CITYist

Story by Christine Tran
Photo courtesy of BFANYC

Prior to interviewing Erin Fetherston, I spend a borderline creepy amount of time on
Google staring at photos of her. Does this woman ever not look good? She’s stunning.
With platinum blonde hair and porcelain skin, Fetherston is known as much for her
personal style and natural beauty as for her designing talent, but in the moment, I forget
she’s real and place her in a fantastical fairy tale from which she hails queen.

So naturally, when I ask about the inspiration behind her newest Autumn/Winter
2012 Collection, she explains, “I was trying to create the mood and feeling of a new
age fairy tale. I wanted it to be ethereal and romantic and modern at the same time. It’s
always important for me to capture both of those directions to present something that
feels relevant and directional but that is still inspired by something other-worldly and
dreamy.”

And fans quickly learn when the designer imagines other-worldly and dreamy, the result is spot
on. Fetherston’s showing of her lower-priced line, Erin, at New York Fashion Week
this past February was reminiscent of a Shakespearean play à la A Midsummer Night’s
Dream. With gold-painted tree stumps, a harpist and some very angelically poised
models, the presentation brought to mind the image of an enchanted forest of fairies. But
such sweet whimsy is almost to be expected of the designer.

A California native from the San Francisco Bay area, Fetherston grew up in a town where
eucalyptus trees and mini-redwoods were plentiful and many. The forest she would
pass through on her way to and from school, what she refers to as a magical pocket of
nature, forever inspires the designer. But it doesn’t stop there. On a recent trip to O’ahu
with boyfriend and Cobra Starship lead vocalist, Gabe Saporta, Fetherston updated fans
saying the rainbows have been amazing and that she may take inspiration from the colors
for her next Spring/Summer collection. “I always have my antenna up,” she says, “I’m
always drawing inspiration from my life. I think I’m someone who is very sensitive to
my environment and surroundings.” And for Fetherston, those surroundings have been ever
changing.

In fact, shortly after graduating from UC Berkeley in 2002 with a Bachelors of Art,
Fetherston attended Parson’s School of Design in Paris, which she credits for influencing
her beginnings as a designer. “In Paris, there was a lot of emphasis on defining your
aesthetic, your universe, defining yourself in a way that I don’t see as totally emphasized
in New York,” Fetherston tells me, “I’m so happy I got to establish myself there first.”

In January 2005, she presented her eponymous label during the Paris Hate Couture
Shows, and a short two years later, she received the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation
Award for emerging designers and was named a finalist in the CFDA/ Vogue Fashion
Fund Award. That same year, Erin Fetherston’s line for Target’s Go International
Initiative was featured nationwide. “I love the collaborative process. I always believe
those things come about in sort of an organic way.” When I inquire about her recent work
with Juicy Couture and her plans for future projects, she mentions she’s a fan of Diane
Von Furstenberg’s collaboration with Gap Kids, “There are so many categories I’m
passionate about, and I’d love to find the opportunity to do something for children or to do something for home.”

Speaking of home, I tell her I came across photos of her Paris apartment while searching
on Google (I leave out the part about admiring her blunt haircut and perfect bone
structure), and similar to her fashion line, Fetherston’s home environment is charming,
enchanting and undeniably beautiful. I start to recognize a trend with this woman.

Fetherston recently relocated stateside after living in Paris for five years, and her Tribeca
apartment here in New York is scattered with antique pieces, some of which she acquired
while living in Paris and had shipped to the U.S. by way of boat. The designer, like the
modern romantic she is, is partial to neutral colors and integrates fresh flowers for added
pops of color. “I think it’s great to take special pieces and make them stand out, give
them room to breathe, and also have modern pieces to make the space feel comfortable
for real living. That’s the environment for me,” she says.

But while Fetherston has lived in many cities and multiple countries, she doesn’t readily
identify with one place in particular. Rather, she’s a hybrid –someone who maintains a sense of
California ease but at the same time reflects on her Paris experience to integrate its heritage
of haute couture and high fashion into her collections. “And New York?” I ask her. “New York is just a great melting pot of many styles,” she tells me, “and it’s a great backdrop for fashion. When
you live in New York, you’re in touch with what modern women want to wear, what their
lives demand of them, and how they want to dress for that.”

“And when you’re not designing?”

“I’m a very social person. I like to connect with my friends and family and spend time
with the people I love. Go for dinners. Enjoy New York City!”

I ponder her answer for a bit –a relatively normal answer. I Google her the next day
and begin to see her less as a fairy tale deity and more as a kick ass, real life fashion
designer…with really great style…and really really great hair.