Naeem Khan's favorite dress from his spring 2007 collection. Photo Credit: Courtesy Deborah HughesNew York, 27 Oct 2007 - Hot off his recent showing at New York’s Fall Fashion Week, designer Naeem Khan shares his views on style and couture, as well as his future plans.
Khan, born in India, learned from both his father and grandfather, who designed for royal families. He later apprenticed with American designer Halston as a teenager, and presented his debut collection in 2003.
Rising star designer Naeem Khan. Photo Credit: Courtesy Deborah HughesHis clientele includes Beyonce, Marcia Gay Harden, and Princess Aga Khan, to name a few.
Khan’s collection is carried by Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, and Neiman Marcus and other upscale stores.
What is truly unique about Khan’s designs is how he juxtaposes textiles that are delicate and ornate with designs that are clean and simple. The result? Pure magic. Mr. Khan also proved to be as down-to-earth as he is talented.
A dress from Naeem Khan’s Spring 2007 collection. Photo Credit: Courtesy Deborah HughesRH: What did it feel like launching your first collection during Olympus Fashion Week in 2005?
Khan: “It was the most amazing experience, it took a lot of planning as far as the people and the team to put together, the whole thing was to assemble a great team. It requires about forty-fifty people to start this whole thing.”
RH: Do you have plans to launch a signature fragrance in the future, as many of your contemporaries have?
Khan: “Actually not yet, because my collection is only two years old. It’s growing amazingly well. To run a business, the way it’s going now, you need to step backward and concentrate on redefining your look and concentrate on your image. It would be at least another five years before I would even think of doing that.”
A dress from Naeem Khan’s Spring 2007 collection. Photo Credit: Courtesy Deborah HughesRH: How would you describe your experience working at Halston? Would you say that your work is directly influenced by him? What made you choose Halston over another fashion house?
Khan: “Halston is an American legend. He was the most amazing American designer. My experience with him, everything I know, he designs so clean, and coming from a country like India where there is such chaos on fabric and colors, when you look at my collection, the looks are so clean. He was a great mentor as to how he ran his business, it’s all a big package. It’s how you live, how you entertain. Your image is very important.”
RH: Do you plan to open a flagship boutique in the future, and if so, where?
Khan: “Yes, first for me it would be New York. Retail is a whole another business, I would wait another year or two. Right now, we have one hundred and ninety stores. Right now, it’s too young to do that.”
RH: What types of modern art do you collect, any favorite artists?
Khan: “I collect Andy Warhol, I am very fascinated by art from India, by Jitish Kallat, then I have quite a few artists, I am in the process of buying Sue Williams.”
RH: Do you plan to design a men’s line anytime in the future?
Khan: “I have a big interest in designing a men’s collection. I need to concentrate on what I am doing. I want to take this collection to the right level, to get it to a certain volume.”
A dress from Naeem Khan’s Spring 2007 collection. Photo Credit: Courtesy Deborah HughesRH: If your father and grandfather were not in the business, would you have still become a designer?
Khan: “I think so, because you’re born with it, you don’t learn fashion. You can learn it, but if you don’t have it, you don’t have it. I always wanted to be in fashion.”
RH: Your most recent collection during New York Fashion Week was stunning. Do you have a personal favorite among them?
Khan: “Thank you. The sterling silver little dress, it’s the simplicity of the dress. The group that I opened the collection with, the cotton voile with a discharged print, done in Italy. It was such an interesting fabric, the idea was how you can take a simple thing like cotton and make it so chic and evening.”
RH: What makes Naeem Khan’s designs different from those of his contemporaries? What influenced your choice of beading, frills and colors in the current collection?
Khan: “The way I execute my fabrication. My fabrication starts from nothing, I create my fabric from scratch, each fabric is created for me. Certain parts of the world, India, Asia, Turkey, the textures from here influence my designs tremendously. You need to clean it up, take the chaos away from it, and make it modern, simple but still very intricate.”
A dress from Naeem Khan’s Spring 2007 collection. Photo Credit: Courtesy Deborah HughesRH: Is there a celebrity you would like to design for, and if so, whom?
Khan: “There’s so many actually, not just one. I love Salma Hayek, I like the idea of a beautiful woman, I think she’s so pretty. I would love to design for Susan Sarandon. I love to do stuff for real people who have a solid stand in life.”
RH: This is my last question. What advice would you give to aspiring young designers in the fashion world?
Khan: “To a student coming out of college, you have to pay your dues. You have to apprentice with a designer, it is important. You have to keep to your values. One thing that Halston said to me, “If you don’t dream fashion, it’s not going to come to you, you have to dream fashion, you have to live fashion.”
News Copyright © Sawf News. May not be reproduced without explicit written permission