Style On: A Stylist's Take on Katie Ermilio
Girls, close your eyes and imagine having the experience of a designer tailoring clothes to perfectly fit to your body. She understands every curve and proportion masterfully, creating a skirt or blouse that hugs the right parts and forgives when you need it. Now meet Katie Ermilio, an up-and-coming designer based in New York.
Living up to a long lineage of tailors and designers—her Grandfather was one of Grace Kelly’s tailors and her father owns a bespoke menswear store in Pennsylvania—Katie Ermilio’s work stands on its own and her understanding of a woman’s proportions is genius. Katie is a designer’s designer and is involved in every single creative decision that goes into her brand, from creating sketches, to picking fabrics, to styling her own presentations. Her collections always embrace feminine silhouettes but have interesting sexy twists like cutouts that expose a tiny strip of skin. “In each collection I find a consistent source of inspiration in designing for the women who wear my clothes. With every line, I imagine where the upcoming months will take her—in her career, her travels, her friendships—constructing a wardrobe around her wants and needs for the upcoming season.”
Katie told me that her customers yield significant influence over her collections and she is constantly thinking about what she wants to do next with them in mind. “I find that the women who buy my work purchase with the intention of keeping the pieces in their closets forever. As a designer, it’s imperative that I listen them (beyond just the reach of Facebook messages and streams of tweets), connecting with what they enjoy wearing in the hopes of shaping a wardrobe they’ll love for years to come.” Her versatility as a designer is what sets her apart, and I could easily see her collections on celebrities from Carey Mulligan to Cate Blanchett.
Rory McDonough is a freelance stylist and fashion editor. His styling work has appeared in indie mags like Oyster and Russh. He is the fashion editor of the Plum Network where he worked with celebrities such as Naomi Watts and Christy Turlington-Burns. Most recently he worked with stylist B. Åkerlund on Madonna’s halftime performance at the Superbowl.
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