Brandon Sun: Fur Real

There aren't many 30-year-olds going into the fur market these days (the Olsens notwithstanding). Although the last century may have been the more ideal time to delve into such an old-world craft, you can still find risk-takers like Brandon Sun, a young designer daring enough to make his New York Fashion Week debut this season with a fur-centric collection.  It's fitting, though, because who better to take this risk than a kid handpicked by the legendary mink house, Blackglama? We spoke with the fresh face about his first solo show, fur politics and dressing Miss Jackson (if ya nasty!).

You look young. How old are you?
I turned 30 back in December.  I hadn't realized that 30 would feel like a new lease on life!

How did your love for fashion begin?
I grew up in a New Jersey suburb so fashion was never a dream of mine until relatively recently.  I felt lost until I finally made it into art school and began discovering all the possibilities there were for me.  Before that, I wanted to be a web designer or a pop star. [Laughs]  Once I realized I wanted to be in fashion, about nine years ago, I applied to Parsons School of Design and got accepted. It started there.

Did you end up graduating? So many designers drop out and start their own line...
I started at Parsons in 2002 for web design and I knew nothing about designers, magazines, clothes, women...nada. But I knew, for some reason, that fashion was right and that what Tom Ford was doing for Gucci and YSL was beautiful to me. I began to absorb as much as possible and ended up switching majors. Bear in mind, my parents were completely mortified when I wanted to change my path.  Seven years of college later, I was the 'Designer of the Year' there [at Parsons] and starting my first official job at J.Mendel where I started with fur.

How did you score the Blackglama design gig?
It all came from a recommendation from a close friend and mentor of mine.  He was familiar with my work at J.Mendel and Oscar de la Renta and so he hooked me up with the legendary mink brand, Blackglama, to re-launch their "What Becomes a Legend Most?" ad campaign, which formerly included Frank Sinatra, Pavarotti, pretty much all the legends...

What was your experience there like?
The experience was tremendous.  I was suddenly working with industry giants Laspata Decaro and Blackglama's latest spokeswoman, Janet Jackson.  It was all very surreal.  I was able to come up with some designs that ended up all over Times Square and on Janet's latest tour posters. It was sick to see someone I admired so much wearing my designs! Being able to watch how the pros worked was completely humbling and due to the success of the first run, we joined forces again to make what you see around the world today.

How was working with a living legend like Janet?
Janet is just brilliant. I was so nervous hoping she'd like my work.  She's got this sweet, sincere demeanor [and is] extremely collected.  I've loved her growing up so I was a wreck the first few times I met her. I hid it well because when the second run came along and I wasn't signed on to do the project, Janet called me as I was landing in Savannah, Georgia, and asked me personally to collaborate on the collection with her again. We really set out to make the latest Blackglama collection tailored to her own style -- she has a strong point-of-view and an adept way of putting things. We made the second collection in only eight days.

Will you continue designing for Blackglama even after you show your solo line this season in New York?
I do hope so, I've gotten to know the team so well and would really love to keep it going.

Tell me about your own namesake line that you'll be showing at the tents this season.  Did Blackglama influence your decision to do fur?
When I was working at J.Mendel, I worked with Gilles closely on all aspects of the collection: ready-to-wear, tailoring, couture technique, and, of course, fur, which is a rare skill people have these days.  So when Oscar [de la Renta] was looking for a new design director to head up his fur collection, he asked me to join.  Now, working solely with fur, I realized there was a huge market void of luxury fur accessories and so that's what the Brandon Sun line is there to fill. I designed complete collections of accessories because I realized that no one was offering designed accessories for the 'cool' girl or boy.


This is your first time showing during New York Fashion Week -- what can we expect?
My fur accessories collection has been around for a year now so definitely expect to see updates to my signature pieces with new colors.  I like to make special clothes for real women and that's sort of the idea behind the full collection.

What are some of the collection's inspirations?
Since this is my first go showing ready-to-wear, I wanted to keep things very simple and strict.  It was a challenge to not design with current trends of print and embellishment in mind.  I wanted to really speak to the women who I know and love.  A lot of my female friends have impeccable style without having to think about it.  Most of them are women who've built their own careers and don't have time to fuss over what to wear.  It's a collection for them. Like a 'grab and go'!  I chose colors and silhouettes that would be ultra-modern but unintimidating.  It has to look ageless and timeless yet feel chic for the day, too.  I really dipped into my mental archives of heroines--I grew up watching a lot of Kung Fu movies! The palette is a bit like a garden before winter and the title is "Silent Assasins."

Exciting. Lastly, does PETA ever get to you?
I don't mind when people have opinions.  I just don't like it when they act like zealots.