Last night, we grabbed a few minutes with Guillaume Henry -- designer of Feast 30 label Carven -- during the NYC leg of a Barneys New York fashion tour that included stops in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, and Chicago.
(Feast/Shop editors caught the French designer and occasional co-host Simon Doonan every step of the way -- more fantastic video footage to come.)
The Feast/Shop: Guillaume, so far, you've met an L.A. editor, a Chicago editor, and a San Fran editor. So I just want to ask you New York questions tonight.
Guillaume Henry: Okay, great!
TFS: Do you shop a lot in New York?
GH: If I can stay more than one day, yeah. I quite like to shop when I'm not in Paris, actually. I'm not buying in clothes in Paris right now, actually.
TFS: Besides Barneys, where do you shop here?
GH: Can I tell? [Jokingly gestures to the party. Laughs.] Opening Ceremony, and I love Rag & Bone and Curve, and all those great shops.
TFS: How do you see New York women wearing your clothes, versus women in other markets, cities, and countries? Do you feel that the clothes translate?
GH: I won't ask them to wear our clothes a certain way, the way I'm thinking they should...because I want girls to wear it how they want. Be sexy, be sleek, be serious, be severe. Just feel comfortable with the clothes we do. Be yourself. So, I won't give any advice!
TFS: What is your plan for fashion week? Are you the kind of person to just keep it business? Or do you go out? What do you do?
GH: During Fashion Week, if I'm presenting something, you won't see me. I'm going to be in my office, totally concentrating. If I show super early? Then, I'm going to party. But I'm kind of a serious guy. I used to go out. Now? I'm really concentrating.
TFS: What pieces do you see New York women going crazy for? We gravitated toward the ones with cut-outs. [Gesture to a stretch, ruched jersey style with oblique cut-out.] You have to have some body for that one.
GH: It means that you get...I'm trying to give it something with a nice, sexy twist. They're all my babies, so I can't ever choose one or I'd be terrible. But I quite like, yeah, when great elements are mixed together, to create, like, little stories each time -- you can be rock 'n roll, classic, girly, all of that. I think women do, too.
Related stories on The Feast:
30 Labels To Watch In Stores for Spring
What's In-Store (and Beyond) at Barneys New York
Simon Doonan Finds New Role at Barneys "Exciting", "Ironic"
