Have you ever been to school or Idyllwild? How will you handle the logistics of teaching at the Los Angeles school?
I’ve been to Palm Springs, Joshua Tree and around. Idyllwild was a little different than he expected because in Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, it’s the desert. But I love nature and I look at the pictures of Idyllwild and fell in love with the beautiful scenery. I will have an apartment in Idyllwild and I will also have one in Los Angeles. I hope to go back to Los Angeles a couple of times a month, but I’m going to be able to run my business around here. And it maintains the connection with our LA people and the models and the factory and production people. So it will work. And I have an assistant here too, so I think it’s going to work.
What do you like most about teaching?
I don’t think it’s not necessarily fashionable, but any educator loves to see the process, students grow, improve and start to be better people. I’m a bit picky about craftsmanship, a clean look, and paying attention to detail in your pattern, so I push my students that way.
You came to fashion design from music. How has that shaped you as a fashion student and how will that help your students at Idyllwild Arts?
I think I really want to expose them to a lot of different arts. I have been a student of classical piano for more than 30 years. And if someone studies something that hard, they can see another layer of understanding. You begin to see connections to painting, dance, and more. There aren’t many people like me coming into fashion from a different medium. I think I can share that experience.
Source: www.palmspringslife.com