Cody Ross of Priestess NYC

Name: Cody Ross

Age: 31

Occupation: Fashion Designer, PRIESTESS NYC

1. What does style mean to you?
Style is all about inner-subjective expression--the outward expression of
the fantasies and glamour that feed our dreams and reflect our sense of
life.

2. Describe yourself in one sentence?
A hungry, freaky energetic eccentric with a blond mowhawk.

3. What first inspired you to want to work in the fashion industry?
I love crazy art and have a penchant for volatility and change. While the
world is changing all the time and volatility is exploding all around us,
fashion seems far more non-linear and the magnitude of change is greater
and more dynamic. I'm attracted to fashion because of its unpredictable
and dynamic nature; I love fashion because designing new stuff requires
thinking from multiple perspectives. Fashion forces me to incorporate a
worldview that is nuanced and challenged--and forces me to embrace
'non-linearity' as a philosophy.

4. How do you want people to feel when they wear your clothes?
Different, authentic and cool.

5. Who do you design for?
A quick-witted and individualized girl who is a little outré and quirky.
She obsesses over fit and style, likes weird art and reads PONYTAIL! She's
modern and complex, has tons of confidence and leads many lives in one.

6. What other designers do you admire?
1. Bernhard Willhelm. For his ingenious pop references, his use of toysand
video games to trash and freaky-minimalism, he has a swashbucklingapproach
to design, hands-down.
2. Jeremy Scott. He is King of exaggeration and visual-razzmatazz. I
lovehis satirical and tong-and-cheek approach, especially his new stuff.
3. Rick Owens. For his subversive, sartorial style that is raw andrefined,
haunted and haute. I know he's a super-star but he seems toalways operate
on the fringe. His goth-androgyny is weird and cool.
4. Walter Van Beirendonck. For his audacious
shock-and-awe,fetish-fantasies, kaleidoscopic color-ways, crazy materials
and totalrejection of mainstream stuff. He's the maverick risk-taker --
and alwayshas been.
5. Marjan Pejoski/KTZ. Because he's the master of unisex and
conveyshappy-absurdity in all his stuff.

7. Where do you see your label in five years time?
I see Priestess NYC with a bigger international presence, probably doing
more stuff in Asia. Continued growth is definitely an imperative as I
continue to strive to rethink the parameters and determinants of the
industry/market. I hope that the label will be known for its creative
output with a focus on authorship and commerce and always challenging
conventional notions of authenticity.

8. What inspires you?
Integrity, conviction, courage. . .and my friends and fam.

9. Are you all work no play?
I work hard. . . And play hard too.

10. How do you take time out?
I love reading philosophy and mathematics and have recently dusted off 
Henri Poincaré's cool book, Science and Hypothesis. I'm also obsessed with
Benoît Mandelbrot and his work on fractal geometry and randomness. It's
great recreational reading and really helps to inform my thinking on
everything from physics and markets to architecture and fashion.

11. What is your must-have item for the season?
R O S S M E N U E Z designs a really cool label here in NYC called SALVOR
PROJECTS (www.salvorprojects.com). His limited edition printed/fluro
high-top velcro shoes are a must-have item!

12. Whats next?
I'm working on a few collaborations with artists/other designers and
focusing a lot more on developing directional unisex pieces. Stay tuned .
. . !

by Milly McMahon