The New York Designer Getting Her Paris Moment

Claire Sullivan’s worldview is filled with gravity-defying skirts, dramatic drapings, and mismatched aesthetics. The New York–based couturier, who started at the cult-favorite label Vaquera, recently created Addison Rae’s tutu-forward VMAs look that pulled most of these values into one outfit, starting a polarizing discussion online. (Some called it “weird”; we thought it was fab.) Sullivan’s distinct approach toward evocative clothing made her a standout choice for Ganni to work with for its first show in Paris.

Sullivan co-designed several looks on Tuesday as part of the Danish label’s designer consultancy program. She created two distinct looks alongside the brand’s creative director, Ditte Reffstrup: an athletic, drapey jersey dress and a poofy skirt and bomber-jacket combo that reads as the perfect combination of how New York women and Copenhagen girlies want to really be dressing: “It’s really such a marriage of me and Ganni — the Ganni girl,” Sullivan said. “She’s got an intelligence to her, and she has this wittiness and playfulness and doesn’t take herself too seriously, but also still takes herself seriously enough.” Both concepts clearly could only come from the mind of a young designer who’s out and about in the world, tethered to the reality of how their peers are truly wanting to express themselves.

“Collaboration has always been such a key part of our brand’s DNA, and supporting young talent is so immensely important. These are the stars of tomorrow, and I truly believe that collaboration is about co-learning and lifting each other up,” Reffstrup said. “I love that we can celebrate rising talent as we head to Paris — it’s such a strong platform.”

Just after the show, Sullivan sat down with the Cut to talk about inspiration, working with a fashion giant like Ganni, and finally fulfilling her dream of showing at Paris Fashion Week.

How did this collaboration come about? 

Ditte and I caught a vibe. There was just this mutual optimism and a mutual love for making fashion kind of feel more joyous. Then they presented the idea, and I was like, “Yeah. Let’s go.”

What was it like for you working with someone like Ditte?

She’s so lovely, and I think nurturing is the right word. The entire design team was just really wonderful to work with. I really felt a sense of gratitude and a sense of respect and appreciation, and it’s really refreshing to experience that in the industry. Nicklas Skovgaard was also part of the project, and I’ve been such a fan of his work forever, so it was really amazing to be alongside him and to build a friendship with him now too, because I love his work so much. I feel like there’s a thread between us, so it’s cool to connect it.

What is it about Ganni that drew you to this collaboration? 

This season was called “the Craft,” so there’s a lot of witchiness to it. I mean, I’m definitely a witch. I’m a tarot girl. And I think the way that I design is super intuitive. They were so down for it to be very independent and gave me an understanding that I could have confidence in the fact that they wanted me to present the looks as I would present them.

Apart from the witchiness at play, tell me more about inspiration for the looks you sent down the runway.

Ganni has a program called Fabric of the Future, and it’s all of these sustainable fabrics, and that one dress that was made out of athletic jerseys was made from their textile called Cycora. It’s a textile that’s developed from postconsumer textile waste. I’m so intuitive with how I drape; the inspiration was I was really interested in sort of piecing together these pieces that are really athletic and making them feel romantic. And they were excited about the idea of me working with the jerseys, and I just started going ham.

From left: Photo: Courtesy of Ganni/Monica FeudiPhoto: Courtesy of Ganni/Monica Feudi

From left: Photo: Courtesy of Ganni/Monica FeudiPhoto: Courtesy of Ganni/Monica Feudi