Even if you don’t know who Simon Doonan is, if you have ever been to Barney’s in the last two decades, you may have seen some of his work.
The Creative Ambassador-at-Large of Barney’s is an ever-present personality on the ever-changing fashion scene. But one thing that has not changed is his willingness to talk fashion and his proclivity for wearing floral shirts.
STORY: Simon Doonan Brings The Stars Out For The Diet Pepsi Style Studio Fashion Show For Emerging Designers
Last night, while at the Diet Pepsi Style Studio Fashion Show in Lincoln Center, NYC, we got a chance to talk to Doonan about his mentoring of the four finalists from the show, his latest venture as best-selling author and what it is about floral patterns that he loves so much.
Take a look at the gems that Simon dropped on us last night at the Diet Pepsi Style Studio Fashion Show during the Fall 2012 Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.
GlobalGrind: How did you like the tour?
Simon Doonan: It was incredible, wasn’t it? After mentoring these four gorgeous girls and then seeing them turn it out, it was very joyful. It’s hard to get a foothold in fashion, and I feel like between me and Diet Pepsi, we gave these girls a helping hand and I feel good about it.
We know that it’s hard when you are mentoring people to have a favorite, but did you?
No, I can’t have favorites. I loved Rachel [Hurst], but I loved all of the girls.
You recently wrote a book “Gay Men Don’t Get Fat.” What was your inspiration behind writing a book like that?
I wanted to write a humor book and take all of my gay wisdom and share it with straight women because I really think they can use my help.
We’ve always wanted to know, why is it that you are always wearing floral shirts?
I always tell people when they ask for fashion advice that they need a signature flourish, something to make you memorable. People have a lot going on in their lives and they are never going to remember you unless you have a signature thing and that’s my signature.
Do you have a designer that you are looking forward to seeing this fashion week?
I love, love, love Proenza Schouler. They are so quirky and eccentric; they make their own fabric. It’s always interesting and I want to see what they do this year.
