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102 THE FASHION DESIGN REFERENCE + SPECIFICATION BOOK
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Where do you start with the design process when developing a new collection?
And why that first?
I’ve created men’s collections and women’s collections and home furnishings col-
lections over the years, and I’ve always thought the first thing was spirit of the col-
lection. You know the image and the overarching strategy. Within that, you must be
consistent with everything you do. All good designers have their own DNA. A lot of
people want to be designers, but it’s more than just picking nice fabrics—you really
have to have a point of view. You start with a concept, then every other aspect has
to fit your DNA to be on message.
Key for me this season is that the clothes have to be real, they have to be accepta-
ble, and they have to be invested in somebody’s life. Whatever creative ideas I have,
they must interface with how the clothes work for people—that’s very important for
me. If I had wanted to be an artist, I would have just painted on canvas. A designer
is obliged to create relevant clothes, especially in this climate and this environment.
Where do you go from there?
The mental sketch pad. The next stage is to envision what the collection looks like,
maybe the shape of the jacket. My signature has always been texture and pattern.
Very often, I let the fabric tell me what to do. If I see a piece of flannel, in menswear
I might say, this wants to be a very dressy suit, or a very elegant dinner jacket, or
a great pair of flat-front pants. So I start with the mental sketches, then I think of
the fabrics, the looks, and the colors that will fit into that process. And then I begin
to make sketches. Before I do professional illustrations, I to do rough croquis and
rough sketching.
In women’s wear a designer can push the envelope to get attention in big ways, but
how do you make a collection stand apart from the rest in menswear?
First of all, women are much more experimental, they’re much more intuitive, more
ready to accept change, they understand new brands more quickly than men do. So al-
though women’s wear seems to be more difficult, it’s actually harder to design mens-
wear. If you’re just doing runway, you can make silly, absurd clothes, but men shop
and buy clothes in very different ways than women do. Women understand how to use
their wardrobes; men think of things like whether a jacket is an investment. So how do
you turn them on with something new, something innovative, and yet at the same time
not so out of their range that they can’t stand it? To send an esoteric message to men
is very hard because they don’t make the connections that women do.
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PERSPECTIVES: JOSEPH ABBOUD
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What do you put in menswear to grab a man’s attention in this way?
I think that men relate to quality and to beautiful details. They don’t respond as quickly to
changes in shape. Men have moved to trimmer, leaner silhouettes, because that’s sort of the
mood. But it’s been a slow, evolutionary process. Two words are in contrast here: women’s
wear is revolutionary and menswear is evolutionary. Male shoppers, fashionable men—even if
they’re more assertive—can only step out so far before they start looking like they’re wearing
costumes. Because a guy’s range is more limited, it becomes more difficult to be creative and
relevant at the same time.
Fashion is definitely a business first and foremost, but do you also consider fashion an art
form? A craft?
Fashion absolutely is an art form and a craft. I don’t want to be so pragmatic as to say it’s
only a business; however, the staying power of any designer is gauged by the fact that they
can remain in business. So the artistic designer may get critical acclaim, but so many great
designers have actually gone by the wayside because in the end they were creating art only,
and not art and commerce. The fashion industry is about the marriage of art and commerce,
the balance. There is artistry to making people more attractive and more appealing. I love
beautiful fabrics because of the messages they send—the luxury of them, the feel and the
touch. Really, I consider myself a craftsman, an artisan. So fashion is artistic but it has very,
very strong commercial implications.
Did you have a mentor in the fashion industry? What did you take away from that relationship
that serves you today? Have you assumed the role of mentor for someone else?
I’ve had two mentors in my career. One would be Murray Pearlstein, who was the owner
and, really, the chief creative force behind the great days of LouisBoston. I was there for
twelve years; it was an extraordinary store and I learned so much from him: About having the
strength of your convictions, about showing that you believe in it when you do something. Mur-
ray is one my true heroes. My other great hero, friend, and mentor is Ralph Lauren. I worked
directly with him and one of his directors of design on all the menswear collections. If Louis
was my undergraduate education, then I got my MBA at Polo Ralph Lauren.
Over the last fifteen to twenty years it’s become increasingly harder for designers to launch
new collections. It’s extremely difficult today given the current retail climate. The financial
pressures on small or young design companies are overwhelming. I feel so bad about that,
because the fashion industry and the retail community need new designs and new influences.
But I’d like to think that over the years certain designers who have worked for me have learned
something, whether they’ve tried to create their own collections or not.
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10 4 THE FASHION DESIGN REFERENCE + SPECIFICATION BOOK
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How important is the history of fashion to your creative process?
Well, it’s very interesting. Jump back to menswear. All great modern menswear, from 1900 on,
say, has its roots in Great Britain, whether it be tweeds from Scotland, custom-made suits
from Savile Row, or the fabulous khakis and military looks of the Empire. For an extraordinary
two years I designed all the menswear for Chanel. I spent a lot of time in Paris and I learned
a lot about Coco Chanel. As I tried to figure out the brand for the menswear line, I wanted to
know what Chanel herself would have done. I really studied her. I read about her, I watched
videos of her in the 1960s when she was older. There was a time in her life, referred to as the
English period, during which she had an affair with a British lord. She loved his clothes, she
loved the big tweeds and the houndstooths and the glen plaids, which still find themselves in
the Chanel DNA today. In one great picture she’s wearing a man’s big tweed jacket—the boy-
friend jacket! So, for me, history is in everything, but not to repeat it, because I don’t believe
in doing costumes. I’ve always believed that you get a sense or a whiff of something, but you
create it for the time you’re in. History is what you build off of, and you have to understand
history well to change it and to reinvigorate it.
What should a designer understand about the business of fashion? What advice would you give
a designer starting their career or a business?
I’ve taught at Parsons, I’ve taught at FIT, and I recently taught a course called “The Manage-
ment of Creativity” at Fordham University at Lincoln Center. I always tell my design students,
these young aspiring designers, that they must find a point of view, or what I call the POD
factor, the point of difference. When I launched my first collection, why did anybody need to
buy something from me? I didn’t have a name. I didn’t have a reputation. I just had a new
collection. So what was going to make some store drop a piece from somebody else and buy
my product? As an example, I created a navy blazer in the late 1980s. It wasn’t the traditional
navy blazer with the gold buttons—you know, the sea captain’s blazer. We did it in a softer
shape with much drapier fabric and a more interesting silhouette. We didn’t use brass but-
tons, we used dark buttons. So we offered a reason for the stores to buy a new navy blazer
that their customers might like. But if I had come out with the same navy blazer that Ralph
Lauren or Giorgio Armani was doing, what would the stores have needed me for? I always sug-
gest that young designers find their own viewpoint and speak with it, but also make sure that
it’s relevant. You can’t just say, “Well, I’ll be creative and maybe I’ll get lucky.” You have to
touch the nerve of the people that are going to buy your clothes. I think one way to succeed
in the fashion world is to balance intellect and aesthetics. Because one alone will not make it
happen. If you combine your intelligence and creativity, that’s generally a formula for success.
What do you think fashion education programs should include in their curriculum to best pre-
pare designers looking to enter the market?
Most good design schools help their students, the future designers, to understand where the
battle is won or lost: not on the pages of Women’s Wear Daily, but at the retail level. You can
get great press—and everyone wants great press, including me—but that’s only a very small
part of your ability to succeed. I recommend to all of my students to take a job in retail, in or-
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der to understand the way things work, to know where their product is going to end up. Believe
me, retailers don’t necessarily do a great job. Often retailers buy collections the way they want
to buy them, not as the designer wants to present them. And that means there’s always a lit-
tle bit of tension. Designers have to learn the dynamics of retail to be truly successful in the
fashion business. I know it sounds a little unromantic, but it’s the only way to sustain yourself.
What role does celebrity play in your work?
I think my relationship with the sports and broadcasting world has been very strong. In 1988,
soon after I launched my first collection, Bryant Gumbel asked me to design his outfits for
covering the Seoul Olympics; he was really the first anchor ever to do that. The amount of
press we received was amazing. Bob Costas, the host of the Olympics and really the franchise
player for all of NBC Sports, is a good friend. He says, “Whenever I’ve had anybody else make
my clothes, I never feel as comfortable, I don’t think I look as good, and I want you to continue
to work with me.” Wynton Marsalis has done events with me and worn my clothes, we’ve de-
signed for Brad Pitt. But we don’t play the game of chasing celebrities. Most of the relation-
ships we’ve had over the years are genuine, very honest. We do something right that makes
the celebrity feel good and they become supportive of the work.
Could you describe the evolution of your brand and how you connect with your customer?
Jaz is my new creation. Just the name “Jaz” speaks to American style, which is classic in
its roots but full of innovation and improvisation. And I love how far-reaching that name is; it
doesn’t need translation anywhere in the world. It’s pretty exciting. I’ll be honest with you,
we’ve launched in a very strange and difficult climate, where retailers have suffered tremen-
dously with people not shopping. Often men are the first to say, I don’t really need a new
suit, maybe I’ll just buy a couple of shirts and ties. Some men are going to stop depending on
clothes. But for the most part, young men still believe that clothes represent who they are. So
I think that there’s a lot of hope for the line. You have to be smart about making the consumer
want to buy the clothes. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.
How have you diversified your design work over the years and how has that influenced you?
I’ve really had a wonderful design career. I’ve designed cars for General Motors; I did a Joseph
Abboud Limited Edition for Buick. I’ve designed for the Olympics. I’ve done home furnishings,
which is a great extension for me, because they are so textile driven. My fashion collections
translate very easily into the home. I’ve done women’s wear, which I miss and would like to do
again. I think women’s wear made me a better menswear designer because I could push the
envelope further. All of these directions have been exciting. I love challenging my aesthetics.
That’s why designing at General Motors was so fascinating: it was amazing to see how tech-
nology and creativity could coexist. And I’m always looking for the next horizon.
Overleaf Sketches of Jaz Menswear Collection courtesy of Joseph Abboud.
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