Paloma Elsesser Wants More Fearless Designers

0:00This episode is brought to you by Welch's Fruit Snacks. Back to school season can be tough on parents, but choosing a snack you and your kids can both get behind doesn't have to be. Stock up on Welch's Fruit Snacks, made with whole fruit and now made with no artificial dyes. It's a snack kids already love and one you can feel good about giving them. Go back to school with Welch's Fruit Snacks, now made with no artificial dyes.

0:30I'm Chelsea, the Run Thru's senior producer. It is 5 p.m. And I am outside of Miss Claire Sullivan's studio in Bushwick. And I'm waiting for Chloe and Nicole to arrive for their studio visit.

0:52Are you here for Miss Claire? Yes, I am. Thank you. I'm Finn. Hi, Finn. So nice to meet you. Nice to meet you as well. Hi, how are you? Welcome. Hello. Hi. Hi. Thank you. How are you? Is this, come on in. Your whole space? This is my whole space. Wow. But this is. Wow, look at these figs. Yeah, we got some fresh figs. Oh my gosh. I'm spoiled, I think. We were in so much traffic that I ate an entire bag of pirate booty, but I'm very happy with that. I'm gonna take a photo of the Rama. Yeah. Did those sell it. It's like the biggest celebrity placement you can get at this moment. It was crazy. I have to say I was not prepared for that moment at all.

1:35The whole story of the dress is that, so my mom is from New York, but she doesn't live in New York anymore. And she texted my family group chat and was like, Claire, like, can you please pick me up a NYX t-shirt? I really want one. And I was like, okay, like, they're probably going to have to be bootleg. Like, I don't know if I'm going to find them. and my girlfriend was like out in the street like going to work and saw like tables of like people selling the shirts and sent me pictures and I was like I could get it get like one of all like these sizes for all my family members and then I was like and then she sent me more pictures of like all the colors and I was like oh my god like I have to make a dress so I was like get all the colors and then that day I think it was the next day I like just like sewed it up and put it with the tutu and wore it out to watch the game i wore it first yeah that was the whole well i think that what happened is that yeah i think it was sent to her and then um her team reached out it was so epic we like got the email on i think it was like monday and it was like hey like ramadwaji's team here like reaching out she has an event on thursday we're looking for something else it's the next parade i was so excited i mean i knew it would be a moment but i feel like you can't plan and for that level of virality, like it was.

2:49So what happened? Did people like start DMing you asking for their own or? Yeah, we got a lot of it. We got a lot of it. Did you make more requests? Yeah. It was crazy.

3:02Yeah, we also just started this board of all the looks that we made in 2016 so far. This was the Do Chi Gaga runway music video for Devil Wears Prada 2. We did some tour looks. These are all tour looks for Rosalia that she's been wearing in Latin America. She's still on tour. And then we did one of my best friends, formerly got married this year. Oh, yeah, we did it. Yeah, the wedding. Vogue Wedding did a story on it. And then Pink Panther. This is all Pink Panther and her dancers. Addison Rae, another friend's bridal. This was for Lena Dunham. For her book tours. Oh, yeah, Ashley Graham. We made her this custom look for the Double Wards Prada 2 premiere.

3:51And it's been a good year so far. Right now, how much of your work is direct-to-consumer? Oh, 100%. Okay. I don't have any wholesale accounts at the moment. Okay. I'm open, you know? I'm just like, it's just funny because I feel like even last year, like when we launched our first made order line which is essentially still bespoke but it's just like pre-designed pieces that exist and people can place orders on versus the custom experience of making something completely new um and the reaction to that was good but i've noticed people still lean towards wanting custom really yeah it's it's tricky to scale i will say but yeah i think baby steps we want to scale like what is sort of the dream state i mean i think for sure i want to scale i mean i have big ideas for like you know down the line like this line this line this line but i think i've seen what can happen when people try to scale really quickly um and so i feel like my approach right now has been take it step by step like baby steps Claire, thank you so much for having us.

5:09Thank you guys for coming. Thank you for the figs. Yeah, of course. Thank you guys so much. Bye. Thank you. So nice to meet you.

5:22This is The Run Through. I'm Chloe Mal. And I'm Nicole Phelps. Today we are joined by Paloma El Cesar. Welcome, Paloma. Thank you for having me. Most importantly, Paloma hosted a barbecue for 35 people yesterday. And I am just in awe. So what was the most taxing part of this? The trip to Costco, the marinating of the chicken. What about the cleanup? That's what I dread. I don't dread the cleanup because my practice is you clean as you go. I didn't really get to, like, sit, but that's okay because I just, I'm very particular about my space and about how things present and just general feelings and vibe.

6:07And you don't want a black space, like, in Brooklyn covered in trash and cups and things. So you just keep things moving, and then you book the housekeeper to come the next day. Smart woman. Yeah, that's the combo. Was this outside or inside? It was a combo. Okay. It was you entered the house. Because you have a lovely backyard, right? It's in process. I couldn't afford to do the backyard. I have a cool inside house. Love my inside house deeply. So there's layers, but my boyfriend is really, like, outside. So he was like, let's just— Was he grill master? He wasn't grill master. My little brother was.

6:46Oh, exciting. Which was really fun for him. But yeah, I guess the most taxing thing was the Costco and the prep, But I kind of enjoy it, you know, and just like seeing people have a good time. And I just. Did you have a signature drink? Well, that's the thing. So you enter through my like main floor, like the parlor floor. And then you're met by my dining room, which was the bar. But I don't drink. So I made like a rose iced tea infusion with like other infused like petal things. And then I made like an Arnold Palmer with cucumber. And then I made a mint lemonade. Oh, wow. Because, yeah, I don't know.

7:31Like, I don't understand. A mocktail explosion. Yeah, a mocktail explosion. So that was like what you're greeted with, a couple almonds and olives. And then you ascend down the back stairs and then you barbecue time. Is that how you keep your beautiful skin? I ask you this question every time I see you. But really. Not drinking does help. I'm learning now in my 30s as my friends are just like one glass of wine and it's pretty harsh the next day. But, yeah, I mean, I do the things. Paloma on peptides. You have to come back sometime and talk to us about that. I'm off the peptides because I just like can't be bothered to travel with them.

8:09I can't be asked. Well, really? I was so impressed. When we had lunch earlier in the summer, you had your full— Supplements still. Oh, but aren't peptides versions of supplements? Yeah, but they're injections. Oh, I see. Yes. No, traveling with injectable peptides is crazy. But your supplement stack was very impressive. I have a heavy supplement stack. And that's traveling with you? Always. What is the Paloma Fashion Month travel prep stack? Like, what are you taking with you everywhere? What am I taking with me everywhere? Vitamin D3 plus K2. I'm taking a prenatal pack, which is just good for hormones, like folic acid, just keeping things moving, keeping things happy, keeping things flowing.

8:53Some iron supplements to make sure my ferritin is up and I have energy because when your iron is low, you feel not good. And I have kind of low ferritin. So that and trace minerals for water or like I don't like those packs that taste weird. Like the IV, I think they don't taste delicious. I'd rather have a lemonade. And then just the liquid electrolytes. And then my mental health support. Yes, very important to the stack. The psychiatrist essential to the Fashion Week stack. Yes. So that is my combo. Paloma, I'm so excited you're here because Nicole and I have been doing all of our visits to the CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund finalists.

9:48And you are a juror, a judge alongside us this year. I want to know how many, this is my first time on the jury. Yeah. I want to know how many times you have been a judge. I think we're going on like six years. Wow. Something like that. How are you feeling about it? So good. I mean, each year is really different. I think there is a really exciting group this year. I'm really inspired. I think the first year that I did it, which is such an honor when I was brought on, which Anna brought me on. And yeah, I've been the first model to ever be on the committee, which was really exciting. And I think that I just try and bring what I think I've always been empowered to be there, which is kind of like a downtown perspective, which sounds like a bit cheesy.

10:44But I think that like some of their – some of the group this year I think need an advocate with some of the other judges who are like, oh, I don't quite understand. I don't understand the market. I don't understand the money. I don't understand the backing. I don't understand the business. And then there's also a real thing about energy and community and things that some brands that have all of those things I said listed before but need to develop that worldly chemistry. So I try and bring a perspective on that and I try to bring a perspective on inclusivity on all fronts, whether it's like age, gender, expression, queerness, bodies.

11:26I feel like I'm quite talkative, if you guys know this, in general, but especially in the kind of like meetings and stuff. And I think, you know, this year is amazing. Like I said, each year sometimes there's like really developed brands and sometimes there's really early brands. And I just really value everyone's contribution. Yeah, it's interesting to see the variety in what place different designers are. Some have really established successful businesses. Yeah, like Jamie Haller. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And others are, you know, just launching but have such cultural cachet like Ms. Claire Sullivan or Emily Don Long.

12:06And it's been interesting to see the delta between those and the different pluses and minuses that each of those things carry. What advice do you have for me as a first-time judge? This is a question, the heavy-hitting question lady. But I just think remain like really curious. I try to always ask a pragmatic question and then a more emotional question because that's just what I want to know. So I'm like, cool, like, what is working? What's your biggest selling product? Like, how would you hope to scale? What do you want them? And then I think the more emotional question isn't not what do you want from this program.

12:49I remember my business manager asked me this question about money, And I was, like, very moved by the poetry of that kind of question versus, like, let's get you rich or, like, you want to win this money. It's, like, what do you want this money to do for you? Right. What world do you want it to create for you? And, like, it shifted my perspective about the work that we do. And I was, like, oh, when I answered that question to my business manager, for instance, I was, like, oh, I want family. I want to be able to be there at 3 o 'clock for pickup, which requires a certain amount of money. And, like, I want to be able to travel in ways that I didn't when I was growing up.

13:26I want to be able to help other people. I want space and time to have a world that I could help people, you know, which—so that kind of question, I'm always curious to the designers. That's a good question. Yeah. I find we learn a lot when we ask them, what do you want to know from us? Like, how can we help you? I feel like the CFDA must tell them, be prepared with questions because they all like whip out a notebook with very specific questions. Yeah. I mean, I think that's why like the spectrum of where people are at matters because the fund is still just deeply helpful to everyone. And, like, we consider that with the finalists where it's like, yeah, maybe this isn't their year to win, but this is a year for them to really grow within the program that I think is really important, you know?

14:19Have you done any studio visits? I haven't because I was away all of August. That was, like, the main time. But I'm going to try and do some this week between, which is crazy. Yeah, what's your fashion week schedule? My fashion week is uppercase mellow. I wouldn't say like lowercase mellow, but it's like uppercase mellow. So, yeah, I think I have some, like, loyal clients and shows and designers that I really, like, value and appreciate growing with and feeling like I'm a part of that family. So I try and remain loyal to that. But I am kind of pulling, keeping it tight and polite. I think it's sometimes, it takes a lot of consideration where sometimes my other peers who aren't, don't occupy the same body as mine get to be like, I'm taking the season off to like relax or da-da-da.

15:15And I feel a deep responsibility to my like community and the people that I represent. Because, you know, the positioning and like placement of diversity is like just dwindling. dwindling so when I'm asked I see it as a privilege and I see it as an opportunity but I'm also really tired and I've been doing this for 10 years so sometimes I want the same other privileges that like my contemporaries or girls that are like on my same level get to have but it's also it's also my job and I'm grateful and I think it it matters um I do try when I don't when I have set out seasons to encourage people to really like still make sure that those looks are being made and I spoke about this pretty tirelessly but it's not just a show it's also that sample getting made that sample going into the season that sample getting to be outfitted on different girls in editorials or different people in editorials or on the red carpet so it's it's much bigger than just Paloma walking the show.

16:20I want it to, and I do feel a kind of guilt, and I do think it's remiss to miss the opportunity for other people, not just myself. But like I said, sometimes I just want to chill. Are there any new brands that you're working with this season? Any fresh starts? No, but Proenza's pretty recent. I love Rachel. I've done some red carpet with her, And I just think also she was a finalist and I was very... Rachel Scott. Rachel Scott. Who also helms her own brand, Diatima. Correct. Now we have two fashion funders who have two brands in New York because Rachel has both of her brands and Henry Zankoff has two brands now too.

17:02What's his second? DVF. DVF. He's launching a DVF this season. Yes. Yes. Which is pretty cool, I think, that they went from being fashion funders, I think, in 2023. Yeah. Very recently. Yeah. To now. Yeah. Yeah. So it does, this fund does matter, which we know, but it just, it really does create a market for people to ascend and also get to dream in different ways, like maintain the integrity of their exclusive vision and then now be able to apply that in collaboration with the brands that they're now helming. But yeah, so I guess more recently I did Proenza the first, that was her. Last season was her first.

17:47Last season, yeah. So I did that. I love her clothes for Proenza. They fit really well. I think they're really interesting shapes. I'm very, very pro-Rachel Proenza. Yeah, I think that the DNA makes a lot of sense. Like her like expertise in knitwear and I think that the boys, Jack and Lazaro, really created that DNA. And it's nice to see that combined. Jack and Lazaro are going to be like collecting Social Security and still be referred to as the boys. I know. I know. I know. You and Anna. I know. Like what's the boys? Yeah. They're going to be like retired in the Berkshires in their 70s. I know.

18:25Like what are the boys up to? What are they going to do? That's quite fab. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I appreciate that. Nicole, will you explain to our listeners what the Fashion Fund is? Anna launched the Fashion Fund in the wake of 9-11, actually. It was a hard moment for New York designers. Obviously, the city was hit hard by the horrible catastrophe, and young brands in particular were struggling in department stores, which were focused on, you know, the big brands that were making money. So the Fashion Fund was launched by Vogue and the CFDA as a way to really spotlight emerging talents. And speaking of the boys, Prenz, a schooler, Jack, and Lazaro, they were the first winners way back when.

19:13Yeah. And it's created, you know, multiple generations now of designers. No, I remember my first assignment at Vogue in 2011 was interviewing all the fashion funders for the November print story. And it was much fun. It was Joseph Altazara and the Creatures of the Wind Boys and Suno. I mean, brands that have now, people have splintered off to do their own thing. But it is such a pipeline for designers. I mean, some of our favorite, Bodhi and Christopher John Rogers and Tom Brown, Telfar, Sandy Lang, Ashlyn. And so I'm always excited to see the longevity of people. Yeah. And I think that the, you know, American designer is really important.

20:02I think people just candidly, I don't think, give us enough credit for how important we are to the market and like what the American designer also represents. Yeah. But like. It's a challenging time in America. Yeah, it's a challenging time in America. But I do think the sentiment of, like, a dream and when you look at the spectrum of people that have been given access to this fund, I think it's very representative of the beauty and the power and this beautiful tapestry that America does represent. even though there are deep fissures in its, like, system and its construction and its foundation, the sentiment of a dream is really powerful.

20:44And I think that we should be able to also celebrate that and not just be centered around Europe all the time because not only does our perspective matter, our dollar matters, but our humanity matters. And I think that's why, again, there are a lot of shows that I still do that, you know, New York feels so – Everyone's like, it's so commercial and whatever. And I'm like, and that's okay. Yeah. And that's a part of the business of fashion. Yeah. When you're thinking about the winners, when it comes time to judging, is there something special that you're looking for? I think it's just the intersection of spirit and commerciality, I think.

21:29I want not even just from like a, oh, I want people to make, but we want people to sustain, you know. So I think the combination of both is something that is really important for me personally to focus on. Nicole, what do you feel are the challenges now to a designer in the fashion fund versus when it was founded in 2004? Well, speaking of commerciality, department stores, we all have heard, have been having such a hard time of late. And the wholesale model that young designers and emerging designers have always depended on is sort of splintered now. And so it's challenging because these are young designers who can't afford their own store or their shop.

22:18And so they need to get picked up by Nordstrom or Bloomingdale's or what have you. And so a lot of them are forced to develop DTC, direct-to-consumer e-commerce sites as they're building a brand. And, in fact, some of the people on the list are really good at that, right? Emily Dawn Long was talking to us about how she's, you know, shipping stuff all over the world every day. The orders are always coming in, and she does a lot of that kind of sales along with the private appointments that she does down in Chinatown. But definitely the fact that the wholesale model has collapsed makes it very hard.

23:02On the flip side, it's so much easier for young brands to get attention now because of Instagram. You know, when Prenza Schooler came around, whatever it was, 25 years ago, there was no Instagram to do your own self-promotion. So true. There's pluses and minuses. Yeah. The Run-Through will be back in a moment.

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25:54Paloma, I'm very excited about the Vogue shopping newspaper. Oh my gosh, me too. You look fabulous. I love that the sort of hero story of the newspaper was about personal style with Paloma. You and your friend photographed it and you picked out some of the pieces that felt most personal and special to you this season. How did you pick your outfits for the newspaper? How did I pick my outfits? It's, well, I feel, again, I came on talking about emotion, but like, I kind of like a song. Like, I know I like a song the second I hear it. And there's sometimes I'll be like, oh, I listened to it again.

26:35But with clothes as well, like, it's really easy for me to know what I like. So when I saw a bunch of things on the runway, I was like, that's so exciting. So when me and Ali, my stylist, and a very close friend of mine were, like, looking at looks and doing all the stuff and then mixing it with my personal stuff, I think it came quite naturally. I think I'm really grateful. Thank you so much for letting me do this and be a part of it. because I think personal style, I think now that we're kind of phasing a bit out of the like, what do we call it, quiet luxury era, which was like fine and beautiful and really authentic to some people.

27:17But I also feel like it kind of sanitized a lot of people's personal identities. And so I'm happy to represent for the kooky crises. But above all else, I just think that But I was also excited in the interview to talk about kind of these codes that I stick to. And I think I hope it inspires other people to have fun getting dressed and not be afraid to try new things. And what are you wearing today? Speaking of personal style. I'm wearing a Yoji top from camo ruffles. Yeah, this is very. Yes, a little archival moment. And then I'm wearing a Comme des Garcons skirt from 1994. Is it denim? No, it's like polyester.