Lucie Porges

occupation: designer and professor

“I [once] saw a photo of a model with a jersey turban and a jersey dress. ‘Just beautiful,’ I thought. Underneath [the photo], it said, ‘Pauline Trigère, New York.’ It never left me.” Lucie Porges

When I first met Lucie, I was riveted (almost to the point of shaken) by her life story, her unequivocal positive energy and dignified chic. It is not everyday that you hear a first-hand story of someone who fled the Nazis from age twelve to sixteen, seeking asylum in countries all over Europe, sometimes escaping in the night, running through the woods and falling to the ground when the German planes were overhead. Born in Vienna, Lucie was obsessed with fashion design and drawing from a very young age, but it was actually many of her experiences moving around the European continent, despite how traumatic it was, that led her to an extremely fulfilling life as a designer and a marriage to MAD Magazine’s principle cartoonist, whom she met in Geneva while attending art school. Following The War, Lucie moved to Paris to work with a fashion couturier; it was there that she first saw and fell in love with the iconic designs of Pauline Trigere (whose own style is bar none). Three years later, Lucie interviewed with the legendary Ms. Trigere and was hired, close to on-the-spot, in front of the famous department store Bonwit Teller. They

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Cary Tauben

occupation: fashion stylist

“Heels + Hair = Power.” Cary Tauben

I am wondering if Cary was a supermodel in his mind when he was piling on beaded bracelets to his elbow in day camp, even before his supermodel hair. I would have no doubt been as inspired by his boundless aesthetic then as I am now. I love that Cary finds it amusing to be mistaken for a girl from the back, and I find it hard to believe that most men and women wouldn’t die, in their deepest truths, to have Cary’s hair, sense of ecstasy over a heel, and freedom within themselves to manifest their most current character for the day (whatever that may be). I have no idea where these clothing phobias begin and end and who created them, but what’s scary is that we all follow without questioning, and why? So that men can remain trapped and in a mass of nondescript khaki pants and Crocs?

If you like Cary, you might also enjoy Paul Alexander, Leo Cerezo, or Sonny Groo.

Cristina Cucca

occupation: designer

Angela, our Milan correspondant, said that Cristina’s love of the clean and linear comes from her experience of living in Berlin, which has been the capital of “rational aesthetics” since Walter Gropius of the Bauhaus. In fact, her love of shapes can be seen in her designs, where she creates conceptually conceived geometric pieces that allow a person’s personality to form the garment, rather than the garment forming them. For Cristina, it’s all about discovery, whether it’s finding fifteen different ways to drape a rectangle or digging through a pile of clothes at a psychiatric hospital, one of her favorite places to hunt (at one point in her video, Cristina points out how this institution uses the exercise of uncovering old clothes as a way of escaping their reality). I love how Cristina rolls up a pencil skirt and belts it, and the way she takes a man’s tie and throws it around her neck. In keeping with her Sardinian heritage, she loves black, but will venture out to white, navy, gray, and brown, always with the underlying minimal line. There are not many moments where I am tempted to leave my layers, Victorian bustles, and chunky rings behind, but after seeing Cristina, now is one of those times.

If you like Cristina, you might also enjoy Lauren Boyle, Fatima Al-Qadiri, or Crayon Lee.

Jose Pozo

occupation: party promoter

“Everything in life is mental. It’s just an attitude. If you want to be rich, rich is all a mindset. Everything is a mindset. You can be anything you want to be, but first you have to become it inside, and then everything that you want gets attracted to you.” Jose Pozo

This was a first for me – getting serenaded to a freestyle rap about StyleLikeU (though it wasn’t a surprise coming from Jose, whose warmth filled the room as he danced throughout most of our interview). He says that he loves people and feels that there is no such thing as a bad one. I was freaking over his signature layers of bracelets, rings on every finger, and piles of necklaces, all of which have immense significance to him. The abundance of skulls and bullets might not appear to reflect Jose’s belief that one is most powerful when coming from a place of peace, but don’t let his alpha-male side fool you – his right arm is filled with saints. “You are what you wear,” he says, and in his heart he is a superstar and dresses like one.

If you like Jose, you might also enjoy Matt Parrotti, Heron Preston, Tay Trong, or Maurice Pierre Saint-Hubert.

Giulia Brunello

occupation: stylist and PR

“Many people say that I look like Lady Gaga, but I don’t think so. I had my hair like this before her. I wear what I want to wear, I don’t have stylists that dress me up as they want me to look. I think I am much more real than she is.” Giulia Brunello

This is our first in a series of features from Milan done by SLU’s own Angela Grossi. Giulia has the kind of attitude I love. Cool and confident without being blocked by pride, she is so totally accessible, enthusiastic, and genuine. Her friends call her Giulia Smith because of her love of British culture, everything from punk to Vivienne Westwood are fetishes and her favorite fashion moment is Elizabethan for its crinolines and bustiers. She isn’t big on vintage, but wears her grandmother’s riding hat with her Ramones t-shirt and killer over-the-knee boots with verve. You can see the huge influence of music and Balmain on her style by her reference to Madonna’s Celebration video and in her studded dresses and leggings. However, despite Giulia’s adoration of Anglo culture, to me, she is still so Italian in her very feminine high-waisted skirts, stilettos, and raw sensuality.