1 minute read
DEL TORO
from work to an evening cocktail. I think of my clothing as sexy and fun, but within that story, it’s a wide variance. My experience selling at Saks showed me they are not cookiecutter ladies. They are inventing new ways, and I can shake it up a little, but it’s not the old way of dressing. They are wanting something new, and I think that’s exciting.”
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CELEBRATION
“It’s a celebration for me,” beamed the designer as he reflected on the uncertainty he felt coming out of Covid19, and the fact that he ended up with a collection of strong, design-driven pieces. “One thing that happened during Covid, people stopped and looked around. It was a quiet time, and people started discovering things. People had extra time to do that. It’s been a wonderful moment. Now, we are going through a transition. It’s going to be interesting to see five years from now, the shift created in American fashion because of Covid and recovery.”
CHANGES
‘In Full Bloom’ marked the fifth-year anniversary since his first singular show, a sixteen-piece collection called ‘Black Like Me.’Frederick emphasized the reality of his journey, since his early days collaborating, to now coming into his own and developing an aesthetic that’s all his own. “When I started twenty years ago with Douglas Hannant, it was a collaboration. Back then, I always worked in a mixed vision through the gaze of someone else. Now, it’s Frederick—I can’t create a vision for someone else. It’s more emotion realized, and I can spread my wings and expand. The women have changed, and I have changed. It’s no longer New York or the US; it’s Dubai. I didn’t know I had a following in Russia. I found out what my brand is and what I want her to be. It’s a new vision.” P
