Runway Trend and You Can Make It Your Own

 J.Crew's Designer Tom Mora Explains How to Take a Runway Trend and Make It Your Own
i don't know about you, but J.Crew just makes me happy. It's got this blend of cool and trendy—but I always feel like myself in the brand's clothes—my best self. Needless to say the J.Crew fall 2014
presentation was one of my New York Fashion Week highlights. I had a chance to speak with Tom Mora, head of women’s design about the fall collection, his inspiration, and how gals like you and me can take a runway trend and make it your own—read real-world-ready—look.

Tom Mora: The collection was inspired by the cabarets of the Weimar era in Berlin in the '20s and '30s. It was a very prosperous time as far as creativity: science, the arts, theater, painters, poets, writers—all of those people just prospered in that period. They spent a lot of time in cabarets, where there was a lot of experimentation and freedom. I took the moody attitude of it and [a work by] my favorite artist of that period, Otto Dix. His portrait of Silvia von Harden is a hard-looking painting with starkness and rich moody colors. It has a masculinity and a femininity to it.

Glamour: The collection feels on-trend but very personal—any woman can make it her own. What's your style advice for woman who want to follow trends but not get overcome by a runway look?
TM: The most important thing is step to out of you comfort zone a little bit. Try something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Even when we're designing, when it feels a little off, that's a good thing. It's means there's something new happening.

Glamour: Let's get specific. If a woman, say, wants to try out the pink trend, but she's terrified of pink....
TM: If you see pink as being a big idea, maybe try it in a top or a nail polish. Try it in a way that feels good for you, and it'll make you feel happier trying that little bit of something.

Glamour: We have to ask. What did you think of Jenna Lyons' performance as Lena Dunham's boss on Girls?
TM: It was pretty cool. I just loved that she was wearing all of our clothes. She's really amazing. She's like wonder woman.