Starzewski: "There is very little that is unfashionable"
Tomasz Starzewski, a British designer renowned for dressing royalty and heads of state, gave his first fashion show in Poland on Oct. 20 at Warsaw's Royal Castle. He presented his spring 2001 collection at the invitation of local fashion magazine Uroda, and Aqua Minerale, a mineral water firm. Born in London to Polish parents, Starzewski studied fashion at St. Martin's School of Design. Over the years, his designs have been nominated at the British Fashion Awards in the couture and glamour categories. His creations can be found at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and Harvey Nichols in London. In February 1999, Starzewski made his New York debut with his ready-to-wear women's collection and his first men's collection. Starzewski talked to the Business Journal's Anna Kocinska about the changing nature of fashion and his style of work. The following is an edited version of their conversation.
Q: A fashion magazine wrote last year that you lost one of your most famous clients, the soon-to-be Countess of Wessex, Sophie Rhys-Jones, who asked someone else to design her wedding dress
A: I still dress Sophie. It was actually quite important for me not to do the wedding dress because I am not a bridal designer. And I don't want to be remembered for a wedding dress I have already done a very controversial one much earlier in my career because I think it's a poisoned chalice. I think that all weddings are very poisoned chalices because they bring out the good, the bad, and the ugly, from the press.
Q: How important is it for you to design dresses for high-profile Britons? Does it make it easier to attract a rich and famous clientele?
A: Is it important? It's never been a particular consideration because it's always been there. And I suppose I've been very fortunate that of the people I've dressed, some have been high profile. You dress a circle of friends and celebrities seek you out. Does it enhance your profile? Of course it does. I can't deny that my dressing the Princess of Wales during the last 10 years of her life didn't help my career because it certainly did, I can't deny that. It gave me credibility. What it showed was that I had an understanding of how to deal with heads of state because I dress so many heads of state around the world.
Q: Is it true there are special rules for dressing the queen?
A: I would suspect there are, since there are rules with all heads of state. Whether it's Sophie, the Duchess of York or whomever, there are rules because the public has a specific perception of members of different royal families and the most important thing is that you notice them. You must be able to see them; the camera must be able to pick them up. And color becomes an incredibly important issue. You must never compromise that.
Q: Does it mean that it's more difficult to design for high-profile British clients than, for instance, Hollywood stars or European celebrities?
A: It's more conservative. You can't be as daring. You have to actually play it very safe. And you have to think that you can't ever compromise that person. They have to look dignified at all times. So your imagination is more restricted.
Q: Whom do you really enjoy designing for?
A: For me the most important thing is putting a collection together. And I think that any designer dreams of having his own collection, and that is your concept. When that concept is being created you think she can wear that, she can wear that, she can wear that. So, it does allow me to have that fantasy. But I don't design a collection thinking of my clients first. I design a collection thinking of a collection and a concept and then the clients come because otherwise I would be a dressmaker and not a designer.
Q: How many stores do you own? Do you have any expansion plans?
A: We're now opening our first stores in London and hoping to have one in New York. To tell you the truth, I can't tell you how we will expand over the next few years. The most important thing for us is our own retail operation, which is crucial.
Q: One fashion magazine described your style as matronly and conservative. But Reuters said your fall/winter collection for this year is different. How would you describe your style?
A: Yes, I am quite conservative. But my style is changing, it's changing even more now. I don't have the constraints anymore of being told what I've got to design. I think all of us can very easily fall into a trap of working to a formula that you know works and can sometimes forget to move on. What we produced for retail has changed as well. It's looser, it's a bit more frivolous, it's a bit more young.
Q: Do you think that designing for a Polish clientele requires a different approach?
A: No. I dress people from Hong Kong, New York, Palm Beach. You name it. Fashion is fashion. I think we are not as colloquial. I don't think we live in a colloquial world anymore. The world is very small. There is very little that is unfashionable.
Q: What are you going to show in Warsaw?
A: I am going to show three parts of a show then we are going to mix the whole thing up. We are going to show the commercial ready-to-wear collection that's in stores right now, a special edition of what we created for our own clients, and couture pieces.
Q: Have you had a chance to see how the average woman dresses in Poland?
A: I can't sum up by walking down (ulica) Nowy Swiat how the average Polish woman dresses. I am not in a position to judge that. But I think Polish women have always been fascinated by fashion. There was an interpretation, there was an imagination, there is creativity. I think women are very international, they want clothes and they want to be pretty and they want make-up. They want to look fashionable.
Q: Do you think that Poles living abroad, for instance descendants of pre-war aristocratic families, dress in a more refined way?
A: You are asking me to comment on my parents' generation. I think, very conservative, very polite. I've always thought that generation of Polish women is all about a mink coat. That's what I think of that generation; it was about having a nice mink coat and a black dress. It wasn't a prosperous generation. They are very battered. I think they weren't in a position, because of their experience, to be frivolous. I always think that my parents see me as being quite extravagant in the way that I live. But I haven't lost anything. I have never been in a war. I realize I am very lucky.
Q: Could we talk a little bit about your family? I have met many Polish emigrants who left Poland during or after the war. It seems to me that they never felt comfortable blending into English society. Was it easier for you?
A: First of all we didn't live in Ealing, where everybody is Polish, which I think made a big difference. My father's philosophy was that he and my mother were guests and you have to mix and blend into the country that you're in. My father did (blend in), my mother hasn't. My father had a business in London that predominantly employed English people anyway. And we were given a very English education. We went to a Polish school as well. My children will have a very English education. Do I lead a very English lifestyle? No, I don't. I lead a very cosmopolitan lifestyle. I am not English. I have a lot of European friends and I have a lot of American friends. I would never claim to be English. I am probably as foreign as the English can cope with. I have a very good foreign name but I speak very good English. And I think that they find that unthreatening. England can be a closed shop. You can't count London; London is extremely cosmopolitan. But I am fairly aware that there are times when I go to things and I am the nearest to being the only foreigner there. I am very aware of that.
Q: Do you plan to open a shop in Warsaw?
A: If someone approaches me who wants to do a store in Warsaw I would. I wouldn't personally open a store here because I think you have to be a manager here. I understand New York very well, I understand London very well because I understand my clients, I know my clients. I think it would be very foolish for me to open a store here because I don't have any clients here. I have a relationship with London and New York that goes back nearly 20 years.
Q: Is it a good time to sell high-profile fashion in Poland?
A: I think there is potential for selling high profile but I also think there is possibly the potential do licensing here. One would probably do a bridge collection here. Bridge is between luxury and ready-to-wear and if you look at Armani you have Armani, you have Mani, you have Emporio. I think the equivalent of Mani would be very successful here. Because it's a different price. I think there is no point in having a store anywhere unless your product is accessible and accessible in terms of price.
Q: Are your dresses expensive by Western standards?
A: By Western standards we are perceived as expensive but good value. That's why I'm successful in England. From my collection, evening dresses start at around L600-L700 and ready to wear goes up to about L1,600, which is a lot of money but it's not that bad.
Q: What do you expect after the Warsaw show?
A: I can't tell you. I am very excited that we are doing it. If something good comes out of it I will be delighted. I think it's better to go in without an approach. Whatever may happen will happen. I would ultimately have wanted to do something here but I am very aware that I can't commit the time to do something here on my own. And the only way you can be successful is to be in the place to make it work. Therefore, for me to do something successful here I have to find a partner.
