Stephen Fairchild: John Fairchild's Heir, The Baggage and the Talent
By: Godfrey Deeny
(Photo below: Stephen Fairchild on the runway Fall 2001)

MILAN, Jan 11, 2002/ -- Living up to a famous parent's reputation has crimped many an individual's career, never mind psyche. And when your father is arguably the most influential fashion editor in the past half century, becoming a fashion designer must have its share of pluses and pitfalls.

Yet despite the weight of expectation, Stephen Fairchild, son of the legendary founder of W magazine, has emerged intact.

After a decade and a half honing his skills in the designer studios of legends like Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Valentino, Stephen successfully launched his own label last fall in Milan.

Later this month he unveils his new international showroom on the central hub of Italian fashion, Milan's via Montenapoleone.

"Being my father's son was more of a hindrance than a help," explains Stephen over lunch in the Hotel Costes in Paris. "It certainly helped getting my foot in the door right at the start at Armani. But you don't end up being the design assistant of such a perfectionist as Sig. Armani because of your name. Armani doesn't operate that way, he promotes people on merit."

Regarding his legacy, Stephen says, "I love and respect my parents but having a fashion icon in the family who was such a huge name, such a giant influence on how fashion magazines are read, did bring an awful lot of baggage with it," Stephen explains.

Last year Stephen tagged up with a powerful Italian backer Mariella Burani, and in September he presented his debut collection, a clever take on classical modern, designed for the well-traveled independent thinker. Targeted at the domestic market, the collection immediately garnered orders from cutting-edge Italian stores like Hotel in Bologna and Biffi in Milan.

"I really believe in mobile fashion," says Stephen. "Today all of us are on the move a lot and fashion has to reflect that."

Fairchild's twist to his debut collection was to weave circles into the clothes. "It's a geometric symbol that symbolizes lightness. It's very important to develop iconic items," explains the 40-year-old. The collection showed an individualistic streak and a quirky sense of luxury, with African shells and feathers and shoes made of fish skin.

Though born in the U.S., Fairchild spent much of his youth in Europe -- summers in a pre-Peter Mayle Luberon family house, and now Brussels, were Fairchild lives with his wife Erin and two daughters, commuting twice monthly to Burani's factories in northern Italy.

His career, alternating between an Italian and American aesthetic, helped this designer develop a healthy respect for creativity matched by expertise in marketing and merchandising. "I don't believe in designers anymore. I think they should be more like architects and engineers," he declares.

Not surprisingly for someone who primarily concentrated on men's wear in his early career, Stephen is already talking about a men's label. Current plans are to unveil a debut men's collection in spring 2003.

"I'm interested in the lifestyle of the family," Fairchild says, sounding very Ralph Lauren. "If you think about it, nothing is more attractive than a great looking family."

But ironically for someone reared in an editor's home, Stephen is no magazine junkie. "I don't really read that many fashion magazines anymore. It takes too much effort to get past the first paragraph," he grimaces.

Better not tell Dad!

News about Stephen Fairchild:

Spring 2004 (Photo by Giovanni Pucci)

Press Contact for
STEPHEN FAIRCHILD:
Erin FAIRCHILD
Tel: +39 (02) 76 31 78 82
Fax: +39 (02) 76 40 67 55