Designer Profile: Catherine the Great

Catherine Malandrino may be a Parisian at heart, but she’s become a fixture on the American fashion scene.

By Tina Chadha
Published: Apr 19, 2008

When you think of a designer hitting the big time, you instantly imagine the glitz and drama of showing a collection on a Paris runway, or maybe taking over the reigns of a famed couture fashion house. For designer Catherine Malandrino, whose flirty dresses will seduce you beyond their this-is-half-my-rent price tag, "making it" meant leaving the fashion capital of the world behind. But judging by her ever growing empire—two fashion labels, a new accessories line, her first ever jewelry collection, and a partnership with Repetto—taking the road less traveled definitely paid off.

Born in Grenoble, France, Malandrino knew by the age of 8 she wanted to be a designer. She graduated from the prestigious French fashion school, Esmod, and worked for the house of Dorothee Biss, Louis Feraud, and Emanuel Ungaro before joining the French sportswear label Et Vous. At these various positions she developed a talent for tailoring and perfected the feminine Parisian girl style.

Then she met her now-husband and business partner Bernard Aidan, one of Et Vous’ owners. Their romance started at the Chelsea flea market when she was in New York for a meeting. He surprised her with a quilted blanket she’d been eyeing earlier in the day. And, as we say in America, it was on. Their long-distance relationship sounds like the perfect passionate French romance: boat rides on the Seine, extravagant gifts, seduction. “As we looked around we realized we shared the same kind of vision,” Catherine told Fashion Week Daily.

The couple spent a few years doing the back and forth thing before Malandrino packed her bags and relocated to New York to be the head designer for Diana von Furstenberg—not exactly a downgrade. In 1998, with Aidan by her side, she launched her eponymous collection.

Ten years later, Malandrino is a go-to for stylish ladies looking for stunning, colorful dresses to wear to weddings, cocktail parties, galas, or just in the park on sunny days. Simply walk through the hip section of any high end department store and you’ll see racks of her silky, playful dresses and boleros with dramatic sleeves holding their own among American heavy weights like Marc Jacobs, Rebecca Taylor, Jill Stuart and Anna Sui. What distinguishes Malandrino’s aesthetic is her desire to bring the sexy confidence of French women to American wardrobes. Metallic embellishments and fitted silhouettes keep her clothes from looking too precious.

Malandrino has famously said, ‘‘I want to design irresistible clothes that make a woman desirable, clothes that a man just wants to discreetly take off.’’

Hollywood lives by this mantra: A-list stars like Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz often choose Malandrino’s dresses for openings and parties. In 2000, Madonna wore pieces from Malandrino’s “flag” collection on tour, and in 2003 Demi Moore famously stepped out for her “comeback” in a Malandrino number.

The attention has definitely helped her business expand. Not only does Malandrino have a stylish 3,500 square foot Christophe Pillet designed flagship store in the Meatpacking district to accommodate her growing clientele, she’s opened stores in Soho, Manhasset, and East Hampton in New York, along with boutiques in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. In 2006, Malandrino—who runs to Bouley Bakery for a baguette or Ceci-Cela for an éclair whenever she’s missing home—opened her first boutique in Paris. She also plans to open stores in Russia, Dubai, England and Miami.

By now, Malandrino has seeped into American culture. She’s been featured in Sex and the City, served as a judge on Project Runway, and shown a collection at the famed Apollo theater. But Malandrino will always to look to France for inspiration. In past collections, Saint Paul de Vence (a village in the South of France), Zizi Jeanmaire (the French prima ballerina), and works by French sculptors Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne, have played her muse.

But don’t worry. Malandrino is not planning to leave New York anytime soon. The designer who loves to sail the Seine is now happy to pack a picnic basket (complete with wine, of course) and head with Aidan and son Oscar to rent a motorboat at the 79th Street Basin on Manhattan’s Hudson River. “It’s so romantic,” she coos.