Written by Lais Lacher. Runway photos by Sara Kerens.
KATI STERN
Title: Designer, VENEXIANA
Location: New York
Website: www.venexianaltd.com
Tell us about yourself and your line.
I am European, but I grew up here. I work out of New York and Italy and at this point I try to share my time between Venice, where my other home is, and New York. And this is the result. It is an international line.
Which city inspires you more?
New York has so much energy that sometimes it is too much energy. But Venice has this incredible beauty and this calm, I am anything but calm so Venice is very good for me, it keeps me grounded a little bit. So it’s hard to say, both of them inspire me.
Tell us about your current collection.
My color range is very “summery” with orange, coral, powder, turquoise, steel, midnight blue, and black. It takes a while for a designer to develop a look and then you go further and do variations and branch out. I have a very slinky, very sexy silhouette or a very large ball gown type because my clients have a lot of events — not only weddings I am talking big huge parties such as court balls and for them it is necessary that I provide it.
What type of woman do you design for?
My client is anybody and everyone. I have a lot of people that come to me for special events. There is no special age group or body type that I design for. I design for every woman.
What is your overarching design philosophy?
Do the best you can, work hard and hope for the best in the end.
Where can we buy your clothes?
Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf’s, and a lot of my clients are in Dubai, Qatar, the UAE and various other locations in the Middle East.
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