Interview with David Blond!

PART 1

Phillip and David Blond of The Blonds have been creating in-your-face spectacular designs since 2008. Yet some still describe the two as "up and coming." But, they are already "there." After all, they've dressed the biggest A-list celebrities:  Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Fergie, Rihanna, Debbie Harry, Dita von Teese, Katy Perry.  And most recently, some of their designs can be found on Carrie and Samantha in the upcoming movie "Sex and the City 2."

I was at your Fall 2010 New York Fashion Week show. I have to say, it was the most fun and energetic show of the season that I saw. The crowd was just crazy! I loved the cricket noises playing when I walked in!

Yes, the crickets! [laughs] We wanted to relax everyone to a point they were so serene that when the show started, it would be this huge impact. Mr. Wilson DJ did the soundtrack. He’s done the music for shows like Gucci and YSL He does the music for all of our shows.

For the rest of the interview,

Your shows remind me more of European runway and couture. Do you consider yourselves more of fashion designers, couturiers or costumers?

We feel like a show is a “show." I feel like we actually are beyond the idea that buyers are coming to shows just to purchase from the runway. They go to designers after the shows and do it there. Buyers just don’t do that anymore.

Basically the whole fun of the show is to be able to add creativity, and to be able to express yourself in front of an audience. We are a combination of all these different things: designers, couturiers, costumers. We don’t like to box ourselves in with labels though. I think that’s where it can be cut short and limit creativity. If we said we just did evening or club wear, or evening gowns, that’s when it stunts ideas. It becomes cumbersome or suffocating.

You've designed for everyone from Britney and Christina, Rihanna, Debbie Harry, Fergie. What inspires you? Tell me about what goes on when you're asked to make a design.

The core of our inspiration comes from film and music, and women in general. We [both Phillip and David] like that old Hollywood glamour mixed with a modern edge. It’s very much a showgirl aesthetic, not like traditional Vegas, but with an impact and individual flair.

For instance, Katy Perry is coming out with her next album. The theme is kind of this candy, rollerskating, fun in the California sun vibe. This is where she comes in. We listen to her, we do sketches, work with the stylist—hers is Johnny Wujek. We take all of that into consideration so we can make the entire package. Then it’s always the artist that brings the garment alive.

What is in the works for The Blonds right now?

For Katy Perry’s new album release, we are doing a bunch of things. Rihanna will be wearing some of our new stuff coming soon. We’re still working with Fergie on her tour. And we’ve always been a huge fan of Kylie Minogue and she actually came into the showroom recently. We were invited to her concert and got to meet her. We thought we’d never see her again. One day we got a call to get to the showroom because Kylie was coming in. We dropped everything and ran over. She is so beautiful, like a little fairy. You can’t take your eyes off her. She ordered pieces and then she disappeared. Sigh.

Are you currently working on RTW? Can you give me the lowdown? There’s a lot of interest in Carrie Bradshaw’s embellished jeans from “Sex in the City 2."

What we do right now is all made to order. We work with each client individually. At this point though, we’d probably work our way into fragrance and accessories. Maybe after that there is a possibility that we might do ready to wear, maybe a line of party dress, or even other types of collaborations. Hopefully that will be coming soon!

The “Carrie” jeans, unfortunately you can’t buy them in a store. We’ve had a couple of calls for them, but I keep telling people that they are made-to-order. They have to wait about two to six weeks to get even a piece like that made. People want instant gratification though!

Phillipe started out as a M.A.C. Makeup artist and freelance fashion illustrator and you did displays and windows for Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue, but how did you begin to design?

We met ten years ago, out one night and we hit it off. We didn’t start really working together until a few years after. We were always creating things, clothes for ourselves and clothes for friends. It wasn’t really until Pat Field suggested that we make a few things for her store that we even considered thinking about making a line. It was always in the back of my mind. 

 Phillipe was always interested in doing it. I took a year off my job to help Phillipe get started doing his own thing, but working with him made me realize it was something that I wanted to do as well. We officially launched the line in 2008 with our show. We did a few things before then, but it was more like working out the bugs, making pieces here and there. Some of it was kind of scary...you have to polish the penny!