I am quite flattered that anyone is paying attention. I just put my trousers on one leg at a time. How did you come to be the Men's Fashion Director for Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus and what does that title entail? I work with the merchant teams to find and develop new talent and to further enhance our existing portfolio of brands to bring our customers the latest and most desirable merchandise. I also work closely with the advertising, press and marketing teams to communicate our vision across the company and to our customers. Your style is certainly classic with a twist without looking contrived, what do you attribute to this? I grew up in Salina Kansas and worked in the nicest clothing store in town. My first mentor was an inherently classic guy who instilled the basics of how a gentleman should dress. He had really great taste. I also had the opportunity to work as a buyer for Fred Pressman and Peter Rizzo at Barneys New York... they taught me the fundamentals--I have always marched to a slightly different beat.
As a menswear Director you oversee a large selection of fashion and trends, what would you say are your top sellers, both in brand and item? Our main call out for the season are: MILITARY, GREEN, BOOTS [particularly UTILITY BOOTS], PLAIDS and CHECKS, VELVET, CORDUROY, QUILTED, OUTERWEAR, the SOLID TIE. We sell trends--our customers want to know what we think is the latest and most covetable... my job is to help them discover that.
What are you thoughts on the Fashion blogging market and it's connection to retail? I am amazed at how impactful social media and blogging have impacted our connection to the customer. We are able to speak to them directly and immediately. I also think we are only in the infacy stage of understanding how revolutionary this change is. It's completely exciting. I can't tell you how many people stop me and know exactly who I am...it's extraordinarily flattering--and a little bit scary.
For your work you must get your information/knowledge from somewhere, is this instinctive or is there a specific place you get your trends? I just keep my eyes open. I love people watching. Everywhere I go, I take photos, make a note, tear out swipe from a magazine...and I love to shop.
Any designers we should be watching out for? Aside from anyone we carry at BG and NM...I think Patrik Ervell, Richard Chai, Geroge Esquivel [shoes], Adam Kimmel are ones to watch. My favorite brand is VISVIM.
When you prepare a look for fashion week, what is your process? I open my closet.
Some photo's from Tommy Ton, GQ, the others collected in random.
