15 MINUTES WITH DENNIS BASSO

By Baruch Shemtov

Dennis Basso has built a veritable fashion empire spanning a range of lines from his couture evening wear and furs to his QVC apparel and home collections. For over thirty years, Basso has been inspired by glamorous women, dressing a long list of stars including Mary J. Blige, Helen Mirren, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Naomi Campbell, Brooke Shields, and more. With a flagship Madison Avenue boutique at the center of his universe, Basso’s world continues to expand, bringing his luxurious aesthetic to women around the world.

Who is the Dennis Basso woman?
She’s someone who’s international. She loves fashion, but she’s not totally obsessed with fashion. She’s truly her own person, and she likes to use fashion to show who she is. She’s comfortable in jeans and a T- shirt as well as a ball gown.

How has New York influenced your aesthetic?
We’re living in a city that’s a crossroads of the world. We have a little bit of everything here. Every day when you walk outside you need to have your eyes wide open and see fashion and emotion and style comes from all different places. Being here allows you to have all of your senses refreshed constantly.

You’ve had so many iconic women wear your designs. Who has made you most proud?
Years ago when Elizabeth Taylor wore my things it was incredible. When Meryl Streep wore my coat in the opening scene of The Devil Wears Prada, it was fantastic. Just recently, Rihanna wore something of mine. The Dennis Basso Collection is appealing to so many different types of women. And that’s what’s exciting for me, to see young women, middle-aged women, and women of a certain age wearing Dennis Basso and interpreting it for them how it works best, using it as a fashion tool. That’s the greatest compliment that a designer could have.

How does your sensibility translate to your QVC line?
The QVC line is something that has to appeal to tens of thousands of women. So I love to take what the trends are or the feeling of the Dennis Basso Collection and then create something that has to work for many different women from different parts of the country and many different sizes and shapes. And that’s also very exciting to be able to know that with one design thousands of women will be wearing something they fell in love with.

How does that line help you connect with the American woman?
Maybe those women are in a location where a store is a few hours away. We’re bringing a fashion show right into their living room.

What’s next for Dennis Basso?
Right now I’m focused on growing the Dennis Basso luxury business. We’re also focused on possibly creating a bridge line, something that’s between the Madison Avenue collection and the QVC collection. I feel that there are a lot of women out there who are looking for that price point. I look at every day as a new opportunity when you wake up. You never know what’s going to be coming around the corner. I started my business in 1983, and it’s been an exciting journey.

DENNIS’ NEW YORK FAVORITES
A Coffee…
I love to go to Sant Ambroeus on Madison Avenue. It’s not too far from my flagship store, and you always bump into a friend when you’re in there.

A Gift…
You can always find something on the seventh floor of Bergdorf Goodman in the home department. Someone who doesn’t find something there doesn’t know how to shop. For another one of my unique gifts, I’ve been taking invitations for an occasion and having them engraved on a tray at Tiffany. Now I hate that I gave out my secret!

Dinner…
We love Cipriani—it’s an old standby. A newcomer to the restaurant crowd is Polo Bar which is fun and exciting. And, of course, for a special night nothing beats La Grenouille.

Some Time Alone…
Sitting at my kitchen table with an iced tea, the landline phone, the mobile phone, the laptop open and all the newspapers.

A Celebration…
My husband Michael Cominotto and I were the first same-sex couple to be married at The Pierre Ballroom…it doesn’t get better than that!