“I went to University de la Renta,” jokes Adam Lippes the American designer who’s journey to becoming a world-famous fashion star was not one that followed the traditional creative path.
If it wasn’t for a stint in Paris, Adam Lippes would’ve been an investment banker, and no doubt a sartorially savvy one at that. But luckily for us, he discovered the “world of fashion,” fell in love and took a fashion store job – “I wanted to learn about fashion any way that I could.”
Adam Lippes’ illustration for his theoutnet.com launch
Learning fast, he soon became Creative Director for Oscar De La Renta, and eventually launched his own label in 2004.
This month Adam Lippes is a part of theoutnet.com’s Summer Shop campaign, in which us launched a 12-piece collection, which the designer calls ” modern, refined and sensual. These pieces represent the simplicity and sensuality of our brand – it was a great opportunity to revisit some of my favorites.” To celebrate the launch, Lippes talks exclusively to Emirates Woman…
(Scroll Down to See The Collection)
Adam Lippes went to the University de la Renta,
Looking back, I think I always wanted to be a fashion designer, but I grew up in a small town in New York state and it just wasn’t something that seemed possible. I was going to be a doctor or a lawyer or a banker, so I went to Cornell. I studied psychology and decided I was going to be an investment banker.
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Before [embarking on a career as a banker] I spent a year in Paris, where I was immersed in fashion and realised, ‘this is something I can do.’ I had already got an internship lined up at an investment bank though, so I came back to New York, started my placement and realised it was not for me.
My first fashion job was at Ralph Lauren store on Madison Avenue. A year later the store manager left and went to Oscar de la Renta, taking me with her. I spent 10 years there and became the Creative Director at 26. I learned about fashion from arguably one of the greatest designers to have ever lived. I like to say that I went to University de la Renta.
Adam Lippes designing his collection
Oscar allowed me to be exposed. I grew up there and learned everything from marketing and public relations to design and understanding construction, it became an all-encompassing role.
Oscar made women look beautiful and the whole thing was extraordinary – but I wanted to create a collection that was closer to the sort of things my friends were wearing: simpler in shape and fabrication without any compromise on fit and quality.
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I went on Oprah [with my label], and it got a lot of attention. A big investor group came in and said:, ‘You’re going to do contemporary fashion.’ We grew to around 400 stores all over the world, creating a label.”
I have an overall idea of the woman. I have one muse who is a friend of mine. I prefer to keep her private, but she’s almost 40, she’s got incredible style and she’s a business owner.
Lippes was originally going to work as an investment banker
The 12 pieces in the exclusive theoutnet.com collection are some of my favourite pieces. They represent the simplicity and sensuality of our collection.
I would love to dress the Duchess of Cambridge. I think she has incredible style and truly exemplifies our type of woman.
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I do all of our social media myself and I am no good at it – I just post what I like! I don’t know where it’s going to end up – do you want authenticity or do you want this veiled promotional thing? It’s really tricky. For me personally, I find it very distracting. I would love to be on social media, follow my 50 friends and leave it at that. But in our business it has taken on a life form of its own. Our brand is growing very fast, so I don’t know how long they’re going to let me continue to do it!”
Shop Adam Lippes’ 12-piece collection on theoutnet.com now
