Erin Fetherston's Fairytales

The pandemonium (and her parents’ patience) paid off. Now, Fetherston is preparing to show her Spring 2010 collection, and just showed her wildly successful Fall 2009 line, which she says was (of course), inspired by a naughty little fairytale. “I made a story in my mind where the captain of the toy solders is in love with the music-box ballerina,” she says. “They wake up and night and have a little hanky panky and spawn a doll army. What would that look like?”

The designer’s posh doll army walked the runway in tailored crimson waistcoats, polka dot chiffon party dresses, black and white striped tights and structured satin “teacup skirts” that looked exactly as they sound. And while some critics chastised her fanciful, girlish tendencies, Fetherston’s pieces are actually some of the fashion world’s most functional. Not only does the designer think about the day-to-day wear of her clothes, she test-drives each and every sample before inducting it into an upcoming collection.

“I do design for myself. I’m always thinking: Can I get in and out of the taxi? Can I sit down at the dinner? Can I go from the office to the party?”

“I’m a female designer and I am my own first muse,” she says. “I do design for myself and I love the clothes, but I’m always thinking: Can I get in and out of the taxi? Can I sit down at the dinner? Can I go from the office to the party? I have a practical mind that I’m bringing into the design.”

Fetherston has an interesting path for a American designer—though she studied writing at UC Berkeley, she decamped to Paris to study fashion design. After only three semesters of training, Fetherston made her Parisian runway debut in 2005 with a 35-look couture collection, each piece of which she made with her own two hands—a rare accomplishment for any young designer.

In 2007, the designer was faced with an unexpected opportunity that drew her back to the states and to New York. America’s new-wave fashion trend-center, Target, adored her designs so much that they asked her to create a limited edition line (the collection went on to be one of the store’s most popular). “I loved living and designing in Paris and I miss it so much…” Fetherston says. “But the response to my collection was a lot stronger in New York and when I had my Target collection come out, it just felt silly to stay in France.”

Fetherston packed up her atelier and moved to her quaint New York studio, which is now marked by a distinctive fuchsia door. But the move stirred up anxieties in Fetherston, who was uncertain as to how her new environment would affect her design aesthetic. “I was so happy in Paris and I’m very sensitive to my surroundings. I felt like I was in a really good place there and I was wondering what was going to happen.”