Stella Rose Saint Clair is an artist and designer based in Brooklyn, New York, whose sense of fashion is as playful as it is perplexing. While remaining delightful and fun, her designs are laced with a sense of danger - as well as social commentary. She is a lover of vintage styles, especially that of the 1960’s, yet her fashion designs are completely apart from anything in a thrift shop. Some of Stella’s most recent prints were inspired by baby blankets, garden parties, and punk rock. Most of her accessories can be described using the word fluffy. Stella has been featured by fashion publications such as Nylon, Galore, and LADYGUNN, all of which have praised her unique and impeccable aesthetic. Continue reading to discover more about Stella’s world, design influences, and what she plans to wear in the winter!

Stella Rose Saint Clair

Q: A reoccurring symbol in your designs is a red rose with a thorny stem, featured on the Rose Beret, the Rose Bowtie,

and the Thorny Bloomers to name a few. What does a thorny red rose symbolize to you?

A: My general concept of beauty is usually cut with either humor or danger. Roses are kind of a modern day feminist symbol.

They’re like “Of course I’m beautiful and I smell good, but touch me and I’ll cut you”. Nature finds a way.

Q: In your online shop, you sell pins, tees, and backpacks featuring the words “No thank you”, adorned with cute hearts

and the color pink. They are described as having street harassment in mind. Can you explain what this message means

to you?

A: I wanted an all encompassing slogan that I could wear on my back so someone calling after me in the street would be able

to read it as I walked away. I think it also serves as a daily reminder to be polite but stick to your guns.

It’s always okay to say no, because we can do whatever we want.

Q: How do you suggest styling your adorable Hair Poms?

A: Double duty on a high ponytail is my favorite way– probably because I cut all my hair off and we

always want what we can’t have. The set is super cute for pigtails too.

Q: In addition to designing your self-named line, you also model it yourself! Would you say

modeling is another passion of yours?

A: I’ve always loved modeling because it’s a unique form of acting that requires you to tell a story

through clothing. It’s a bit like dance as well. It’s up to you and the way you move to bring the fashion

story to life.

Q: Your designs, website, packaging, and general aesthetic all feature the color pink center

stage. Do you have an opinion on the term “Millennial Pink”?

A: As someone whose first inclination with trends is usually resentment, I am surprisingly okay with

Millennial Pink. Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the late 1980’s, an era where popular decorating

colors were Baby Boomer Grey and various shades of navy and beige that you might find in the

pattern on an airline seat. I have a bit of a sarcastic way of identifying with femininity. I have to kind of

mask myself in the symbolism of what it means to be a girl in order to feel like one. I think the motive

behind the Millennial Pink movement is more rooted in feminism and the changing gender dynamics

of our time, and while I identify with these ideas, I have my own approach to it.

photo GINA CANAVAN hair BRIAN CASEY

an interview with

by SUMMER LEE @summerannelee

Lookbook shot by DARRAGH DANDURAND

LUCY’S 42

Q: Can you name three of your biggest style influences?

A: Nina Hagen, Baby Jane Hudson, and most of the 1960’s.

Q: Many of your clothing pieces are advertised as unisex. Is this a statement on

gender?

A: Definitely. I have struggled quietly with my own gender identity for a long time, and find

the idea of gendered clothing styles increasingly more constricting. The biggest goal with

my clothing design is to provide a full range of unisex styles. Unisex looks quite different in

my head versus the rest of the industry. Minimalism seems to be a common theme in most

existing unisex clothing, but I’d like to challenge that.

Q: When you are designing, what kind of person do you have in mind? Do you find you

mostly design for yourself?

A: I design less for myself and more for a feeling. It’s the feeling that drew me to fashion in

my teens as an escape from who I had been up until that time. Fashion represented freedom

and presented both my own body as well as my life as a blank canvas that I had the freedom

to paint as I pleased. It’s empowering to say the least. I want my designs to feel like doors for

people - like a window into a world of possibility. You can become whomever you like with

the right clothes, and in that, you will further discover yourself.

Q: Do you tend to prefer wearing vintage fashion, or modern fashion?

A: I love to mix both! I like adding modern elements to vintage looks. It’s difficult to find

the quality of vintage clothing in pieces you might buy today, but I love the functionality of

modern items that are made to fit within the lifestyle most of us lead.

Q: What is your favorite way to style a tee shirt?

A: With a fancy suit! I like to balance elegant pieces with some laid-back details. It kind of

flows with the way most of my days seem to go (I’m a stop-by-a-private-party-with-groceries-

in-my-bag kind of a gal).

Q: We have some bitter-cold weather ahead of us in New York! What are you looking

forward to wearing this winter?

A: I just dyed and studded a really great vintage wool coat, so I’m easing into the long haul

with it. Coats are all we get to wear in NYC winter so it’s crucial to have one in every color so

you don’t get bored. My new one is a deep fiery orange.

Lookbook shot by DARRAGH DANDURAND

LUCY’S 44