I Say Long And Lean As Opposed

I'm Frequently Introduced As A Fashion Designer, And I Quickly Say I'm Not, And Instantly People Are Incredibly Disappointed And Think That I'm Some Sort Of Charlatan Who's Been Perpetuating This Falsehood.

The Color, The Shape, And The Texture--none Of It Is Accidental. Every Item We Wear Has A Glorious (or Sometimes Not So Glorious) History, And That History Extends Back Years--centuries, Even--before Oscar De La Renta's 2002 Collection.

I Was A Teacher And An Administrator At Parson's School Of Design, And As An Administrator, I Was Associate Dean. And In That Role, I Went Around Fixing Things That Were Broken. And The Parson's Fashion Program Was Broken.so Fashion Chose Me. It Needed To Be Developed And Evolve. I Don't Know If It Comes Naturally To Anyone.

I've Had My Own Moments In Front Of Designers When I've Actually Said, 'you Know, There's A Market Here For Expanding Your Work, And Here It Is. And Frankly, There Are Two Markets: The Women Who Are Larger Than The 12, And Then There Are Women Who Are Petite. And Most Designers That I Talk To Have Absolutely No Interest In Addressing Either Of Those Populations, Which I Find Repugnant.

If You Want To Write An Angry E-mail, Write It But Don't Send It. It's Based On My Experience That Whenever I Have Acted Out In Some Manner, I Have Always Regretted It.