TEN QUESTIONS WITH
Cattura#10
Anne Fogarty
Cattura Vanity Magazine On behalf of our Publisher, Cornell ‘Chico’ Stevens. We would like to officially welcome you to Cattura Vanity Magazine. ‘Cattura’ is Italian for ‘to capture’ and we plan to capture and bring to
Publisher Cornell Chico Nieves
you STUNNING, INTERESTING, AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL IMAGES, PEOPLE AND PLACES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. Chico vision for Cattura Vanity was to bring you fashion from all for
Editor-in Chief Jetta Cruz
all women. So, together, we will be be celebrating beauty diversity through fashion and lifestyle. We look forward to receiving your stories, submissions and ideas and bringing you the best of the best.
Graphic Designer Sarah Marie Station
Cattura Vanity Magazine
This Edition Featuring Anne Fogarty Fashion designer
will officially launch in 2014 until then please enjoy our series of mini-mag features on women in the fashion industry making a difference.
Simplicity Strength Sophistication
10 Questions with
Anne Fogarty
1. Has it always been a dream to be in the Fashion Industry? Being a Milan native how could it not be?! Growing up in the fashion capital of a country that has a long history of appreciation for beauty and design certainly had an impact. That being said I never set out with the intention of eventually founding my own fashion company. I have always loved the branding and marketing aspect of fashion and the ability to create desire and value around a label.
2. When Young did you design and create? Designing and creating when I was young was an incredibly frustrating experience. I had no natural talent or formal training but I did have an endless quantity of beautiful ideas flowing through my head. I would spend hours drawing, or should I say attempting to draw, the images in my head, but nothing would come out the way I was imagining it! I wish I could say that I was some prodigious child who was already designing dresses for her friends in middle school but
it just wasn’t the case. I have, however, always had an incredible ability to know what looks good on someone, what flatters their figure, and that has helped me greatly in the design process with Anne Fogarty. 3. Who is your inspiration or whom did you look up too when you were young?
Without a doubt Christian Dior. His designs exude everything that women’s fashion should be. Elegance through simplicity, emphasis on shapes and silhouettes, feminine and timeless, all of these qualities can be found in his dresses. Not to mention his “New Look” revolutionized the women’s apparel industry. The fact that Dior is still one of the most prestigious houses in the fashion industry is a testament to the influence of his designs. I think that my love for his style is what attracted me to Anne Fogarty’s look, which was heavily influenced by Dior.
“There are plenty of great designers who produce quality apparel and accessories but it is the part of getting customers to appreciate that beauty and quality which originally drew me to the fashion world.”
4. What brought you to re launch the Iconic
5. what are your dreams for the Re Launch?
Anne Fogarty line?
I would love to see Anne Fogarty back where she belongs, in the same stores where she
What sparked my interest was her book Wife
was present in the 1950’s and 60’s. She was
Dressing which was republished by Glitterati
a designer for Saks Fifth avenue in the late
Inc. in 2008. I was intrigued by the title and
50’s so I would love to have the Fogarty
thought it would be a great read from a
collections there. She also had the Anne
historic standpoint, more of a nostalgic
Fogarty room at Lord & Taylor so seeing
glimpse into another era. It turned out to
something similar to that brought back to
be one of the best fashion books I have
life would be wonderful. From the creative
ever read. While there are some dated
side a real dream of mine would be to do
chapters the majority of the book offered
a Heritage line, using vintage fabrics and
great timeless fashion advice. I also became
original patterns. My long term goal is to
fascinated with Anne herself and began
restore the Anne Fogarty label to its former
gathering more info on her and her dresses.
glory as I really feel she was a much too
I discovered that she has a big following
important designer to be left off the list of
among vintage enthusiasts and there were
heritage brands in the market today.
plenty of her dresses still for sale, most of them gorgeous! Coming from Europe where
6. if there was one thing you could tell your
it is normal to preserve heritage brands I was
younger self what would it be?
shocked that the label no longer existed. I did some more research with my partner
I would tell her it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Greg Halvorsen and he discovered it was
When I was younger I had a tendency to
available, so we jumped at the chance
want to accomplish everything quickly. I had
and picked up the rights. It was never really
a road map of what I wanted to do, where
a case of setting out with the purpose of
I wanted to be and I had to get there as
finding a fashion label and launching a
quickly as possible.
company. It was much more a beautiful discovery, an incredible surprise.
7. what is your Favorite Dress From vintage
dress no longer looks anything like the original
Anne Fogarty ?
sketch. One example is the grey and green floral dress which ended up being re-designed
My favorite is a sapphire blue velvet dress
five times. I loved the fabric, I loved the
which was given to me as a gift. It is a
original sketch but it just didn’t work once we
classic Fogarty, nipped waste, full skirt dress
got started. When coming up with our designs
with high collar. I know it has not really
I draw a lot of inspiration from Anne’s original
been in style for a while but I love velvet
dresses. We do not want to create replicas
as a fabric in general. I think it is such a
but we do want to maintain her legacy which
luxurious fabric, I find it to be both elegant
is classic, timeless designs with particular
and sexy at the same time. I am dying to
attention to details and quality. One thing
create a velvet dress for the new Fogarty
I love about her designs is that even those
line, more for personal satisfaction than
dresses that seem quite ordinary always have
anything else.
some small detail there that surprises you, that sets the dress apart from others.
8. What is the hardest part of the creative process & how do you come up with your wonderful designs ? ( inspiration from Anne line or your own love of dress making )
I find the most challenging part of the process the revisions during pattern making and sample making. When selecting the fabrics and going through the first designs I usually have a clear idea of how I want the dresses to look. It is when you actually start constructing the first prototype that you find out if the fabric you selected really works with the design. A lot of times you end up revising to the point that the
9. what is your most inspiring quote?
“Whether you say you can’t or you can, you’re right.” This project alone has taught me the importance of this quote. We have tried to face every obstacle with a positive attitude and we have always found a way to get to the next step. While we have had a lot of great support from many wonderful people you would be surprised by how many people will tell you how difficult it is, or how it can’t be done. Of course we know how difficult it is, but the more we move forward and the more we accomplish the less we hear it can’t be done.
10. How can our readers learn more about Your and Gregory’s relaunch of the Iconic Anne Fogarty line?? We have a brand new website; annefogartyinc.com which will be rolled out in late June where we will be posting updates on our info page, but the best places to stay on top of upcoming collections and events is either on Facebook or Twitter. Once we have completed our Kickstarter campaign we will also be sending out regular updates via a newsletter.
Cattura Vanity Magazine