“Brevity is
the soul of wit” said William Shakespeare
Michael
Vollbracht is one of those designers who has achieved great notoriety and recognition
on a multilevel platform. This is a designer’s designer who trained with Beene,
collaborated with Henri Bendel (when it was the go to destination of the uber
chic), went on to design one of the most emblematic and ubiquitous symbols of
life in New York City (the Bloomingdales “face” shopping bag), then to his groundbreaking
eponymous collection and then his final bow on Seventh Avenue at the helm of
Bill Blass. Today Vollbracht utilizes his skills within the worlds of painting
and illustration with side gigs that satisfy him strictly on a creative level.
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In today’s
world, there is no question, that he is considered an iconoclast or maverick or
maybe both but most of all he is an artist and one of the few who just did it; he
defied, he actually designed and most off all he needed no trend to follow and
yet achieved that covetous white light on an international stage for his
brilliant works, whether on cloth, paper or canvas.
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These
days he is Michael Vollbracht, as he is known today minus the “e,” the artist who continues
to turn out his paintings and illustrations while retaining his own particular
point of view. When it comes to the oeuvre of his lifetime thus far, he is
unquestionably a designer who proved that fashion is an art form and that he is
most fluent in the language of art, fashion and style.
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“Brevity is
a great charm of eloquence” said Marcus Tullius Cicero
Jeffrey Felner: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner
who would they be and why?
Michael Vollbracht: Mary Todd Lincoln, Marie
Antoinette, Cleopatra, Amelia Earhart and Thelma Todd since I like a tragic
ending
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JF: You have always been an artist at heart, what made
you go into fashion and why did you leave it?
MV: Fashion is my
passion. I didn't leave it; it left me
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JF: You were “artist in residence” so to speak at Safety
Harbor Spa for a while; can you speak to your time there as to why and what you
do you feel you accomplished during that time?
MV: Bad time, I had
the silly idea that I could turn a third-rate spa into something special. Alas,
it was sold to a family I didn't get along with and so it was bye bye spa.
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JF: What was your favorite project and why and if you
could do a collaboration today, who would it be with and why?
MV: The one I'm doing
today. I'm designing a "drag show" for Equality Florida in St. Pete...I'm
mixing straight, gay, black, white, male and female all to help my "family."
During these scary times...Boycott
Mississippi anyone? 5 watch Project Runway...I don't know if fashion
school works today as students want
instant fame and not to learn how to feather - stitch a collar.
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JF: What
would be your advice to any up and coming or student designer and why? Care to share what was the advice you ever
received and from whom and why you consider it so valuable?
MV:
Norman Norell once turned to me... (While we were working on his retrospective
to be shown at the Met) and said "It's all bullshit" and that’s what
I would tell all students of fashion.
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