In this case the age-old phrase “two are better than one” definitely rings true as The Blonds set out to discreetly take over the fashion world, one celebrity at a time.
After meeting in 2000, Phillipe Rollano and David Trujillo realized that their collective aspirations of becoming designers was within arm’s reach and ditched their occupations at the time in freelance illustration and visual displays to become The Blonds. The result has been a collection that started in 2005 with its first official presentation in 2008, and being born of two like-mided individuals with similar inspirations, it's only natural that the brand far outshines the norm when it comes to glitz and glamour. Their custom designs have been worn by the truly fabulous (Madonna, Fergie and Rihanna, to name a few), but the success hasn’t kept them from being grounded and honored to just be doing what they love. YRB sat down with the duo and found out a little more about the methods to their madness, their take on Fashion Week and who they really want to design a piece for.
YRB: How difficult is it for a new designer to gain attention, especially in NY?
David: I think there’s so much competition out there, and I feel like if you’re doing something and you have your own idea and your own vision you should stick with it, because that’s what’s gonna make you unique and that’s what’s gonna make you stand out. And no matter what people tell you, if they tell you it’s wrong, don’t listen. If you feel that it’s right, then follow your own vision and your dream.
Phillipe: Yeah, go with what you know.
YRB: What kinds of things do you draw from for inspiration, and then how does your creative process unfold?
Phillipe: Well, I feel like, for me, myself, I’ve always collected these things from childhood – illustrations, pictures, movies, music – and you kind of have these things forever in your head, you know? And you get to a certain point where you can actually make them happen and create clothes.
David: Yeah, everything we do now encompasses all these ideas since we were younger. I remember being isolated in Key West and it’s like, there’s nothing there, so I would constantly get as many fashion magazines as possible and tear out sheets and make collages and things like that.
YRB: How long does it take to create a piece?
Phillipe: About four to six weeks.
David: If it’s a dress it could be like two weeks. A corset can take four to six weeks and up to three fittings.
YRB: What is it about the corset that makes you come back to it season after season?
Phillipe: It’s so iconic.
David: It’s all about the female form.
Phillipe: Shape.
David: Yeah, we feel like women should accentuate the curves and be happy that that’s one of the things that expresses your femininity as a woman. And it’s the most famous and most attractive thing to look at – the female silhouette. And so, we’re sort of obsessed with it and when you put on a corset it makes it even more extreme, which is fun.
YRB: What is the feel of your Spring/Summer collection?
Phillipe: I’m thinking, like, a flower garden on acid. Again, really pretty and beautiful but…
David: A contrasting element in there. So it’s just like a rose with the thorns kind of idea. And we’re always expressing the different side, or the different spectrum of things that women have to them. You know, there are so many different sides to each woman that every season a major theme is always the light and the dark, so we always try to find something that’s contrast and extreme on both ends… Everything’s a collaboration; we go back and forth. That’s the thing about it, each piece doesn’t come to life until it finds the person that’s gonna wear it. Each one definitely has the blood, sweat and tears and stressing about each little detail.
YRB: You recently showed your Fall/Winter collection at NY Fashion Week. What were the influences behind that and the actual runway show itself?
Phillipe: The collection itself was inspired by a cult film called The Lair of the White Worm. Then we incorporated [the movie] The Women.
David: The 1939 version – not the one with Meg Ryan! [Laughing]
Phillipe: Right. And then music, of course, is always one of our main inspirations. Then for runway we decided to go all out with the Blonde Venus.
David: We’ve always wanted to recreate that scene where [actress Marlene Dietrich] sings “Hot Voodoo.” It was something we thought would just be too hard, too technical, but this season we’re like, “We’re gonna do it!” Every season we want to elevate it and bring it to a different level of production and really give people something to see.
Phillipe: It’s a show. If you’re coming to The Blonds show, you’re gonna see a show. Fashion Week is great, I mean, the spirit in the air is amazing, but when you go to all the shows you already know you’re gonna have the lights come on, the girls are gonna walk, the designer comes out and that’s it. You go on to the next show. Why do all that, why make all this work for nothing?
David: We feel like European designers get to be more creative and have a lot more fun with the production in their shows, and in New York people have scaled it back and made it very minimal. So I think that’s part of the fun of having a show, here especially, and it makes it really stand out ‘cause they’ll remember.
YRB: Who is the Blonds customer?
David: Well, we always talk about these girls that we dress and they’re sort of like the modern day showgirls – like Rihanna, Katy Perry and, well, now Adam Lambert, kind of. I mean, the woman doesn’t have to be a celebrity. I just think it’s a certain type of woman. We can pretty much dress any woman just as long as they have that sort of presence and the right attitude. You can pretty much pull anything off as long as you’re confident.
YRB: Which celebrity would you most like to see wearing your designs?
Phillipe: Oprah. That would be great. Why not?
David: We’d still like to collaborate more with Madonna. We had a small opportunity to do something for her awhile back, but we’d really like to get back out there and do something more intense, more involved.
YRB: How important is mainstream success to you?
David: Any designer wishes to have that mainstream exposure, and we’re definitely open to it, but I think we need to take a few more steps before we get there. I mean, we’re ready and open, but I think we just still need to find a certain groove. It’s a different animal, going from custom pieces where we have total control.
Phillipe: Yeah, that’s definitely an elephant…and we’re a tiger. [Laughs] And we don’t wanna be put in a box like that. I feel like when the time is right it will happen. I don’t wanna lose our magic.
David: Yeah, it’s a hard thing. Once you start massing something out it gets sort of watered down and you kind of lose the [way] it was before. All season long I’ve been thinking that it’s all about gratuitous glamour; those are my key words. That’s what we try to inspire women to do, just have a little bit of glamour every day to spice up your life and have fun with your wardrobe.
YRB: Are you looking to venture into a ready-to-wear line?
Phillipe: We just made a couple of pairs of Blond jeans for Sarah Jessica Parker for [Sex and the City 2]. Also, we did a piece for Kim Cattrall, her Samantha character. So things like that maybe later on I’d like to incorporate into a ready-to-wear.
David: We’re looking more towards falling into the category of special occasion if we were to expand on what we were doing – things that people would think of as special and would want to wear to something they’re going to remember.
YRB: Where do you see The Blonds in five years?
Phillipe: I see us hopefully growing into something more beautiful. I love the idea of not having to think about it ‘cause this whole entire time I’ve never thought about it. It was kind of a dream; it’s better I think when you leave it like that. I like the surprise, and five years from now I wanna be surprised.
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