of the silhouettes that flatter her figure. The reason she can pull off a sculptural Philip Treacyhat is that she sticks to fit-and-flare cocktail dresses and empire-waist gowns. “The better you know your body and what fits, the easier it is,” said Ms. Walsh. “You can give yourself the freedom to play the crazy art teacher if your foundation is set in place.”
But it’s also important to realize that eccentricity doesn’t reside in any specific garment but rather in the wearer’s overall approach. “Eccentricity is a state of mind. The person wearing the clothes makes them eccentric,” said stylist and swimwear designer Lisa Marie Fernandez. “If you have a blowout and a pair of pumps on with one of those [Gucci] dresses, you’re not going to look eccentric at all.”
A perfect example is utterly not-quirky Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who every season wears dresses by Prada in her own precise and glossy manner, even though the collection itself is known for a certain off-kilter elegance.
Though it’s possible to extract basic principles from this fall’s collections, true eccentricity is not something you can prescribe. Ms. Fernandez pointed to pop star Rihanna, whose supremely confident fashion choices are always unexpected. “She’s unconventional and wears whatever she wants to,” said Ms. Fernandez. “That’s what I’m drawn to.”

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A FASHION HISTORIAN

Today we're talking to Valerie Steele, the director and chief curator of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Over the past 18 years, she has organized upwards of 20 exhibitions, including Shoe Obsession (2013), Daphne Guinness (2011), Gothic: Dark Glamour (2008), Love & War: The Weaponized Woman (2006), London Fashion (2002), and The Corset (2000).
This week, Steele, along with her FIT colleagues, will honor Manolo Blahnik with the 2015 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion. "Manolo Blahnik is one of the world's greatest shoe designers—and a true artist of fashion," she said. "I was absolutely delighted when the Advisory Committee of the Couture Council chose him to receive the [award]. It was Manolo who kicked off contemporary fashion's obsession with shoes, as viewers of Sex and the City will recall. The award luncheon on September 9 is sure to be our most photogenic event yet."
Here, Steele talks about what goes into planning exhibits like her famed Shoe Obsession.
Describe a typical workday.
Since I am both director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT, I am responsible both for running the museum and curating one exhibition a year. Therefore, a "typical" workday can vary a lot. The Museum at FIT is a specialized fashion museum and also a university museum, which means I work very closely with colleagues at the Fashion Institute of Technology. I report to the president of FIT, Dr. Joyce F. Brown, and I collaborate closely with administrators throughout the college. I have a staff of 30 at the museum, and we have a lot of meetings. The meetings that are the most fun, of course, involve planning an exhibition and working with the exhibition designer to create a setting in which to present the fashions chosen to be on display.
How did you land your current job?
I had been teaching fashion history in FIT's School of Graduate Studies, and the then-director of The Museum at FIT asked me to apply for a part-time job at the museum. Not long after, that turned into a full-time job as chief curator. It was my expertise in fashion history that made me qualified for the position.
Describe your path before landing your current job.
Before working at the museum, I taught fashion history—at FIT and at other colleges and universities, including Parsons, NYU, and Columbia. I also wrote books, such as Paris Fashion: A Cultural History and Women of Fashion: 20th-Century Designers. In addition, I founded (and still edit)Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body & Culture, the first scholarly journal of fashion. I received my PhD in history from Yale University, where I focused on the history of fashion. I also spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Institution, where I helped conceptualize an exhibition (and book) on men's and women's clothing.
Was there a time when you asked for more responsibilities or applied for a long-shot job? How did you go about it?
When I moved up from chief curator to acting director of the museum, I had many more responsibilities. Fortunately, I received mentoring from the president and other administrators at FIT. I also benefited hugely from attending the Getty Leadership Institute for new museum directors.
Was there a time when you wanted less responsibility or held off on a promotion? What prompted that?
I never wanted less responsibility, but I have certainly been grateful for help and good advice.
Have you ever asked for a raise?
I've never asked for a raise for myself—only for people who have worked for me. I made a written case that they were going far beyond their assigned duties and deserved to be promoted.
What do you do for self-care?
I see my trainer and take AquaCycling classes.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to have your job someday?
Acquire knowledge and credentials. Work hard, be nice.

LSU student talks fashion blogging on a college budget

When Claire Plauche gets dressed in the morning, she quizzically looks into her closet — much like many other female college students probably do — but she is peering into a closet of clothes which she has deemed “man repellant.”
“I typically wear clothes that turn guys away,” Plauche tells USA TODAY College. “So while some girls go with the fitted dress and smoky eye look, I tend to lean towards feathers and purple lipstick. A lot of things I wear leave guys scratching their heads.”
Plauche displays these outfits on Crème de la Claire, a blog to which she posts at least three times a week. Blog entries include pictures of Plauche sporting different outfits, with descriptions detailing where she bought them.
Plauche, a sophomore Fashion Merchandising major at Louisiana State University, started Crème de la Claire after a bad cheerleading accident left her temporarily paralyzed.
“I realized that I needed to find something new to focus my energy on,” she says. “That is when I had a little epiphany and realized that I have to get dressed every day, so it may as well be fun.”
Unlike some of her fellow fashion bloggers, Plauche is on a college student budget.
An “avid Forever 21 goer,” she takes pride in her clothes being attainable to the average college student, as most outfits cost under $75.
“I don’t have an endless wardrobe or an unlimited bank account,” she says. “So while a lot of the bloggers that I know and follow carry Celine bags and wear Louboutins, I am the first to know about a sale. I am relatable and my style is attainable.”
Plauche says she received the best fashion advice from her mother, whom she deems the “least fashionable person” she knows.
“She would always say, ‘If you like it, then wear it.’ That may have been the best thing she has ever done for me as a parent – let me grow and develop my own style,” she says. “If I wanted to wear something over-the-top and out-of-the-house, she would never question it.”
Crème de la Claire now gets hundreds of views every day. In addition to displaying outfits, Plauche also posts about designers or style icons.
She specifically enjoys writing her “Sunday Six,” which is a list of objects or events that made her feel some emotion that week, from a shirt, to a movie, to her brother.
“I have a very eclectic style in the sense that my outfits could range anywhere from Blair Waldorf to Nicole Richie,” she says. “I am that girl who wears high heels to the grocery store or furs to the gas station. I love the ‘who does she think she is’ looks I get from people. I thrive off of it.”
Plauche, whose style icon is Rihanna, says her style portrays who she wants to be that day.
“If I wear a structured dress and dark lips, I feel like I could take over the world,” she says. “If I wear denim shorts and a flowy top, you could swear that I am Kendall Jenner at Coachella. It sets the tone for the entire day. I dress for the woman I want to be.”

How Fashion Experts Shop the High Street

THE HIGH STREET used to be the promised land—a place where fresh, of-the-moment clothing was waiting, ready to leap off the peg and into the heart of your weekend. But skip ahead a few years, you’ve reached the stage where you check the care label before the price tag, and suddenly the same temples of fast fashion leave you looking for a quick exit.
Braving the mazes of tightly packed rails is bad enough, but if you do manage to root out something worth trying on you’ve got the endless fitting room queues. Then comes shopping fatigue, followed by a panic buy. Even the most discerning and strong-willed shopper becomes overwhelmed when faced with so much choice.
But “is it is actually real choice?” asks Caren Downie, for years one of the most influential women on the British high street, in her former roles as buying director of Topshop and fashion director at ASOS. It’s so easy [for retailers] to see what everyone else is doing, especially due to the Internet—so it all ends up looking quite samey,” she says.
And it’s not our imaginations: We’re not just older, the clothes really are younger, too. “During the recession, retailers focused on the under-20s customer, focusing on price above a lot of things, and the quality has gone down,” says Ms. Downie, who left the high street behind and last year set up online label Finery London, with a team of former chain store gurus, in response to these changes.
“Buyers are less good at editing now,” she says. “They want to cover so many needs, every single trend—they offer too much and don’t focus on what the customer actually wants.”
And yet, we’ve all got that one friend or colleague we love to envy, who has a magpie instinct for finding gems in the rough—the standout pieces that look like they’ve come from a designer’s atelier rather than a crowded, overheated chain store flagship. Usually, it’s coupled with a talent for combining the cheaper pieces with their existing wardrobe, so they look like an off-duty model. So what do they know that we don’t?
For one thing, fast fashion just isn’t something you can do in a hurry. You may not be investing so much cash, but you definitely need to spend more time to get the best, and there are tricks to using it wisely.
“I’m a big believer in ‘recon shopping’ on the high street,” says Sara Maggioni, a director of retail and buying at trend analyst WGSN. “Retailers all have a strong identity, so any time you spend getting to know their personality and their strengths will pay off. Midmarket retailers carry a lot of stock, so you do have the luxury of time to get familiar with something, think about it and come back.”
Ms. Downie, who rates what COS, & Other Stories and Uniqlo are doing in terms of value for money, agrees: “You can come away with great pieces from the high street, but you have to get familiar with the store and how it’s laid out, which makes it easier to edit.”
Before you mentally write off any brand, remember the big stores aren’t necessarily best. “The flagships in Times Square are not where you want to go,” says New York-based photographer, illustrator and fashion blogger Garance Doré. “High street brands have different labels and collections and they’re not in every store, so figure out which ones you like most: For example, the Zaraon Rue St. Honoré in Paris is a smaller store but has a lot of higher-end stuff.”
“You shouldn’t have to compromise on quality to get value for money, and when you reach a certain age, you don’t want to buy in quantity, you want that quality—something you’ll really wear,” says Ms. Downie.
We asked some of fashion’s most accomplished shoppers how to make that transition from high street hell to a closet worth keeping.
Finding good pieces in these stores takes time. You have to look carefully and be more creative. Some stores pay more attention to detail than others, and it really is about the little things. Look at whether the stitching is sitting flat, how the buttons are placed, whether the seams are sitting where they should. Symmetry is so important—if it’s a bit off it’s a giveaway that something’s cheap. Take your time, turn it inside out to look at it.
Have a plan, and a system for shops—try to get to know what you like from there, and what suits you. Don’t take what everyone else is taking. It’s not good when everybody walks around with the same jacket. I used to always come away with variations on the same thing, but these days I’m really aware of what I still need. Make a list from your closet—flat sandals in black, a simple, straight skirt—and focus on that.
Stay away from fabrics that are not organic—cotton, jersey and silk basics are really good on the high street. If you see something in, say, cashmere that looks far more expensive than it is, buy it. If it’s great quality, the cut works, and it doesn’t remind you of anything by a [big-name] designer, buy it. I’m a fan of the cost-per-wear system. Always ask, “How many times can I wear it?”
Expecting to find the best stuff on your first look around the high street is a bit like running a marathon without any training. Pick your moment: Saturday early evening is a good time to go, because the crowds have died down, and the shelves are less messy and depleted—staff are tidying up and putting things back out that people have tried on. Ask when the “drops” happen—when new stock is delivered. Fashion week is also a great time to go shopping—the high street stocks up on good pieces for the international clientele.
When looking online, take note of the key [product] codes of items you like. Places like Zara and Topshop don’t have space to put everything out on the shop floor, but ask if they have that piece in the stock room—that way, you get something that no-one else can see.
Know what suits your shape. I have no waist, so it’s not worth me trying on a fit-and-flare dress. Have a sense of adventure, but if you’ve never worn pink and don’t think it suits you, don’t waste time and energy near that rail. And if you do take something home and realize “I’ve already got 10 black blazers,” learn from those mistakes.
You can find good-quality stuff at every price: It’s about your hand (feeling for quality) and your eye (your taste). It’s important to spend time in the stores of luxury brands and experience beautifully made clothes—you refine your taste and start to understand clothes better.
It helps to educate yourself, reading magazines, blogs, looking at Pinterest and Instagram, even doing a mood board before you go near the shops—not just for identifying pieces you like, but to create a broader vision of your style and what you’ll be putting together for the season. I save screenshots on my iPad. In stores like Zara and H&M, the well-made, well-designed pieces are at the front, where you can find them easily—but they all have smaller collections, too. Spend time figuring out which you like and Google them beforehand.
Don’t be too precious. Some things work even if they’re not perfect. You can get great jeans and coats—you don’t wash them so much, [so] they keep their structure, unlike some of the cheaper pieces.
Stay away from anything that looks too much inspired by the runway. It doesn’t send the right message and you can see it right away.
For me, it’s about finding the soft spot between newness and commerciality—something that looks and feels fresh but is also realistic and flattering. Retailers love a trend—it makes it easy to merchandise a store—but we tend to interpret the looks too literally. They’ll have mannequins in the complete ’70s look, when really a good wardrobe is about having investment pieces and adding perhaps one trend-led item to give them an edge from season to season. I buy H&M’s black jersey dresses and update them with trend-led accessories. Don’t ever think about items in isolation, however much you’ve fallen in love.
Narrow down what it is you want, and why. Ask what the best sellers are—is it because of a great fit, long wear? Look in the equivalent stores abroad, particularly in the sales. Demand is different in, say, London and Milan, so you may find something you couldn’t get at home.
Altering services are worth considering for premium items, to create a better fit and appearance overall. Snap a few pictures of the inside [of a garment] so a tailor can see if it’s possible, then go back if you still want it. Try things on at home with mirrors you’re used to, especially if you live in a country where returns are painless.

Go for core pieces and basics in solid tones—they have more longevity than prints. In bigger stores, zoom in on the limited-edition collections. The price point will be higher, but it’s a shortcut to a more discerning slice of what they do well.

Nicole Richie Dishes on Her Easy Summer Hairdo

Really, we've loved the petite beauty since her, er, not so Simple Life days. The reality star-gone-style maven to watch out for has come full circle in her career, with her successful mockumentary series Candidly Nicole airing on VH1 and her line House of Harlow 1960 going strong with mega-covetable clothing and accessories.
E! News caught up with the actress at the CoverGirl x MTV's Got You Covered bash and got the scoop on her summer hair staples, not to mention (OK—for sure to mention) fashion and beauty trends she's looking most forward to for fall.
As far as her cropped blond pixie, the style was a purposeful change for summer so Nicole could "swim" and not "have to think about upkeep." (Makes sense!)
"My hairstylist, his name is Andy LeCompte—he's been my best friend since I was about 18. He's been collecting photos, before there was any of that [social media]. He has just a catalog of just so many different hairstyles," she said. "How we work is it really depends on the condition of my hair. In his mind, it's better to be short and healthy. You know when people have long hair and it's two strands. My attitude about hair, is that it's hair. You can get extensions, you can cut it, if you don't like it you can always do something different."
The star is definitely looking forward to fall, which, come September, includes her annual all-girls birthday trip and her son Sparrow's [dad is rocker Joel Madden] sixth birthday.
"Fall is my favorite season for dressing, because I feel like that's when I can be the most creative, and play with different layers, different constructions—[and] I love breaking out all my jackets. I try to wear them here, but I literally look crazy with all the heat. So I'm excited to get all the outerwear out," she dished.
"I use everything for inspiration. If it's a color of something, I take pictures of anything I like, and mark down what I like about it, what I'm drawn to about it. That's the most fun part of fashion too. You just always have to have your eye open, because it will really surprise you how your eye changes and how your perspective changes, and how it affects you," she continued. "Even getting to know yourself more on that level, just being able to [identify things you love]."
And Nicole's parting beauty advice is one we can take to heart.
"You always want to feel like you," she said. Even when you're sporting black lipstick, which happens to be the star's latest makeup obsession. (Hey, if she can pull off unicorn hair for a year, she can certainly rock the vampy Rooney Mara lip.)