Designer Ariana Rockefeller Gets Fashion Advice From Her Grandfather
Photography Roy Beeson
Fashion designer and philanthropist Ariana Rockefeller, the great-great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., just opened a pop-up shop in SoHo, housing her Fall/Winter 2014 ready-to-wear collection and a sneak peek of the Spring/Summer 2015 designs. The 1,000 square foot pop-up shop at 498 Broome Street will be open for the month of November and carries the complete collection (starting at $250) of dresses, tops, pants, and skirts that are perfect for the office, lunch with the ladies, or a night on the town.
Yahoo Style sat down with Ariana to ask about how growing up as a member of one of America’s “royal” families influences her designs:
Yahoo Style: How has your family heritage inspired you?
Ariana Rockefeller: I’ve really been inspired by the world around me and taken the time to appreciate where I come from, who my family is and honoring them. The Rockefeller family’s involvement in the arts has helped me to get where I am now with my career.
Photography Roy Beeson
Yahoo Style: When did you start designing clothes?
AR: Growing up I was always drawn to the creative side. I would always sketch outfits that I wanted to wear, and my mom remembers me always being interested in fashion and drawn to textiles. Also my parents would host dinner parties at the house, or I would go to other homes for parties, and I always noticed how people dressed and presented themselves. I was very inspired by fashionable people, and had an eye out for what I would want to wear. I always knew I wanted to have my own collection and dreamed of my own fashion label.
YS: Who are your design heroes?
AR: I love Sybil Connolly’s designs. My grandmother wore her clothes, and she also dressed Jackie Kennedy and other prominent Manhattan women. Old-world, classic designers such as Bill Blass and Oleg Cassini had beautiful, feminine taste that influences me. My modern-day idols for inspiration, and as role models, are Carolina Herrera and Diane von Furstenberg.
Photography Roy Beeson
YS: Have any specific Rockefeller relatives influenced or inspired you?
AR: My primary inspiration comes from my great-grandmother, Abby, and my grandfather, David. Abby founded the Museum of Modern Art, which began in her home with an eclectic mix of art. She collected art that inspired and spoke to her. She would have a painting by Vincent Van Gogh hanging next to a piece of Native American art. That’s how I integrate my creative interests and incorporate it into my designs and retail spaces.
My grandfather is such a big fan and has been so supportive. When I need advice I go to him, and he always knows what the right thing to do is and guides me through my business. He also has an amazing eye for art and textiles, and the most impeccable taste. I’ll show him a swatch of fabric and he’ll give me his opinion. He’s proud of what I’m doing, it honors the family history, and he wants me to be true to myself as an artist.
YS: The Rockefeller family has a long history of philanthropic endeavors. How does your company give back to the community?
AR: I really do carry on the family tradition of supporting the arts in Manhattan, and incorporated that into the store by donating 15% of the pop-up’s sales to Groundswell, a public art program. I also made sure that my line is made in Manhattan.
Photography Roy Beeson
YS: What influenced the Fall/Winter 2014 Collection?
AR: The luxury and elegance of the 1940s, it was such a chic era. I updated the silhouettes and added pops of color to bring it into the modern day for the modern woman. I created a blown-up houndstooth print in bright colors like cobalt blue and neon citron because of my family’s love of the equestrian lifestyle. They love to ride and fox hunt – my grandfather still drives the carriage. I wanted to make it modern and fun in a pop-culture way.
YS: Tell us about the pop-up shop and how the design came about.
AR: The SoHo store is inspired by the gallery space my great-grandmother created on the 7th floor of their house at 10 West 54th Street, which evolved into MoMA. Donald Deskey designed the 7th floor gallery for her, was a famous interior designer who specialized in Art Deco work. He also designed and furnished the Studio Apartment in Radio City Music Hall and a number of other floors in Rockefeller Center.
My space has elements of Art Deco, and is clean, white and very modern. It’s also inspired by winters in Aspen. A modern take on the Rockefeller legacy.
Gallery in Abby Aldrich Rockefeller’s home at 10 West 54th Street, circa 1935.
Photography Samuel Gottscho/Courtesy of Rockefeller Archive Center.
YS: What type of woman wears Ariana Rockefeller?
AR: I only design pieces that my friends or I would want to wear. I want my clothes to be chic and easy. Something I could wear from day to night. For example, I could be downtown at the store and then run uptown to the Upper East Side for dinner with my grandfather, where I would never show up in ripped jeans, but still look chic and true to my own personal style. I am designing for the Renaissance woman. Women who are empowered, inspiring and who want to inspire others with their style.
The Ariana Rockefeller SoHo pop-up shop is open through November 29th, and available online at arianarockefeller.com
