T Magazine article with brief interview on Isabel Toledo

Several years ago, I was freelancing at Anne Klein when Isabel Toledo was briefly at the helm to design her own high end line.  I got to meet her and her husband, the illustrator Ruben Toledo, whose quirky fashion illustrations made him famous.  I love how collaborative they are, almost like siamese twins.  When she designed things, he would illustrate them.

one of Ruben's illustrations

She has just come out with a new memoir, and in this T magazine article, there is a brief interview.  One excerpt:

You address many topics in the book — how you got your start, how you design clothes — which I imagine younger designers ask you quite a lot.Oh, all the time. And especially, with students, they ask me: “How do I begin?” “How do I start?” “What do I do?” You know, the more you think about it, the less you do it. The earlier you start, the better. And early on mistakes are smaller than later. So I’m always trying to get them to get started. Not to prolong it. “Oh, I’m going to work for this one, I’m going to work for that one.” It’s always an excuse, instead of just going out and sharing their voice, and what they want to say.

 I hope you find that inspiring!