Yesterday, W magazine hosted Shop W Style @ The Meatpacking District. While many students were busy studying for midterms or performing acts of altruism with Columbia Community Outreach (or well, just sleeping), Hoot was able to snag a front row seat at the Fashion Forum, in order to listen to Catherine Malandrino talk about her inspirations and role as a fashion designer. Lucky us.

Lori Goldman (BC '13)

Quietly commanding the utmost respect, Catherine Malandrino sits in her posh mirrored downtown boutique for an interview with W’s Fashion Market Director Treena Lombardo as a part of W’s fashion forum on Saturday morning. Malandrino is everything we hoped she would be — just as feminine, demure, and smart as the clothes she designs.

Malandrino first started designing clothes in as a young girl in the French Alps. She was fascinated by the construction of clothing, but wanted to express herself is a way that was a bit more her own. She wanted to create a style that was equal part femininity and power, which at the time, Malandrino says, didn’t really go together. “I wanted to turn femininity into strength,” she recalls.

Lori Goldman (CC '13)

In effect, that is exactly what Malandrino has done. Her boutique is filled with water-colored floral prints with attached rosettes and elegant draping that is distinctly feminine, but would make any woman feel confident enough to dominate a room.

She argues that a dress is the most essential item in any woman’s wardrobe because it is an easy one-piece silhouette that is distinctly woman. In her own words, “Everything starts with a dress.”

Malandrino does not believe in translating men’s styles for a woman. She believes that a woman is powerful on her own and does not need influence from a man. Though the meatpacking district boutique is filled with boleros, cardigans, and wraps, Malandrino remarks, “In all of my years of designing, I have never created a jacket.”

Instead, Malandrino designs with a woman’s body in mind. Where to put a curve, a pleat, or a pocket, all depends on what will be most flattering on a woman’s figure, because according to Malidrino, fashion is all about emotion and spontaneity. She tells the audience, she wants a woman to try one of her garments and immediately feel “feminine, strong, and,” Malandrino then thoughtfully pauses, “desirable.”

Not surprisingly, Malandrino inspiration comes from other women as well. She notes Mary J. Blige as a huge inspiration because of her multilayered lyrics of love — and Madonna because of her hard work ethic, her dedication to her family, and her ability to reinvent herself. However, you don’t have to be a world famous singer to catch Malandrino’s eye; she says that she is inspired everyday by “watching women on the street who tell me everything just by how they move.”

Malandrino finished the interview by discussing the question that women have battled with for decades: How does a woman balance work and family? As Malandrino says, “There is a conflict between being a woman and a mother. It is difficult to achieve your goals while being a mother.”

But the wildly successful Malandrino is mother to 13-year-old Oscar — so she must be doing something right. She attributes her ability the perfect balance of work and home to her partner in life and business, Bernard Aiden. For Malandrino, a partner is more important than a husband, because a husband is merely “eating together, sleeping together, and seeing how long this will last.” At this, the audience gave a hearty applause.

Malandrino final words of advice were to look for a partner who allowed you to be the women you want and need to be. She goes on, “It is not about money. Money has no value when you cant be who you want to be. And it is not about security because security is not enough to bring desire.”

Malandrino was preaching to the choir. As if it were a Sunday morning in an inspired church, people were fervently nodding their heads and literally throwing out Amen’s. The support of the audience is merely a testament to how well Malandrino understands not only a woman’s figure, but also a woman’s mind.

Lori Goldman
Staff Reporter