Hamptons Fashion Weeks Style Icon of the Year • James Lane Post • Hamptons Culture & Lifestyle Magazine

Phillip Bloch is Hamptons Fashion Week's Style Icon of the Year. We sat down with the designer, editor, stylist and fashion industry veteran to learn more about his life and career.

Could you tell us about your background and how you got started in fashion? industry?

Growing up on Long Island, I always knew there was a fabulous, fashionable world full of creativity that I was destined to be a part of. I just didn't know how to get there until I saw the movie Mahogany with Diana Ross, and suddenly I knew what my trajectory would be. School definitely wasn't my strong suit, but I had a wonderful best friend, Gloria Limanni, who always encouraged my talents. Our art teacher helped me graduate from high school and travel to Manhattan, where I met Professor Bernard Zamkoff, who was chair of the fashion design department at FIT. He switched me from colored pencils to perfume. I was living my best life studying fashion design at FIT, where it seemed like I was majoring at Studio 54. I finally felt in my element, surrounded by models and celebrities like Andy Warhol, Truman Capote. and Margaux Hemingway.

I knew this was where I wanted to be. Armed with what I had learned, working at Studio 54 as a floor clerk and in retail at such prestigious stores as Gucci, Fiorucci and Comme des Garçons, I left for Europe to become a model. I've worked with incredible designers like John Galliano, Jean Paul Gaultier and Yves Saint Laurent on the runways of Paris, Milan, Tokyo and London, as well as in the pages of Italian Vogue. It was my career as a model that led me to fashion design. I've always had my own personal sense of style, and editors quickly realized that, encouraging me to spread my wings in the fashion world. I met an associate named Stefano DiSabatino in Milan.

We quickly launched our own cashmere collection called Les Enfants des Paradis. We sold to the ten biggest stores in Italy, but, as young entrepreneurs, it was a bit more than we could handle at the time. After almost a decade of living in Europe, I returned to America. With the encouragement of the editors I had worked with as a model, I began my styling career working as the first fashion editor at Vibe Magazine. I quickly realized that in addition to models, there were celebrities who needed to be dressed for magazine shoots, and that there was a whole unknown world of fashion and celebrities in the west from Hollywood, so I set out to forge a new path in the fashion world. by 1996.

The fashion world was reaching out to Hollywood for a new renaissance of Hollywood glamour, and I was the face of that movement, appearing on television everywhere from MTV to E! I was the stylist to the stars for the Oscars. That year, I dressed a record 13 celebrities: Angela Bassett, Courtney B. Vance, J Lo, her first husband, Ojani, Salma Hayek and Luis Miguel, Jim Carrey and Lauren Holly, Sandra Bullock, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. , Faye Dunaway and Fran Drescher, and it changed the way the world saw fashion and how fashion showed its true colors on the red carpet.

Where did your career go?bring you next?

Having had several careers in the fashion world, at this point in my life I felt it was time to create something of my own. I have always been inspired by Azzedine Alaa and I knew that my collection would recall his essence. Something unique and very exclusive. I had become the top creative styling director for many major companies, from the NFL to Ebay, and was even hired by Mattel to redesign Barbie's lover Ken.

I continue to have a very visible career in television, and have even ventured into writing two books, starred in 13 films as an actor and produced several films. However, fashion is my true passion. And beautiful women of all shapes, sizes and colors inspire me. I love fabrics, textures and creating clothes that are transformational, but let's face it, no one needs another fashion collection, so I knew I had to create something different and unique like Azzedine had done it, and, at that moment. , ultimate luxury is one of a kind.

Many of my celebrity clients and friends are obsessed with my collection. Angela Bassett, Kim Carrell, Julianne Moore, Julianna Margulies, Fran Drescher, Holly Robinson Peete, and Zo Kravitz are just a few of the glamorous women who love to indulge in the luxury of Omniscient Things’ unique style. By combining this concept with the need for sustainability in the fashion industry and creating a brand that I can use as a way to combine philanthropy and fashion with my love of vintage and embellished fabrics, it was obvious to this Long Island boy what I needed to create, and that’s what led me to my unique and sustainable cashmere collection, Omniscient Things.

This year, you’re being honored at Hamptons Fashion Week as Style Icon of the Year. Congratulations! Tell us about this honor and what it means to you.

I am so honored to be honored by Hamptons Fashion Week with the Fashion Icon Award. I have always been amazed by what you can do in the fashion world. If you have a dream and you put your mind to it, work hard, have integrity and love what you do, this award has special meaning to me, because, after all, I am Long Island Strong. Growing up on Long Island and having many of my friends always there to share this moment with me is the ultimate gift of this award. My mother was a dog groomer for many years and at one time she had a pet store here in Southampton and we had a home in Hampton Bays which brought us great joy for many years. There's nothing like summer in the Hamptons, one of the most fashionable and beautiful places on the planet, and being able to show off my timeless, unique and sustainable cashmere collection to such a prestigious audience and fashion connoisseur is a young boy from Long Island and a designer's dream come true.

What projects are youAre you currently working or are you coming?

I always say: we don't know what we don't know, but I'm very excited about the future. I currently have a podcast called True Crime, Fashion, and Passion that dives into the world of fashion, passion, and true crime with my esteemed co-hosts, model Carol Alt and the legendary Pat Cleveland, which you can find wherever you find your favorite podcast. It's SINsational and I think you'll love it if you're a fan of fashion, passion and true crime. I also hope to be able to develop my Omniscient Things collection into capsule collections and collaborate with other brands. As I know, there is so much potential and a great need for more sustainability and a little more exclusive luxury in the omnipresent world of luxury fashion. I'm also developing a streetwear and Faithwear line of t-shirts, sweaters and hoodies called God Stuff for those looking for comfortable activewear with higher power and purpose. I highly recommend checking out my website, phillipbloch.com, where you can see all the exciting things I've done in the past and what I've done to make the world a little more beautiful for the future, one outfit at a time. .

Where do you find styleinspiration? Could you tell us a little about your approach?

As a style expert, inspiration is always important to me. I learned a long time ago that beauty is wherever you find it. Being able to share my collection on the runway so people can see my beautiful, timeless cashmere sweaters come to life is an extremely exciting idea for me. This will be the first time that I will present my collection on a catwalk. When I created this collection, I wanted each piece to be a staple in your wardrobe, something that changes your mood and changes the way people see you. Each Omniscient Things sweater has its own unique vibe and is an outfit in itself. Each piece is like a fashion GPS, taking your look in a whole new direction. Depending on what you pair it with, each sweater and outfit will feel completely different. Whether you're heading to the store or posing on the red carpet, each sweater was created exclusively for those who want to dress to impress and showcase their own personal style.