I ran into TV personality and stylist Robert Verdi at Lincoln Center on September 13, 2010.   We had both just seen the Carolina Herrera show, and I was curious to get his thoughts about fashion week in New York this season.

Interviewed by Kaylene Peoples (boldface)
Responses by Robert Verdi

I’d love to get your take on Fashion Week at Lincoln Center

Well, I love that everybody’s calling it the campus.  I think it does feel like we’ve graduated from high school and gone to college.  It’s much bigger.  There’s a lot more technology with Fashion GPS.  It just feels different—new and fresh because that’s what fashion is all about.  It’s good.  I like it.  It’s much longer to get to the actual show from the time you come into the tent because it’s just much farther away.  Before, the tents were so much smaller and geographically were just a smaller piece of the world, smaller parts of land.  So you didn’t have to travel as far.  You have to accommodate for those minutes to get from point A to point B.

But as we know, the shows never run on time anyway.

They never run on time, but my body synced it up and knew just when I had to get to the tents to get to my seat.  But now it’s like I keep missing them.  I keep coming in and the show has started.  I don’t know the routine just yet.

Do you have any show that you have seen that you’d like to comment on?

I happen to be a huge Carolina fan.  I dress all my clients in Carolina.  I saw Carolina this morning.  I was really interested in seeing if she would follow trend and see if she would stay true to herself, but not lose sight of the fact that fashion is always evolving, and there needs to be some fresh new and exciting ideas, and she did that.  She created a line of clothing where every other designer is creating a new silhouette, and everything is very loose and away from the body.  There’s not a lot of structure on the waist anymore for next spring.  Dresses are very short, and things are dramatically asymmetrical.  There was more subtlety to her collection, and she still kept the structured waist.  The women who like Carolina want to look pretty and sexy.  And part of that is showing off your assets; and it’s not hiding under a piece of fabric, but actually wearing clothes that fit you, that are sophisticated, feminine, and pretty.

So I really loved that show.  It was true to her.  And I like any designer who designs things that are recognizable, and I also like a designer who knows their customer.  She makes clothes for rich ladies.  Let’s face it.  But I like when rich people dress like rich people.  I don’t want to be fooled and see somebody wearing a pair of Dockers and Rockports.  I want rich people to dress like rich people.  I want to know exactly what’s going on your bank account.

Watching her show and the people coming in, you knew!

Oh, yeah, totally!  She’s awesome.

Do you have any fashion predictions for the next year?

I think what we’re going to see next year is something manic about skirt lengths.  It’s interesting that there’s a lot of short and there’s a lot of long.   But I think what’s feeling new to women is long.  I think the asymmetry is still going to be happening, but we’re going to be seeing body-conscious dressing . . . one, very tight sleeves.  We’re seeing these handkerchief silhouettes where one arm is bare, sleeveless, and the other half is like a drapey handkerchief feel.  There’s a lot of white for spring and the colors are very tropical:  full blues, bright yellows, vivid corals, and sheer madness.  It’s interesting for spring/summer months.  When it gets warmer, people want to pare down and wear fewer layers, but when you’re using sheer clothing, you have to layer up.  I think of it as a way to make your wardrobe fresh.  People don’t buy all new clothes every season.  They don’t empty their closets and buy all new clothes.  What they do is add new pieces.  I think it’s a very easy way for women to add a great piece to their wardrobe—something sheer and wear something from last season with something that’s sheer and new.  So she can wear a sheer blouse over a wife beater and a pair of jeans, or with a pencil skirt and a great camisole; but it’s a great way to bring something fresh into your wardrobe and feel like you’re on point and stylish!