St. Louis fashionistas will now have one more luxury brand to shop from at Neiman Marcus.
The St. Louis store is one of six Neiman Marcus locations nationwide to start carrying Adam Lippes, a namesake line of elegant and timeless clothes “for the woman who wants to look refined, grown up, and appropriate,” says the designer.
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“I’m on a tour. I’m going to all the new locations,” says Lippes. “I was in Houston last week and St. Louis is my second store visit.”
The local debut will feature the Resort 2020 collection, which will be sold in the store’s fine apparel department on level two.
“The Adam Lippes collection offers classic wardrobing options for today’s woman,” says Lindsey Barile, public relations manager for Neiman Marcus in St. Louis. “His clothes transition effortlessly from the office to dinner and beyond—thanks to a beautiful balance of modest cuts and edgy fabrics.”
Neiman Marcus hosts trunk shows for designers who are new to the store’s assortment. “We’ll host another one for spring and fall as well as in the upcoming months,” says Barile.
The [Resort 2020] collection has already shipped to St. Louis, but Lippes is planning to bring additional pieces and some pre-orders “for just a little more excitement,” he says.
In anticipation of the designer’s visit, we talked to him via phone from New York about his background, the latest collection, and why his customer is always first and foremost on his mind.
What is the inspiration for your Resort 2020 collection?
My lead inspiration—no matter what or when—is our customer. We don’t do highly themed collections but I spend a lot of time traveling and meeting the woman who buys our collections, so she really is the number one overarching inspiration. Of course there is a more specific inspiration that changes with each collection and all that really does is help us focus on color and pattern.
This particular collection was based on a design group called Peregalli. It’s a very sort of old school interior design firm in the mode of the 40s and 50s. It’s really very much a mix of old and new and patterns and colors. You can really see that in the collection.
How do interiors play a role in your designs?
Interior designers and interior design itself is often another inspiration for me. I tend to be inspired by old wallpapers, and the mix of interiors… the mix of patterns and prints and colors with a bit more freedom than you sometimes see in fashion, and this collection is no different. We go from floral to an incredible animal print.
Could you share a little bit of your background?
I went to Cornell and studied psychology, which has been great for working in the fashion world because there are a lot of personalities. I had always wanted to be a fashion designer, but it really wasn’t something that growing up in the 80s seemed normal for a kid from Buffalo. So I decided that I was going to be an investment banker and I spent six months pursuing that until I decided I was not going to be. I got a job at Ralph Lauren, at the mansion, at the store, and I spent a year there. Then, I went to Oscar de la Renta. I grew up at Oscar, I was there for 10 years and became the creative director at 26 and really learned fashion on the job from one of the masters.
That must have been a wonderful experience…
It was the best. He was really like a second father to me.
Is there something, in particular, that you took from that experience that you use to run your own label?
There isn’t…I took everything! The main thing is how I design. Mr. de la Renta designed for his customer. It wasn’t about trend or fad. It was simply about his customer, who were his friends, whom he spent time with, whom he knew. My job is to make a woman feel beautiful, to feel good about herself. And, frankly, no matter what the age or the size.
How do you describe the woman for whom you design?
I would describe her first as a woman, she’s not a girl. I was just in San Francisco and I dress a very famous family there. I dress a 20-year-old granddaughter, a 40-year-old aunt, and an 84- year-old grandmother. So, of course, not everything is right for every person or body type but there is no age. We go up to a size 22 and we always have. We dress women who are attracted to looking pretty, being feminine and… quality is our lead about the brand. We use the best fabrics in the world; made by the best mills; we work with the best artisans in constructing those fabrics and we don’t negotiate on that. That is what’s important to her—it’s quality— it’s not a logo it’s not a label, its quality and quite frankly looking refined, grown up, appropriate.
What else would you like the St. Louis customer to know about you?
We’re launching home this year. We’re very much looking forward to that with a brand out of England called OKA, which is launching in America. It will be sold direct to consumers and the tabletop collection will be on our website.
