Katayuon Adeli

[RedWine]

Everyone is talking about Katayone Adeli - New York's answer to Stella
McCartney, says Melanie Rickey.

REMEMBER the name Katayone Adeli, because she could soon be
making an impact on your wardrobe. The 33-year-old Iran-born,
California-raised designer opened her first store only in September, yet
already she is being dubbed the American Stella McCartney - and, along
with Gucci and Chloe (the label Stella designs), had been asked to dress
Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore - the stars of the movie
Charlie's Angels.


The elusive Adeli rarely gives interviews and refuses to hold fashion
shows or advertise her clothes. "I'm not thinking about trying to make an
amazing fashion show," she says. "I want to make people look amazing."

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6105/adeli3og.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Adeli describes her customers as "savvy, sexy, confident women who know how to mix and match, accessorize and make their look believable. They don't do what they're told - they might wear sneakers and jeans with a Fendi
baguette - but they have flair without trying too hard."


Girls who "know" include Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Shirley Manson of
Garbage, the model-turned-gym owner
Michelle Hicks, fashion editors, art gallery owners and "downtown girls and savvy uptowners".


Just about anyone who is interested in looking fabulously in-tune without shouting their allegiance to a label will
find something in the Katayone Adeli lines. There are three ranges: mainline, diffusion and resort. Mainline, which
evolves gradually rather than changing every season, features the special pieces: light, flirty chiffon dresses, slim
whip-stitched leather and suede jackets, trousers, s***ts, coats and sexy chiffon blousons and halters that combine
the sensibilities of Studio 54 and early Yves Saint Laurent with a dash of timeless modernity that is Adeli's own.


The diffusion line is all about basics and includes the "great" pieces that are a constant of Adeli's collections. The
slim-line, drop-waist jeans, cords and the already-famous black pants, all of which are narrowed at the knee to
elongate the line of the leg, are among the most popular. There are also cashmere T-shirts, work suits and slim
cashmere jumpers.


At Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge, currently Adeli's only UK stockiest (there will be more in the spring), the resort
collection has just arrived. In it, there are bright stretch knits, white fitted cargo pants, sexy swimwear and just about
everything a girl who "knows" will want to wear on the beach in St Barts this Christmas. Prices vary from about #100
for a leather coat or #200 for a pair of trousers to #500 for a dress.

[RedWine]

At Katayone Adeli's new store, which opens Tuesday at 35 Bond Street, there will be no party, and certainly no invitation as adorable as jelly beans rolling around in a clear plastic box, which is how the owners of ***na Zabete, a new store in SoHo, announced their party to be held on Thursday night. Nor will Ms. Adeli be having a runway show during the spring collections next week -- though if she suddenly chose to do so, probably every big-league editor and retailer would be there.

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/2238/coats8ot.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

"There are so many designers, so many collections, people don't stand out," she explained. There is no telling how many Seventh Avenue executives, who get almost apoplectic at the thought of spending $400,000 for a fashion show, would look at Ms. Adeli and then at their own designers and say, kind of moodily, "Why can't you think more like that?"

Anyway, at this stage, with people like Gwyneth Paltrow telling André Leon Talley in Vogue that she tries to get "every pair of pants Katayone Adeli makes," it's not as if the designer, who is 36, needs the buzz. "I have a certain cult following," she said mildly as she sat on a curved sofa in her store, "without having done fashion shows and without any advertising."

Ms. Adeli is an interesting woman: attractive, with dark features and an alert expression that seems to comprehend everyone's motives, including her own. For instance, she understands how the press needs designers to symbolize a new style. "They want to put you in a category -- 'Is she going to be the next Donna Karan, is she a pretty young thing?' " Ms. Adeli said, frowning. "They'd like to work that angle."

Consequently, she said, she rarely gives interviews and she won't allow magazines or newspapers to photograph her, though her press agent is happy to supply a portrait. "I don't want very much written about me," she said, smiling. "Because I don't want to be a darling of the press."

Of course, by being elusive, she is assured of keeping people interested, and she probably understands that, too.

Ms. Adeli, who was born in Iran and grew up in California, first came to attention in the early 1990's when she was hired by Francine Browner, who owned a Los Angeles-based sportswear company, to start a division called Parallel. It became a success, with a wholesale volume of $25 million in 1995, and Ms. Adeli gained a following for her fitted shirts and skinny trousers. In 1996, when Max Azria of BCBG acquired the company, Ms. Adeli sold her shares and, a year later, opened her own business in a loft on West 39th Street. Sean Barron, a partner, handles sales, Ms. Adeli does the designing, and together they run the business.

The key to Ms. Adeli's cult status may be that her clothes are simple and sexy -- and don't change much each season. "There's nothing wrong with the familiar if you make it better," she said. Her clothes sell widely, and apparently well, at stores like Barneys, Linda Dresner, Ultimo in Chicago and Harvey Nichols in London.

"I think she's the future," said Polly Mellen, the fashion editor who just ended a long career at Condé Nast. "Her clothes are about pieces, sportswear and a little touch of femininity. They're the clothes I work in, can count on. And the price is right."

When Ms. Adeli first approached the architect Richard Gluckman about designing a store, he initially refused. Known for his art gallery and museum designs as well as his modernist stores for clients like Helmut Lang and Yves Saint Laurent, Gluckman said he was reluctant to take on another retail project. "But I just charmed him," Ms. Adeli said. "Richard's cool."

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/8725/coat8fb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

One thing Ms. Adeli kept coming back to was her customers. She seemed to have a pretty good idea of what they wanted. As for her famous clients, like Ms. Paltrow, she is flattered to have them but said she doesn't give them deals or free clothes. "It's like we've lost our minds in a way," she said of such industry practices.

But what if she's wrong? What if having shows and giving parties with celebrities is how one builds a modern fashion business?

Ms. Adeli looked utterly calm. "I hope there's more than one method that's right," she said.

[golgol85]

nice, when i become rich i'll buy some of her clothes. I bet they are going to be very expensive soon enough and a university student's budget doesnt allow for splurging. Thanks for sharing:)