“It’s crazy in here right now. We’ve got candies and cupcakes in one corner and then spikes, knifes and daggers in the other,” says Phillipe Blond, one half of the glittery, New York-based design duo, The Blonds.
He’s talking about their work studio, which seems to get increasingly busier as their popularity grows.
They’re the costumer of choice for pop music’s starriest ladies. Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Fergie and Christina Aguilera have all worn The Blonds’ spiky, studded corsets and dresses. To place them even further in “Ones To Watch” territory, their work is featured prominently in Sex and the City 2. The business partners and lovers open up.
How did you two meet?
David: It was 10 years ago at the Roxy of all places. When I saw Phillipe, he was super thin and dressed in this cute outfit. He looked like a dancer. So that was my pick-up line. It all started for us at a nightclub.
Is that the setting you envision your clothes working in best? They do have a lot of spikes and studs.
David: I mean, generally the only way you can get away with things like that is by wearing them out at night or on the stage. We don’t do all corsets all the time. But when we have the opportunity to dress these modern day showgirls, we do them a lot.
Phillipe: The corset is probably our most requested item.
What has been the biggest influence on your work?
David: Our main inspiration is the female form. Talk about inspiring. Wars have been waged over it. It’s the most famous silhouette you can think of. So we like to use the corset to exaggerate and enhance it.
Phillipe: I used to be really obsessed with (the cartoon) Jem and the Holograms and She-Ra when I was growing up. They were so ahead of their time with the whole transformation of going from casual to glamorous. That obsession kind of evolved into our current madness — that ’80s sensibility that more is more. More is more, and more is better!
David: Bob Mackie is another one. We just went to see this show in Vegas called Jubilee. It was a Bob Mackie explosion. I couldn’t even take it, so insane. It was 50 years of drag and insanity.
How did you come about being featured in SATC2?
Phillipe: We got a crazy, intense phone call from Pat (Field). She was so excited about these jeans that we had done. They were just these embellished bleached stretch jeans with spikes and studs. Pat called and was explaining what she wanted and she suddenly put Sarah on the phone, who was like “Oh my God, I need those.” So we ended up making her a pair.
And last, what’s with all the spikes?
David: It’s funny because with the first collection, we did this theme of light and dark with this glamorous punk girl and rainbow butterfly girl. That’s where the spike thing started and it kind of caught on. But we’ve since refined them. We plate them in rose gold and silver.
