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Issue Date: March 18, 2007
Fashion's rising star
Why celebs and socialites flock to the designs of Rachel Roy
By Gigi Vontrap
Sample sales, those glorious moments when fashion designers decide to slash their prices at the end of the season, don't typically provide the most dignified shopping environment. Otherwise sane buyers, desperate for a bargain, have been known to bicker over Manolos or throw elbows for the must-have Prada dress. But designer Rachel Roy's recent sample sale for her eponymous line, held one evening in a penthouse suite at the SoHo Grand hotel in Manhattan, felt less like a battle royale and more like a swanky cocktail party -- one that just so happened to display dresses, blouses and skirts at more than half off. As nearly two dozen chic women flitted about, sipping champagne, Roy proudly surveyed the scene in a white dress of her own design. "I wanted the evening to feel elegant," she told me, "like you're shopping at a boutique."
Roy always has made it a point to do the unexpected. She's married to the hip-hop mogul Damon Dash, so many assumed that she'd launch a women's urban line in the Baby Phat vein. But Roy, 33, is far more uptown girl than gangster moll. For starters, she's not a fan of denim ("I only wear jeans on the weekends," she says) and is more often than not impeccably clad in a dress or skirt. It's no surprise that her line reflects her feminine sensibility. Her spring/summer collection features soft jersey dresses, crisp taffeta blouses and pencil skirts -- looks that easily shift from office to evening.
Since launching her company in 2005, Roy's designs have become the new faves of high-society darlings and celebrities alike. Penelope Cruz, Melania Trump and Lucy Liu are just a few who have worn her pieces, which are selling now at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and local high-end boutiques.
Oprah, who also is a fan, had Roy on her show earlier this year, and "Vogue's" style czar André Leon Talley declared her to be "one of the brightest young stars in fashion. Full of wit, charm and style." Of course, it helps that she's easy on the eyes. With her luminous skin, high-wattage smile and statuesque build, Roy, whose father is from India and mother is Dutch, easily could pass for a model.
But long before she was "the next big name in fashion," Roy was a quiet child growing up in Northern California. Her parents were strict Seventh-day Adventists, which meant little in the way of a social life and no cable for Roy. While her peers were glued to MTV, she watched old Hollywood films and fell in love with legendary screen sirens such as Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe. "Marlene Dietrich always had the perfect eyebrow, the perfect lip, the perfect off-the-shoulder dress or men's suit, but she ran her world," the designer says of her muse. "The idea that a woman could be feminine and strong at the same time was appealing to me."
After graduating from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Md., Roy moved to New York City with dreams of becoming a buyer. After stints at stores such as BCBG, she began styling photo shoots for upstart magazines, "most of which are no longer in existence," she jokes.
A boxing match at Madison Square Garden proved life-changing. There she met Dash, the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella records and Rocawear clothing. The two started dating, and when Dash began batting around the idea of a women's line, Roy was sure serendipity had struck. "My days of schlepping clothing around are over," she thought. Dash thought otherwise. He made her start at his company as an intern. Roy fetched coffee, answered phones -- and even continued schlepping clothing. "I learned about every aspect of the business," she says.
Impressed by her work ethic, Dash promoted Roy to head of product development for Rocawear. The two married in January 2005. After six years at her husband's company, she decided it was time to strike out on her own. Today, Roy appears to be deftly juggling the demands of business and family. At one point during the evening, she called her 6-year-old daughter, Ava, to tell her that she was running late. This was after she helped Dash get dressed for a black-tie event and after she graciously accepted numerous compliments about her designs.
Looking toward the future, she'd like to open a boutique in Tribeca. "The space is there. I'm just waiting until I sell a few more frocks," she says. "Nothing before its time."
Additional reporting by Nicole Young
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Rachel's fashions
Rachel Roy has become a must-own for A-listers and fashionistas like Jessica Simpson, Sharon Stone and Jessica Biel. Many of the pieces in her spring/summer 2007 collection allude to iconic fashion movements, like the 1960s influence of trench coats.
Other designs are meant to provide the modern woman with strong yet elegant workwear.
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