On Wednesday, April 8th, Wynn Las Vegas was not only the presenting host, but also the fashion sponsor, of the annual Flair for Care benefiting Nathan Adelson Hospice.  This yearly luncheon and fashion show (that in past years has featured the runway collections of such designers as Chanel, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors, KaufmanFranco, and Monique Lhuillier), would be showcasing the AW15 collection from Naeem Khan.  After the event (which was so good, I even ate my veggies - Thanks, Lovee!), I was given an audience with the designer, himself, in the regal Chairman’s Salon - converted for the afternoon, into a Naeem Khan showroom, complete with bouquets of fresh flowers, tasteful arrangements of mannequins, and racks of Khan’s breathtaking clothes; as well as a few live models who seemed to change into one show-stopper after another!

SHULMANSAYS:  [Gesturing to a rack of embellished fur vests in rich jewel tones.]  Now, these are shearling?

NAEEM KHAN:  Yes, shearling. I am a big believer in not killing for fashion purposes.  Shearling is something that - as you know - we eat (lamb).  So, how do you make shearling important?  And this was my statement.

SS:  I think that what you do with your fabrics is especially interesting.

NK:  That is my first education.  I grew-up in a house with my father and grandfather, who were fabricators; so I know how to make fabric.  And once you know how to make fabric, it makes making dresses easier - especially in a case like mine, where I am dealing with weights, and threads that are fighting against grains.  So, it’s like engineering. 

Now look at these ladies coming-in [alluding to an earlier conversation wherein I’d remarked that he doesn’t make many things “for day” and as a result, contrary to most luncheons of this sort, most of the looks seen that afternoon (save for a spectacular two-piece white dress and coat ensemble, with beaded black embellishments, worn with flair, by Elaine Wynn) didn’t include much by way of Naeem Khan.]  That’s a top by me… [Gestures toward Carolyn Tobin, who was descending the stairs of the Chairman’s Salon, in a smart Naeem Khan black-and-white, off-the-shoulder tunic]  How fabulous!  Now, you know, that’s a luncheon top.  What is interesting is that we - as a company - don’t make a push that you come to our event wearing us.  We like you to wear us, but we don’t pre-send things, or set-up shop.  Our business is so tremendous, the sense is that we can only make so many of these.  And we like to keep them limited, because I wouldn’t like to see fifty people in town, wearing the same top.

You know [returning to the topic of fabric], I’ve always been interested in fabric manipulation and the thread-work.  And, I think that on my team, I have the finest craftsmen, in the world.  I grant you, they are the finest.

SS:  How important to your current design aesthetic was the time you spent with Halston?

NK:  Super-important, because I came from a very chaotic background - being brought-up in India - in a fashion household, but not knowing the Western world.  I grew-up in an Indian background, knowing only Indian fashion.  Halston made me understand the importance of who you design for, who the woman is, and how society works, in America (because unless you understand society, you won’t be able to design for society).  Halston was so important to me, on different levels.  One of them was that.  A second one was how do you take luxury and keep it simple?  You know, a really, really luxurious thing; because he was super creative.  There were things I did with him that were so amazing.  We took Andy Warhol’s Poppies, for example - Andy and I sat down, and drew poppies - and we sent it to India, and had all the poppies hand-done, in sterling silver and 24 karat gold.  So yes, Halston was super-important, to me.

Come back for Part 2, and the conclusion of my interview with Naeem Khan.  TTFN!

Naeem Khan | Autumn Winter 2015
Wynn Las Vegas
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In an era that might as well be summed up with the hashtag #OscarsSoBoring, there were actually some folks on the red carpet who were styled to the gods and dressed in a manner we ascribe to movie stars!