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| “I am looking to target the new generation of working women.” –Matthew Earnest photography by Phoebe Rourke-Ghabriel |
Occupation: Fashion designer / creative director for MVM and Matthew Earnest
Hometown: Dallas and Houston
Current residence: New York City
Finish this sentence: Dallas is fashionable because … of Neiman Marcus.
You transferred out of the University of Texas at Austin to go to Parsons School of Design, where you launched your own line to high acclaim. What’s going on now? After transferring to Parsons, I launched my label, Matthew Earnest, at New York Fashion Week during my senior year. After showing in the tents with the 7th on Sixth/UPS sponsorship this past spring 2006, I was approached with the opportunity to launch a new line, MVM, for spring/summer 2007, which my business partner and I have been cultivating over the past year. MVM is a collection directed toward sophisticated women in the workforce. It is a minimalist uniform of navy, black, camel, gray, and ivory specifically fabricated out of fine Italian shirting and suiting. MVM is being launched with various trunk shows cross-country. One specific show is in conjunction with Harvard Business School. I am looking to target the new generation of working women.
Who was your biggest fashion influence growing up? Growing up I regularly watched CNN with my grandparents. Elsa Klensch’s weekend style show was initially a key influence on my interest and comprehension of fashion. It was my first detailed global understanding of fashion brands both big and small.
Who’s the one pop cultural icon that sums up your fashion aesthetic? Roy Lichtenstein. Especially his mirror series concerned with surface design and a more minimal approach. Also the titles are always suffixed by a numeral. (MVM is roman numerals.) Additionally, MVM is composed of unique prints and detachable hem collages directly influenced by Lichtenstein.
What do you think every woman should have in her wardrobe? An MVM zip dress and coordinating shirt.
What’s next for you for 2007? Bicoastal living in Dallas and New York and a new product launch, MVM.
Beastie Boys or Burt Bacharach? Neither. I prefer CocoRosie. It is morose and irreverent. Maybe a little too intense, but I guess that’s life as an artist.
I cannot live without … red meat, chocolate milk, a black fine-point Sharpie, my iPod with a consistently dead battery, St. Mark’s book store, Dermalogica products, Pellegrino, various catalogs by mail, and much more.
Favorite Dallas spot to hang: The Mermaid with my mom or at the office with my dad.
