If the name Christian Blanken rings a few bells, then there's probably no need to convince you to get excited about the designer's relaunch of his label after an almost nine-year hiatus. "My obsessions are still my obsessions," says Blanken...

If the name Christian Blanken rings a few bells, then there's probably no need to convince you to get excited about the designer's relaunch of his label after an almost nine-year hiatus. "My obsessions are still my obsessions," says Blanken of his clean, slyly androgynous clothes. "I still don't like ruffles or bows. And I still like a tight palette. Clarity of line. Those are my calling cards." That said, Blanken's recent experiences designing for Harvey Nichols' private label and for MaxMara have educated him in the luxury of details. "There has been a huge shift in the marketplace since I last did my own collection, and maybe the main thing is that all these lower-priced stores have come to prominence. You can't do a super-basic shirt any more, because they'll have the same thing at Zara for $40. Or less. What I've enjoyed about working on the new collection is finding ways to create a sense of specialness about clean, timeless pieces. My sensibility hasn't changed, but the world around me, that's changed for sure."—Maya Singer

Photo: Courtesy of Christian Blanken



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