American Designer, Evan Hirsch and “Seven LGBTQA+ Designers You Should Know.”

In this episode we are happy to have emerging American designer, Evan Hirsch. And we are joined by Fashion Reverie associate editor Sydney Yeager who will discuss her article “Seven LGBTQA+ Designers You Should Know.”

Episode Transcript

(00:18):
Welcome to Fashion Reverie Talks. Iam Cecily Daniels. I am Tiana Ibrahimovich.
Fashion Reverie takes you from the frontlines of fashion to the front row.
All of Fashion Reverie Talk segments arebased on published content found on Fashion
reverie dot com, so remember,if you want more information on the segments,

(00:40):
go to Fashion reverie dot com.So in this episode, we are
happy to have emerging American designer EvanHirsch with us and we are joined by
the Fashion Reverie Associate editor, SidneyJeger, who will discuss her article seven
LGBTQA plus designers you'd know. Butlet's start with fashion news. All of

(01:04):
our news segments are based on thefashion news the lotrid's found on fashion reevery
dot com. Okay, so let'sjump right into the current events in fashion.
I am going to start off withCalvin Klein's new Pride campaign. Calvin
Klein has a new Pride campaign starringsupermodel Kara Delvin and singer Jeremy Pope.

(01:26):
This is the twenty twenty four ThisIs Love campaign and it has them lip
syncing to Crystal Waters nineties pop hitone percent Pure Love with models and dancers
that you will know their names andfasis. This is a campaign shot by
Gordon von Steiner, which is capturingthem in the brand's annual Pride collection,

(01:46):
embracing the joyful, confident energy ofPride. Calvin Klein states that the entire
Castma campaign channels the uphooric spirit ofpride and the strength of the LGBT QIA
plus qmmunity with the expressive dance andtheir confidence. And it's going to feature
contain classic Calvin Klin underwear and apparelsilhouettes and be infused with this vibrant energy

(02:12):
and also a bright rainbow gradient ofcolor along with some of the logos.
So this is a really you know, this is exciting. It's always exciting
when a new campaign. Obviously CalvinKlein is, you know, a standard
of American fashion. So it's exciting. Yeah, it is exciting. I
have to check it out. Ilove Para. I think she always participates

(02:35):
in the most avant garadage sort ofads, et cetera. So I'm curious
to see it. And of coursecolorful is always good. Great. Yes,
well, there is more news inthe media sort of our world,
and things keep changing and shifting andanother fashion and beauty magazine bites the dust.

(03:00):
Unfortunately, the latest victim is Coveteurmagazine and it's shutting down on June
fifteenth, and sadly, most ofthe staff has already been laid off and
there's only like six editors remaining totake the fashion outlet through the you know,

(03:21):
next few days left. So theyrevamped the site a few months ago.
They appointed Jena Alliance as the neweditor in chief in February, but
all that just didn't saved of atour. So I don't know what to
say. There's so many shifts happeningin the media world that we all kind

(03:43):
of have to just go with itand figure out how to move forward.
Well, shifts like you just said, happening in the media world as well
as in the fashion world itself.My last bit of news is about a
major fashion brand that is facing financialstruggles, and it is New York based
Australian designer Dion Lee, who wasreally unfortunately having a financial crisis. He's

(04:05):
placed as the brand under voluntary administrationafter the investment partnership of the Australian brand
retailer Q has withdrawn. So DionLee's brand was dependent on Que's financial investment,
and now that that's over, Leeis pursuing other potential investors. So

(04:27):
it's not over yet, but there'sdefinitely some danger out there. Dion Lee
has been a staple of New YorkFashion Week for several seasons, and for
it's Spring twenty twenty four collection,d On Lee collaborated with the social commerce
platform MC as a show sponsor.So fingers crossed, you know, wishing
Dion Lee luck with finding a newpartnership. You know what I mean,

(04:50):
because finances and fashion unfortunately can beeverything. Yeah, but stay tuned because
we have an interview with an uprisingstar in the fashion world. Fashion rever

(05:12):
reviewers, I'm so excited to presentto you Evan Hirsch, a rising star
in New York City fashion scene,recently nominated as a Rising Star of Fashion
Group International. Hi, Evan,I'm so happy you're here with us.
I'm so happy to be here withyou, and I'm happy that it's you
that's interviewing me because we've become suchgreat friends over this fashion month, this

(05:38):
fashion cycle. So I'm very,very excited to have this conversation. Xactly.
I'm always looking forward to seeing youat all the fashion events because I'm
always excited to see what you're wearing, because you're always wearing one of your
fabulous pieces, and whenever I askyou what it is and how did you
make it, you said, oh, I just made it in a couple

(05:58):
of hours for this occasion. Imean that means, you know, true
talent and creativity. So I admireyour ability to just you know, whipop
an outfits. Either that or it'sprocrastination. It's one of the two.
It's either you know, the talentas you say, I mean debatable sometimes,
but definitely the procrastination. I realizedI have had event tomorrow, so

(06:23):
let me just start sewing right now. I love it. I love it.
So tell me a little bit aboutyour fashion journey. How did you
start in fashion? Well, it'sfunny. I actually was just reached out
to by a good friend of minefrom high school, which is where this
whole fashion journey started. Her namewas Mary, it's still as Mary,

(06:45):
and she wore these amazing, likevintage couture outfits to school and that was
my first kind of foray into seeinghigh end fashion. So I became obsessed
and when then we used to watchthe runways together. Every New York Fashion
Week. We would get together andwe would watch all of the runway shows,
you know, at home on thelive stream. And that's how I
really started to get, you know, acquainted with this fashion world. And

(07:10):
then I decided I wanted to goto fashion school. So I went to
Drexel in Philadelphia for originally fashion merchandising, but I always wanted to be a
designer. I took design classes allthroughout high school, but I just didn't
know if I could make it happen. And then after my freshman year,
they used to go around and theyused to say, what does everybody want
to be in the in fashion merchandising? And people would say a buyer,

(07:32):
people would say a stylist, peoplewould say a store owner. And they
would get to me and say,oh, I want to be a designer.
And they said, you know,that's on the third floor of this
building. That's not here. AndI said, I know, but I
don't know if I, you know, have what it takes or whatever.
And I started taking the fashion classes. I had a friend who was in
the design program and she used toon the weekends on her free time.
She would take me up and teachme how to, you know, turn

(07:55):
on the machine, and I wasso grateful and do stitches and do different
types of you know, construction techniques, and I just fell in love with
it. I never turned back.I switched into the fashion program. I
graduated in twenty nineteen. I workedin corporate fashion for a little bit,
but then I started making these transformingdesigns, which I'm sure you'll talk about,

(08:16):
but it started gaining this massive amountof attention online and I kind of
said, people are interested, andthis is what I should be doing.
And I haven't looked back since.Yeah, so let's talk about the transformational
aspects of some of your garments.So it's part of your design aesthetic,

(08:39):
and that's what you're well known for. I mean, even tamer And Hall
featured you, and you know she'sa fan. So I understand that you
were inspired by witnessing this static ona RuPaul's drag race. Is that right?
That's one hundred percent correct. Therewas there was a few for instances

(09:00):
where I so the first time Iever saw a transforming dress was Houssein Chalayan
in twenty ten. Did these threetransforming kind of pieces and it became a
meme. It was like, oh, when you when the invitation says cocktail
and you show up and it's blacktie and she like rips off her dress
and it turns from a short dressinto this long gown. So I was
really inspired by that. And yeah, then on Drag Race. I first

(09:24):
started watching Drag Race season seven andthere was this contestant named Violet Choshki and
she had this kind of I'm sureeveryone's seen it. It's become like this
massive thing where she has this blackthere's this like black sequin kaftan and she
just opens it up and it revealsthis like heart and you know, look,

(09:48):
and I said, I need todo that, Like, I don't
understand why every dress doesn't do that. So that was the focus of my
career. I knew that I lovethe reaction that it got and everybody talks
about it. So and I'm Ihave a failed theater career. I used
to be in theater and I wasjust awful. So this is a new
way for me to express my theatricallove. Well, you know, in

(10:13):
a sense like switching to a differenttransforming a dress to something else is sort
of a dramatic entrance. It's age, especially for those in New York that
sort of run from a regular eventto a cocktail party and they're confused,
what are they going to do?How are they going to make it to
the next event not being dressed properly? So who do you find to be

(10:39):
most interested in your design? Whois who wears your dresses? Well,
it's very interesting. I've learned toadapt to market. My goal was always
for everyone to be able to wearmy design, so you don't have to
be some crazy extra like fan tacticalperson who wants to do a transformation.

(11:03):
Now I do obviously the transforming dressesthat get me a lot abuzz and attention
online and you know, definitely realpeople in but I also make it where
the transforming part, like the underskirtor whatever turns into something else, can
be detactable. So if you're justlooking for that second dress, you can,
you know, look for that aswell, and it's a perfect ready
to wear dress. But definitely thepeople who are interested in the transform like

(11:26):
the transforming aspect. A lot ofpeople who have special events they want their
wedding dress to transform. They wantto go down the aisle like shock everybody,
which is how I would want todo it. I mean, I
would definitely want people to be justlike blown away by my dress and like
have this secret element that nobody knowsabout. I've definitely got a few celebrities

(11:46):
who are interested in it. Withthe method dressing trends, someone from the
Barbie premiere wore one of my dresses, so that was really cool. And
dressing trend it's pretty much where likehow Margot Robbie did her whole she was
dressing like a Barbie. It's likeor you know, black Widow Scarlet Johnsen

(12:07):
will wear a spider web dress orwhatever it is. I love that trend.
So people like to take a theme. A lot of people who have
themed events they really love the transformingdresses. And I love it because it
keeps me creative. People are sayinglike, oh, I'm going to an
event and it's nature themed and Iwant to turn into a garden and start

(12:28):
off as like a fence or youknow. So it's just it keeps me
creative. So I love that.So you recently launched your Bridle collection at
New York International Bridal Week. Whatwas your experience like? And I hope
we don't lose you only to thebridal industry, definitely not. It was

(12:52):
a really great experience because this isthe first time that I had like an
actual presentation slot on the official cfdaccount, So I was very thankful to the
CFDA for that, you know,visibility. I was very happy with that.
And yeah, it was just areally great experience. I would not
do exclusively bridle because I just lovecolor and I love just I mean not

(13:15):
to say that your wedding dress can'tbe colorful, but I love just being
able to experiment with different colors.And a lot of you know, people
who do these fantasy balls and fantasykind of events like I love working with
them as well. But Bridalweek wasreally cool. I did a presentation in
US Speak Easy that was really cool. The bo peeps speak Easy in the

(13:37):
garment district. They were really reallygreat, and they have this beautiful,
like underground twenties vibe, so Igot to make my collection reflect that,
and I love just the commentary thatpeople had. And now the dresses are
traveling all over the country at differentbridle shows and different you know trunk shows
and stuff like that, so thebrides are really getting to see it one
on one, touch the fabric andtry it on, which is been very

(14:00):
magical. Oh that's amazing. Yeah, you're a bridal. We collection did
create a lot of buzz and theway you presented at a speakeasy and all
that. So you're an out queerfashion designer, and do you think it's
easier to be out and queer inthe fashion industry today in comparison to previous

(14:26):
decades? What has been your experience? Luckily, for me, I've been
brought up in this industry very recently, so it definitely is very accepting.
And I've always watched you know,the designers who've come before me, like
the Tom Ford, than the MarkJacob, than the Halstons who paved the
way. I can imagine, sinceI obviously am very new to this industry

(14:48):
that it was very difficult back inthe day. And as you know,
social kind of awareness has evolved,it's it's definitely gotten easier for people and
and you know, adapted to theculture. But I am very very lucky
that I am in an industry whereyou know, it's very normalized, it's
very accepted to be who you areto where what you want to present yourself

(15:13):
in whatever way you know you feelinside. So that's been very, very
great. And I've been surrounded byso many people who've given me advice and
taught me how the industry used tobe and how it's adapted. So that's
that's been really great, And alot of my inspirations the muses are also
in the community, so I'm luckyto have that guidance as well. Who

(15:35):
are some of your muses. Well, I'm glad you asked, because I
just recently met one of them lastweek. They had an event honoring Jordan
Roth at the Museum of Art andDesign at Columbus Circle, and I've always
admired him, and I even recreatedlike a cape with his met Gallat inspiration

(15:56):
with all the flowers on it sothat I could say, well, I'm
glad you mentioned capes, because capesare your thing for anyone who doesn't want
a full gown. I also makelike transformational capes, where you know,
for the ceremony at an event,if it's more conservative, you can cover
your arms and then you can justdrop it down and it becomes part of
your skirt. So, yes,you were at one of my shows showing

(16:18):
the capes, and I think youeven took a liking to one of them.
But yeah, I loved your capethat you wear to FGI Award.
So with the butterflies, that waskind of a takeoff on what I did
at the Tavern Hall show. Ihad all those butterfly apple caves, so
I wanted to continue that in likea lighter version. So yes, the

(16:41):
capes have been really cool. AndI made one inspired by Jordan Roth that
I could present to him at theluncheon honoring him. So and that was
a Pride themed luncheon. I'm sograteful that the Museum of Art and Design,
which is this huge institution, isparticipating in Pride Week. So I'm
glad you asked me who my inspirationsis. I definitely think Jordan Roth.

(17:02):
And I can check mark that Ifinally got to tell in that in person.
That's good. And you can alsocheck another mark, which is you
did dress some guests at the metGala already I did that. That was
an amazing, amazing experience. Thefirst Monday in May was always like an
exciting day, but always like adepressing day because I was like, why

(17:25):
isn't any of my designs there,so I made it happen. I did
some reaching out this season and afew people who worked for the City of
New York who were attending they reallyliked my vision, and I was able
to create one of my transforming capesfor Bobby Olisa, who works for the
City of New York, and Imade this clock face embroidered cape that opens

(17:48):
up and has flowers on the inside, so really taking the Garden of Time
very literally. And I also madesome accessories for Chief Powers, who works
the City of New York and hisdate Leila, who I made handbag options
for her. And I'm just sograteful that you know, it happened the
way it did. Oh amazing.I saw it and you did a beautiful

(18:12):
job. And I think now movingforward, you'll probably participate every year.
Fingers crossed, that would be likethe best. I'm already clearing my schedule
for next May in k it happensgood. You're thinking, I had,
So what what's next for you?What is it that you're planning, let's
say, in the next year orso well, definitely, you know,

(18:36):
the collection cycle never ends. Iam working on my Spring collection, which
is premiering during New York Fashion Weekin September, so I'm very excited for
that. I'm gathering all of myinspiration. I've also been really fortunate that
I've been able to work on differentcollaborations with different companies who want to kind
of advertise their product or brand througha transforming dress, which has been really

(18:59):
cool. Well, so right nowI'm working with Fabric Wholesale Direct, which
is a direct to consumer wholesaler forfabric. Weirdly enough, you know where
my parents live on Long Island,They are right there, so I was
I can always pick up the fabricand visit my parents at the same time.
But yeah, they wanted me tocreate a custom dress inspired by and

(19:21):
using their fabrics, so I'm reallyexcited for that, and then it'll be
premiering on the runway on New YorkFashion Week, so I'm very very excited
for that. And yeah, I'mjust trying to keep the momentum going.
I you know, sometimes get approachedfor really cool styling opportunities, so I'm
very excited to pursue those knock onwood as they happen. But yeah,

(19:42):
just keeping the momentum going and keepingmy crazy transforming designs out there. That's
definitely my foray. I'm excited.I also can't wait. You know that
I reserved one of the dresses.Yeah, I I'm actually going into production

(20:02):
this week, so I'm very late. Okay, the'll be one with your
name on it. Amazing. Well, excited to see what's next and excited
to see you soon at one ofour New York fashionable events. And thank
you for sharing a little bit ofan insight on your career with our Fashion
Rey reviewers. Of course, thankyou for having me in verse spotlighting.

(20:25):
I really really appreciate it. Thankyou well. That was an awesome interview.
Thank you so much, Tiana andEvan. I am excited because I
get a chance to talk with oneof my favorites, our associate editor,
Sidney Jaeger, about her wonderful articleabout seven LGBTQA plus designers that you should

(20:51):
know about now in case anybosy know, we are celebrating Pride Month, and
obviously at Fashion Reverie, we knowhow important queer people are to our industry.
It doesn't matter kind of what partof the field of its designers,
models, publicists, stylists, whatever, that is the community that is really
the backbone of our industry, andSydney is here to talk about some of

(21:14):
the most influential and important designers thatyou should know. Welcome Sydney, Hi,
Cisily, it's so nice to talkwith you today. Do well.
I mean, really, like yousaid, if you kind of can't like
walk anyways, like if you're ina room, you're likely in a room
with part of this community and obviouslya fashion reverie. But really, thankfully

(21:37):
fashion has really come to a placewhere we recognize the importance of contributions that
are being made by the queer communityin so many aspects of fashion. And
so of course there are some amazingLGBTQIA plus designers in the world. So
who are we spotlighting today? Todaywe're talking about look Kwan Smith, Christian

(22:02):
Siriano, and then Halston. Halstonis one of the most amazing designers in
history. He's no longer with us, sadly he passed away due to AIDS,
though we all know that his estatehas contested that as they don't really
want to highlight his queerness. ButHalston is amazing, and we're just highlighting

(22:22):
all of the most amazing designers today. Yes, yes, okay, So
who do we want to start withlet's dive into Christian Siriano first. Okay,
so Christian Siriano is one of myfaiths. Sorry, go ahead,
No, I was just saying like, if you in case you missed it
somehow on Project Runway, which Ijust kind of think is amazing, you

(22:44):
know what I mean that Christian Sirianois now such an established, well known
designer, but began on the realityshow, which is of course everyone you
know for the fashion world. Oneof our favorites Project Runway, I think
is which is when I became afan and then state of fan. Yeah,
you can't escape Project run Away withthe fashion industry, and I think
Christian Sierrano really made his stamp onthat reality TV show by becoming such a

(23:08):
successful designer. Absolutely absolutely, Andwhy was Christian one of your choices?
Christian was one of my choices becausehe did start from more of a humble
background and then he does really pickup detailed gowns that make regular appearances everywhere
on red carpets. You can't escapehim in the fashion world anymore. And

(23:30):
he did start from such a humblebackground. He doesn't hide the fact that
he is queer. He embraces it. You see it in the way that
he's photographed, the way that hedresses, and he doesn't hide who he
is, which I think is oneof the most beautiful things about the fashion
industry. Is it such a wayto express who you are, but by
not hiding it, it just embracesit and makes it so much more real.

(23:55):
Absolutely, I always love the colorsthat are used. I feel like
he has like a lot of likebeautiful layers, and I also think that
he specializes in ingesting a lot ofdifferent figures, which I think is kind
of cool. That's so special becauseso much so many people in high fashion
tend to only suggest that, likethe models look like little rails, and

(24:18):
that's not what a real woman lookslike. That's not a real what a
real person looks like. And heembraces what everybody can look like. Well,
I think that's a perfect thing aboutpride, is you know, like
really like giving confidence and like liftingup like different parts of the community.
So you know, that's wonderful.Who else are you spotlighting? I'm also
talking about la Quwan Smith. He'sblack and queer and it does the most

(24:42):
amazing designs. I personally love alot of LaQuan Smith's designs because they are
a little bit more avant garde andtheir structure almost the cutouts, the colors,
the details, they're beautiful. Yeah. Yeah, I've found that like
definitely brings that kind of like notyou know, not necessarily couture, but

(25:06):
like those elements I feel like yousee in the design like kind of like
ready to like make a statement.I think for people who are you know,
you know, ready to put itout there, which is kind of
like also you know, kind ofprobably expressing a little bit of Lequan's personality,
like putting it out there. Ifeel like that's what I'm seeing in

(25:26):
the designs. Yes, and it'stight and it's just very there, but
it's it's beautiful. Mm hmmm hmmm. And finally we're going to talk about
Halston, which I feel like Halstoncame up more into the spotlight lately because
of the docuseries on Netflix that reallyhighlights his life. He did pass away,

(25:48):
I believe in the eighties if I'mremembering correctly. I don't know the
exact date due to AIDS, whichhas been contested. We did interview,
I believe on a previous podcast askedone of the consultants on Ryan Murphy's docuseries,
and we had problems with people nothis estate, not wanting to share

(26:12):
that he was queer. But Ithink that that is what made Holston Holston.
He was such a fixture on theStudio fifty four scene. He really
embraced femininity in dressing with loose bohemianclothes. He was a member of the
crew that went to the Battle ofVersailles, which was the one of the

(26:32):
most important moments in fashion history,I would argue because that really brought America
to the spotlight in the forefront awayfrom France, and we weren't just copying
designs anymore. So absolutely iconic.And we have a date actually on Houston's
passing, which was March twenty sixth, nineteen ninety. But what you find

(26:52):
from that is so Halston really wasan enormous influence, particularly in the seventies
and eighties, you know what Imean in turn of American fashion and really
like an American fashion designer that waswhat that was respected and brought forth original
design into into the forefront and alsoagain dressed women like gave gave people confidence

(27:17):
in their bodies, gave them like, you know, with those floats,
like people felt. It seems asif, yes, people felt beautiful.
I do not own a hoston myselfyet, but the real real exists,
The real real exists exactly exactly.Oh well, you know, obviously all

(27:37):
three of these designers are amazing,but as I mentioned, there are seven
designers that are featured in your fantasticarticle. So I want everyone to go
and go to Fashion Reverie dot comand read the complete article and then follow
up on these designers because these aredesigners that you need to know. And
of course, Sydney, I'm alwaysso pleased to see you and speak with

(27:59):
you, and I really appre syou taking time to join us. Of
course, thank you so much,Cecily. Well, viewers, that's it
for this episode of Fashion Reverie Talks. We would like to thank our guest
designer Evan Hirsch and Fashion Reverie Associateeditor Sidney Yegor. For information on these

(28:22):
and other stories, go to Fashionreveree dot com. Don't forget to hit
the like and subscribe button, andthanks for watching. We'll see you next
time. The screen still st