Made for the U.S.A. : Designer: Louis Dell’Olio, the man behind the Anne Klein label, specializes in translating European fashions into classic American styles.
Who ever thinks about Anne Klein, really?
In the mid-’70s, the company introduced mix-and-match sportswear, a concept that changed the development of American designer labels. Like every brilliant idea, this one was simple. Each Anne Klein collection included jackets, skirts and pants that could be worn interchangeably--and virtually all of her New York counterparts adapted the concept as their own.
But the 25-year-old sportswear company that bears her name hasn’t exactly built a reputation on fashion risks. Many of its best styles resemble Paris or Milan fashions from last season--or even last year. The New York-based firm frequently takes a back seat to its younger, pizazzier stepsister, Donna Karan. People who wear the clothes tend to take them for granted, as if wearable designer styles, made for the real world, were a dime a dozen.
But if the company isn’t seen as a leading innovator, its designer doesn’t seem worried about it.
Just ask Louis Dell’Olio. The 45-year-old New York native has been the designer behind the label for close to 20 years, and even he admits that most people outside the business don’t know it.
Dell’Olio did get around a bit before he hit his stride. He studied fashion at New York’s Otis Parsons School of Design, and then worked at Originala, a women’s coat manufacturer based in New York. He launched a sportswear division for the company.
Meanwhile, his school chum, Donna Karan, went to work as a design assistant to Anne Klein. When Klein died of breast cancer in 1974, Karan replaced her as chief designer and brought in Dell’Olio as her partner.
Dell’Olio and Karan were in their mid-20s when they started forging a name for themselves at the then $26-million company. It has since grown to $200 million with an additional $250 million in licensees that include shoes, costume jewelry, leather goods and hosiery.
In 1986, Karan launched her own line with a 50% investment by Takihyo Inc., a joint venture of Asian and American investors, which owns Anne Klein.
Dell’Olio went solo.
“When Donna left, all the decisions were mine to make,” he says. “But I never gave it two thoughts. I was too naive to think about being afraid.” Asked what he is likely to do next, he says, “I don’t know. I’ll ask my psychic.”
Such disarmingly honest remarks have earned him a reputation as a man who pulls no punches.
“He’s a hard working person,” says Matt Moehle, the head designer for Anne Klein jewelry. “Louis is easy going, but if you try to (snow) him, he knows.”
Asked about his successes, Dell’Olio says, “My pleasure is to stand back and let the work speak for itself.”
He is willing to concede that his real strength as a designer might be something other than inventing new looks: He takes European designer creations and tones them down to suit American tastes. His versions seem to cover more of the body, allow for greater ease of motion, and convey a more relaxed, comfortable feeling than many of the stylized looks they are drawn from.
Consider a plaid suit in Easter egg colors from one of Dell’Olio’s recent spring collections. It was a close encounter with earlier designs by Paris prodigy Christian Lacroix.
“That wasn’t conscious,” Dell’Olio says, who doesn’t deny the link. “It was taking those colors and choosing fabrics that showed them well. My silhouettes were nothing like his.”
Last spring, he showed sherbet-colored leather vests and matching denim jeans that looked a lot like “couture denim” styles by Italy’s Gianni Versace.
“Chanel and I both did them,” Dell’Olio offers.
And then there are the comparisons between Dell’Olio and Karan.
There is a definite family resemblance between the two labels. “We both like sexy-chic clothes, not just bare,” says Dell’Olio. Wrap-around skirts are a staple in both collections.
“And jackets,” Dell’Olio adds. His tend to be boxier, more blazer-like. Hers wrap, drape and nip the waist.
But nips and tucks are not the only difference.
“Donna is a personality ,” says Frank Mori, secondary partner with Tomio Taki at Takihyo Inc. “I can’t make Louis into a Donna.” Nor would he want to, he quickly adds. “It’s like having two children. You don’t compare.”
Built in an era of superstar designers, Anne Klein is usually described as a “brand-name company.” But, says Mori, “Louis is happy, not playing second fiddle but allowing the brand name to be out front. It’s a great credit to him.”
If he isn’t a brand name himself, Dell’Olio does have his own ideas about style.
He prefers neutrals--his spring collection was all stone gray, green and beige. He shows streamlined outfits in black and ivory as part of almost every show. “They’re the chic-est,” he says. “Women who dress well wear those colors most.”
He startled audiences last fall with a long, black crocheted dress that fit like a skintight doily. But the soul of his work is safely stylish jackets and skirts for working women.
Murphy Brown wears them. “All the clothes dress up or down,” says Bill Hargate, costumer for the trend-setting TV sitcom, starring Candice Bergen. Instead of the pricey signature label, Hargate buys more of the lower-priced Anne Klein II line. (Signature prices average about $400 for skirts and tops, $800 for jackets. The lower-priced line is about 30% less.)
Hollywood costume designer Susan Becker uses the higher-priced label for certain types of characters. She dressed Diane Keaton in Anne Klein styles for her role as a Madison Avenue advertising executive in “Baby Boom.” She uses them to convey “tasteful, businesslike, serious career women,” she says.
Becker is drawn to Dell’Olio’s label for other reasons. “He seems to be a kind and decent person,” she says. She has never met him but has seen him interviewed on TV. “It sounds trite but there is a humanity about him. And humanity is expressed in most of the characters I dress.”
Dell’Olio will be in Los Angeles Tuesday to put on a fashion show for Saks Fifth Avenue as a fund-raiser for the Pediatric AIDS Foundation. It will be a splashy night with Hollywood actresses modeling the clothes. Dell’Olio hasn’t done anything so flamboyant before.
And why not?
“I haven’t been asked.”
A surprising answer--and he might be surprised by the invitations that follow.
