ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, PARSON’S NEW SCHOOL; FORMER VP DESIGN, LIZ CLAIBORNE; DESIGNER, SUSANNA MOYER; ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, AMERICAN UNIV, PARIS
By content editorial director photographer
It’s not surprising that Susanna Moyer became a clothing designer. With a fashionable mother, who was a model and Miss Washington, DC, Susanna Moyer made clothes, houses, “…anything I could for my Barbies. I got a shoebox; they got a car.”
As a young student at the famed Parson’s School of Design, Susanna and her classmates were an elite group that included Mark Badgley and James Mischka, creators of the uber chic Badgley Mischka line, plus Calvin Klein was their class advisor.
“Today, I wouldn’t have a chance to meet somebody like Calvin Klein. He worked on the sketch with us, worked through the muslin and the fabric process. If the model didn’t show up, it would be ‘Hey, Susanna! Can you put on Jim Mischka’s outfit for Calvin?’ and Calvin Klein would pin my underwear to the muslin. It was amazing!”
“CLOTHES USED TO BE A STAPLE IN OUR LIVES, BUT NOW THEY’VE BECOME DISPOSABLE.”
More than anyone, it was Calvin Klein who influenced Susanna Moyer to follow her dreams. “He asked me what I wanted to do, and I said, I want to go to Paris. Calvin said, ‘If that’s what you really want, you need to go to Paris before you get the job, the apartment and the boyfriend. Once you invest all of that into NYC, you’re not going to go.’ I looked at him and said, ‘You’re right!’”
“Looking back, I was so naive. I got a Travel & Leisure magazine that listed every fashion house, their address, contact and bio of the designer. When I got to Paris, I made appointments to meet them all and ended up working with Madame de Mortemart at Christian Dior.”
From there, Susanna worked for French fashion designer, Ted Lapidus, and helped establish the Paris fashion program at Parsons, where she taught. After five years in Paris, Susanna returned to the U.S. and launched her own clothing line. Made from elegant, European fabrics, her clothes were pieces women could wear to work and then to cocktails. The line was carried by Neiman Marcus and 250 specialty stores, but after eight and a half years, marriage and a baby, “I couldn’t work like that anymore, plus everything about the business was changing and becoming more difficult.” Bravely, Susanna closed her line.
“It was devastating! I wondered who am I? What is my identity? I’m not a person anymore. I’m a clothing line.”
Like many women, Susanna reinvented herself. At Hickey Freeman she learned new facets of the clothing business and traveled to Italy every four to six weeks, then became VP of the Sigrid Olsen line at Liz Claiborne.
From designing imaginary worlds for her Barbie dolls, to being an integral part of the top department stores and fashion brands, Susanna Moyer has seen the fashion world upclose and personal. “Clothes used to be a staple in our lives, but now they’ve become disposable. People get tired of things much faster; they age out of things, or find something new online. The fashion industry has changed a lot.”
You need to redesign your life as you go along.
with Susanna
MEDIA PUSHES SEXY. IS THAT GOOD FOR GIRLS BECOMING WOMEN:
I think there’s a sexiness that’s chic, and a sexiness that’s elegant. I’m not into that which is Miley Cyrus. My students don’t find that sexy either. Beyonce? They loved her more when she was elegant-sexy, but not as much now that she’s raunchy-sexy.
STYLE NOW VS 20 YEARS AGO:
I’m conscious of making my body look better with fit rather than with a fashion choice.
FLATS OR HIGH HEELS:
I’m always on the search for shoes that are comfortable and have a lift that you can schlepp around New York. I have these Todd Athletic shoes that are trending that give me the lift.
FALL OR SPRING:
Fall. I love the layers.
BARE LEGS OR HOSE:
Hose. My legs are so white. Tim Gunn and I literally pulled our pant legs up and compared legs, and he said, ‘Susanna, you have to do what Heidi Klum does. She uses Sally Hansen hose.’ Wolford’s pantyhose are amazing. They’re gorgeous. They last.
FAVORITE DESIGNER:
Love all the wildcats: Azzedina A’laia, Norma Kamali. All the designers that stuck to their own esthetic. They didn’t care about fashion shows. They just kept making amazing clothes.
HOW DOES EVERYONE KNOW NEXT SEASON’S STYLES & COLORS:
The trends are begun by the high-end, so that usually comes from the shows in New York, London, Paris. Trend companies put trend packages together from things off the runway. If they see five trench coats, they put together trench coats, military, whatever colors, and it’s all presented to designers in New York and London.
IF YOU BELIEVE THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, IT HAPPENS IN THAT ROOM:
It happens much earlier than Anna Wintour. It didn’t used to be that way. You would have to wait for Vogue, but now, the Internet is streamed, so you can see anything you want to see as it happens.
COMFORT OR FASHION:
Both
CLASSIC OR TRENDY:
Classic
MISSING FROM YOUR CLOSET:
I have a room that’s a closet, and I’m a collector in terms of things I love. I’m not a trendy person that says, I’ve got to go buy that, but I’ll look for a new pair of jeans or a new white shirt.
GO-TO OUTFIT:
My Michael Kors shift dresses. I have five or six of them. They’re well done and the fabric’s amazing.
BIGGEST SPLURGE:
A shearling coat at a sample sale, but it was still expensive.
SHOP ONLINE:
I can go to Ralph Lauren, and it fits me. It’s classic, and you can mix it with trendy and a little less trendy.
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT BEAUTY PRODUCT:
Olive oil for the face. I get that online. Norma Kamali swears by olive oil. She’s researched it. She’s so amazing looking.
LIPSTICK OR EYELINER:
Lipstick
COSMETIC SURGERY & BOTOX:
I think that if that’s what makes you happy, you should do it, but not too much.
WHAT’S NOT WORTH IT ANYMORE:
Losing energy on negative people.
MOST DARING THING YOU’VE EVER DONE:
Going to Paris, right after school, and saying I was going to be a famous fashion designer. I had $400 and a one-way ticket.
WHAT ARE YOU READING:
I love reading the NYTimes throughout the week, so I just got finished with the Sunday magazine section.
NEXT 20 YEARS:
My direction is toward more happiness.
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