Designer Download: Nanette Lepore

By Heather Summerville
June 4, 2010

When you spend your childhood zig-zagging the U.S. on road trips with your free-spirited parents, a little flower-child wanderlust is bound to rub off. In the case of Nanette Lepore, her peripatetic childhood led to a lifelong love of travel and a strong bohemian streak—both evident throughout her two decades of designing clothes. We recently caught up with the globetrotting New Yorker, fresh from a scouting trip through the flea markets of Rome and Paris, to chat about her love affair with Italy, her newly launched bag collection and why her diffusion line, Oonagh, turned into an explosive hit almost overnight.

The Inside Source: We heard you just got back from Paris and Rome. Were you there for work or play?

Nanette Lepore: Let’s face it, it’s just fun to be in Paris. It’s kind of work and kind of pleasure. I went to the YSL Retrospective at the Petit Palais, caught a great show at the Musee d’Orsay called "Crime and Punishment" and went to the flea markets in Rome and Paris. It’s fun to get immersed in other things besides my daily life at the office and still be working on finding a new approach to the next season.

TIS: Any great finds at the flea markets?

NL: I came back with two really sexy photographs from Rome of women wearing petticoats in gorgeous frames from the 1920s. I put them on my dresser and sort of love them. The flea market in Rome is good for more ethnic things—I bought some fabulous jewelry—and odd works of art. And then Paris has great, really old trimmings and beadwork. There’s one woman who has gobs and gobs of odd bits of trim, and I spent hours in her booth.

TIS: Traveling seems to be a big influence for you. What locales inspired your spring collection?

NL: The spring collection was about feeling happy and uplifted. I go back to Italy every year, just because I love the beauty of some of the cities there. It’s so easy for me to get caught up in the feeling of a city like Venice, where everything is just beautiful color and gorgeous buildings that are so peaceful. You can roam around and get lost in the labyrinth of streets for hours. I’m always inspired by Italy.

TIS: You have quite a few new projects happening at once, including the launch of your knits line, Oonagh, last fall. What prompted you to do a diffusion line?

NL: I’ve always wanted to tackle the casual part of dressing—and straightforward comfort too. Knits to me are always just easy, and they’re so popular right now. I’ve fantasized about packing a suitcase of only knits: You just throw them in, roll them in a ball, pull them out and they still look fabulous. Oonagh has all of that comfort and versatility, but also offers things like dresses that you could wear out to dinner.

TIS: You're also reintroducing your shoe line, right?

NL: The big excitement is actually the handbags, which we just launched for the first time for fall 2010. Joy Gryson is partnering with me on the bags and shoes. We’re really excited. The bags are gorgeous and will be in the stores by July.

TIS: We like to think everyone has an eBay story. What’s yours?

NL: Absolutely. One time, a couple of years ago, I was in Vegas and fell in love with this red velvet Gaultier top. I didn’t buy it, because it was still too expensive. But then my friend found it for me on eBay for a few hundred dollars…and I got it!

We asked Lepore to scour eBay for more incredible scores. Here’s what she found:

Roll over items for details

Victorian Gutta Percha Figural Mourning Locket

“It’s a beautiful carving of a woman—and especially romantic. I buy Victorian mourning lockets whenever I find them.”

(buy it now price, $250)

Vintage Marilyn Monroe Gaultier T-shirt

"I love all things nautical, especially this Gaultier T-shirt."

(buy it now price, $79.99)

Junya Watanabe Comme de Garcons Ruched Cardigan

"Love this fabulous cardigan. It is perfect for right now and it's linen."

(winning bid, $96.88)

Vintage Vivienne Westwood Tee

“This is a piece of history, which is what is so fun about eBay. You can find things you would never have dreamed of finding. This top is from the early ‘80s, when Vivienne Westwood had just started designing.”

(starting bid, $169.05)