We check in with the esteemed former fashion editor, known for never mincing her words, to get her take on the current state of the industry. (Note: she does not disappoint.)
Candy Pratts Price is one of those IYKYK fashion personalities. She was a window dresser for Blooming- dale’s who caught the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the longtime accessories director for Vogue and the executive fashion director of the now-defunct Style.com (where I worked for her). In the Nineties, she was one of the stars of Unzipped, Isaac Mizrahi’s sem- inal fashion documentary (required viewing for Gen Zers working in the industry). In 2008 she received the Eugenia Sheppard media award at the CFDA Fashion Awards, where Anna Wintour dubbed her the “queen of the internet.” The best thing about CPP, as she is known, is that she is a straight shooter who can deliver a bon mot like no one else.
With Unzipped turning 30 this year and CPP’s quips continuing to pop up online (especially around fashion week), we sat down with her to get her thoughts on Chanel (she’s excited about Matthieu), Instagram street style accounts (“horrible”), and why anyone looking for a career in fashion should try moving bolts of fab- ric first.
SARAH CRISTOBAL You’re missed in the fashion world. What’s going on?
CANDY PRATTS PRICE Well, I think you can tell I look pretty happy. Regarding the fashion industry, I don’t want to say it was done a certain way and it’s no longer being done that way—that is not the right way to face it. There is a new way to do things, and if you can contribute to that new way by inspiring somebody or consulting with somebody and giving your point of view, then great. I feel nothing negative about what’s happening now, other than I do believe that the informa- tion is not being distributed from [sources of] authority. Someone who’s actually gone to touch the clothes, talk- ed to the designer, and had a discussion with them over a mood board, or had dinner with them where they say, “I saw a movie and it inspired me, the way she wore that tiered dress.” I don’t think that kind of conversation is happening right now, and that’s a loss.
SC Do you miss going to shows?
CPP Yeah, I miss the three-city tour and the different foods and places. You see so many incredible things. There was such a partnership. Whether it was, you know, “Where’s André [Leon Talley]? Where are we go- ing? Who’s there? Where’s my ticket?” And then going to dinners and seeing everybody at the parties.
SC Where do you like to shop these days?
CPP I don’t do that much shopping. When I like it, I can call somebody, say I like it, and get it. I’m not saying I’m getting it for free, I’m just saying I can order directly.
SC What are your thoughts on how people are shop- ping in general?
CPP When people see whatever they’re following, they think they want to look like that—if they buy that, they will be that. People didn’t go around looking at El- vis Presley in a cape with 14 rings on or Liberace and say, “I want to look like that,” and then go out and buy those things.
SC When we worked at Style.com, street style was a new thing. Now, everyone photographs themselves on the street.
CPP I’ve always wanted a street-style crawl that appears across your screen as if it were breaking news—“I saw five Levi’s jackets down Fifth Avenue! I was at Balthaz- ar and I saw everyone wearing T-shirts! Breaking news!” Taking a picture of somebody on the street is invasive, but it’s still better than tapping me on the shoulder and asking me where I got my shoes.
SC Does that happen to you?
CPP Oh my God, no, that would be horrible, horrible. [It’d be a] lawsuit.
SC Your Instagram is private.
CPP [My] Instagram account was set up for me. Noth- ing has been posted in years. There is a Facebook account that I never have looked at. I understand how I should respect [social media], because if I lose my dog I know how to communicate and find my missing dog. We actually had an incident where my husband lost his wallet and my brother used Facebook to find it. I thought, “Well, that’s good,” but it still didn’t make me sign up. I like to be with people and have my own conversations.
SC Are there any trends that you’re a fan of?
CPP I am always a fan of the sur- prise. I may not like things, but I love seeing something I hav- en’t seen before. It may not be something I would wear or like, but somebody worked hard to make themselves different, and why did they do it?
SC Do you have advice for young people working in fash-
ion today?
CPP Well, you know, work. Don’t just look at the screen, go be in the arena. Try to get a job moving bolts of fabric. That’s how Stephen Sprouse started. He was at Halston and he saw what a good tailor was. He carried bolts of fabric from one end to the other. You have to be around it. If you’re going to say, “I’m a designer,” and come up with a new T-shirt, which would be fantastic, how many fabrics did you source before you got to this one? I want to know. And how did the shoulder hap- pen? Did you want a high shoulder or a low shoulder?
SC You’re famous for having decreed that “September is the January of fashion.” Can you explain what you meant at the time?
CPP It came out because of how the September issue was always looked at, and it was the big issue. We worked hard to make it a spectacular issue. We had been cover- ing the market, photographing it. We were figuring it out three months in advance. So I always thought, this is it, this is the moment for us to say it, this is our beginning.
SC Do you still feel that way when September comes around?
CPP Absolutely I do. It’s a new thing. It’s the same way I feel about being away for the holidays. January is sim- ple. February is almost time to get away again. Then it’s March and you’re into summer.
SC So what does that make the March issue?
CPP Summer.
SC Right. You were close with Karl Lagerfeld. Are you excited about Matthieu Blazy taking over Chanel?
CPP It’s very exciting. I don’t know Matthieu personally, but I’ve seen the work and there is actual thinking and a genuine devotion to what he’s doing. With a house like Chanel, which is endlessly available to do beautiful things with the best materials, how could you say no?
SC What do you think about the “musical chairs” that happens with designers now?
CPP The companies, the owners, have to look at the designers and not look at the influencers and the likes they get. Although Sarah [Burton] joining Givenchy is fan- tastic—she’s someone who knows clothes and is good with the pro- cess. That’s devotion to what fash- ion is. I know that fashion is not medicine, and it sounds like I feel it’s the cure for everything, but it isn’t. It’s just that that’s what I do. I don’t sell medical products. I mean, I’m fashion.
SC How do you consume fashion media these days?
CPP I look at it, I see it, of course I do. I still need to know what’s happening, and I love it. So I need to stay with it. I don’t go into stores. I didn’t go into a store once
this past holiday. I ordered. My technology is ordering. We need more trees, you know.
SC Since this is for 10 USA, what are your top 10 favor- ite things you love now?
CPP I love a good hoop. I love a white pump, and I love a black double-breasted coat or navy blue coat. I will always love a pleated black pant. I love chiffon shirts. They are very nice, very chic, and at the same time you could bust out in a fuchsia jacket.
SC Where did you wear that?
CPP Paris, clubs in New York. I mean, we were out every night [Laughs.]. What else? I love a Verdura cuff. I love Taffin. At Taffin they’ve done ceramic—you can fool anyone across the room. They think it’s like a plastic cir- cle. It’s not, there’s a stone on it. The work is sensational.
I love a lot of bangles. I can make a lot of noise walking into a room. I didn’t do it today because I thought you would all say, “It’s too loud!” I love a good sweater. I al- most want them to look like Sonia Rykiel sweaters. Am I dating myself here? But she was a good sweater designer.
I do love a flat now, because I find it’s easy and, you know, convenient for me to get around as fast as I like to walk. It should be a ballerina. It shouldn’t have a strap on it, by the way. I always think, “Why? Think you’re gonna lose it?”
Photographer GREG KESSLER
Text SARAH CRISTOBAL
Talent CANDY PRATTS PRICE
Hair and makeup GLAMSQUAD
Photographer’s assistant JACKSON VERGES
Production MINA
Location THE MANNER HOTEL, New York
Taken from 10 Magazine USA Issue 04 – MUSIC, TALENT, CREATIVE – on newsstands now. Order your copy here.
