In the fashion fast lane

By SAMANTHA CRITCHELL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- Nanette Lepore's route to fashion's inner circle has had a few more bumps than she expected when she left Youngstown for New York.
For starters: She was fired after only three weeks on her first fashion job. Her second job lasted just three months. And when she went out on her own and the orders began to roll in, she didn't have enough money in the bank to make the clothes and had to turn to her father.
But in the 20 years Lepore has worked in the industry, she has cultivated a devoted following. And the fact that things didn't always come easily means she savors her success even more. She now has six stand-alone stores, including a brand new one on London's Notting Hill neighborhood; two fragrance lines; and a shoe collection that will debut next spring. Keds just announced a partnership with Lepore that will result in a dozen styles, some of which will be featured at New York Fashion Week in September.
Top department stores, including Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue, carry her clothes, which interpret a modern woman's wardrobe through romantic, rose-colored glasses.
"The Nanette Lepore collection is always ultra-feminine with a nod to retro style and a touch of whimsy, which very much fits with her personality," says Gregg Andrews, a fashion director for Nordstrom. "It's always beautifully detailed.
"They're for the woman who is looking for something that is a little unique, a little out of the ordinary without being outlandish."
That description of Lepore's clothes could be a description of Lepore herself. She's funky and fashionable, but there's also an underlying Midwestern wholesomeness. Her long wavy blond hair from one angle is stylish, from another it's a little bit kooky.
Passions
Lepore's other passion is her family. She recently returned from Italy with her husband and business partner Robert Savage, her sister and her 8-year-old daughter.
The now-annual trip to the Amalfi Coast is one of the perks of success that Lepore likes best. On the most recent jaunt, however, Lepore mixed a little business with pleasure, checking on the Florence factory that's making her shoes. She readily admits she didn't know exactly what she was looking for, only that she'd know it when the shoes were "right."
Lepore has made a habit of learning the industry through trial and error. She set her heart on fashion as a grade schooler and she'd dress up her neighbor in floral bedspreads. Her father, an art history professor and painter, and style-conscious mother encouraged her to pursue her passion, and, in return, Lepore found much inspiration in her parents' bohemian style.
Education and early career
Somehow, though, she ended up at Youngstown State University studying business.
"I almost didn't graduate college -- I had three gym credits left," Lepore says with a laugh. "I have two brothers and a sister who all were dancers and were athletic and good at movement. Then there was me."
Next stop was the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to learn the technical side of design. Her sister supported her that year, Lepore explains, which is why she is entitled to an unlimited supply of Nanette Lepore frocks.
Lepore's first job was as a sketcher at Soo Yung Lee, an old-fashioned dress company located in the heart of the Garment District. Lepore was convinced that any worthwhile fashion job was to be found on Seventh Avenue, but it didn't take long for her -- or the company -- to realize she didn't fit in.
Then she worked at Tric Trac, a sporty knitwear line. Lepore was hired as an assistant designer but ended up doing duties more similar to those of a personal assistant. Next.
In the late 1980s, Lepore met Carol Rollo, who needed a combination in-house designer-buying assistant for her fashion-forward shop Riding High on the Upper East Side. "It had a solid metal door. It was very contemporary. She sold Claude Montana and Jean Paul Gaultier. I did a collection in the basement -- I was designer, pattern maker, everything."
It was Rollo who took Lepore on her first trips to Europe, where she encountered entirely new worlds. In London, "There were young trendy designers who'd make everything at home. They were cool." In Paris it was, "high heels and nice dresses. I could only wear all black; I was broke and had no clothes. I would trade the same three tops -- yellow, orange and green -- and wear the same black bottoms." And Milan: "So cool. Everyone always had an espresso in their hand." (Lepore sipped a latte -- with, gasp, whole milk -- during this interview.)
But as much as she enjoyed Riding High, Lepore quit as soon as she married Savage
"I thought he'd support me -- even though he was a waiter. He'd come home from work and say, 'What are you doing here?' I'd say, 'I thought he was going to get a job on Wall Street.' I thought that's what men did in New York when they got married."
Truth be told, her husband was an aspiring painter.
Her own boss
A year later -- after a series of interviews that failed for one reason or another -- Lepore decided it would be best to become her own boss. She opened a small store in the East Village called Robespierre next to a soup kitchen in 1992. "There always was a big line of guys in front of the door."
(The name was a nod to the "French frenzy" going on in fashion at the time, Lepore explains. Maximilien Robespierre was a leader in French politics in the 1700s who liked using the guillotine on his rivals.)
She made a profit of $100 a week for the first three years. Then she showed her collection at the trade show Coterie, known as a source of up-and-comers, and she took in $250,000 in orders, far more than she expected. When she couldn't pay for production, her father stepped in. She went into debt anyway, and it took five years to pay off, still managing to keep her store open anyway.
Then came Lepore's real break: Her line was picked up by powerful saleswoman Annette Brindell, a fashion kingmaker with a well-regarded showroom on Seventh Avenue, Lepore says. She also represented Anna Sui, Jill Stuart and Rebecca Taylor. She was tough, Lepore says, but her stamp of approval meant stores would buy the merchandise. Even when they parted ways, Lepore made sure it was on friendly terms.
In 2000, Lepore staged her first New York Fashion Week runway show using plastic shoes from a discount store and replaced their laces with grosgrain ribbon. But with each season, the company has grown and now employs more than 100 people. Her well-received fall show featured her signature flirty dresses in red.
Colleen Sherin, fashion market director for Saks Fifth Avenue, says Lepore is one of the retailer's top contemporary resources. "She has great embellishments, great color. It's very feminine and playful and fun."
Her greatest strength, though, according to Andrews, is offering a line that encourages shoppers to develop their own personal styles. "The pieces work together but she doesn't dictate how to wear them. You can take a jacket and wear it with cropped pants, a tailored skirt or a dress. For a collection designer, she offers a lot of depth in the variety of pieces."
In 2003, Lepore started courting Hollywood, contributing a blue trumpet skirt and corset-cut jacket to Reese Witherspoon's wardrobe in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & amp; Blonde," and she now counts Hilary Swank and Eva Longoria as clients.
"Finally things are going well. I can afford shoes AND vacations."
On the Net: http://www.nanettelepore.com