Michael Bastian [mens fashion designer]

By: Editor | August 17, 2009 | Ten by Ten

Michael Bastian held a five-year tenure with Bergdorf Goodman as the men’s fashion director. This position inspired his own menswear line, which bears his name. Eight seasons later, the Michael Bastian line is a powerful force, and Bastian himself has been nominated twice for the Council of Fashion Designers of America Menswear Designer of the Year Award.

How would you describe the feeling of happiness?
Perfect happiness is that extremely rare feeling of being perfectly content — not wanting for anything in that moment.

What do you consider your greatest career achievement?
Getting to the point where I now see guys on the street wearing my things. As a designer, it’s incredibly fulfilling to see your work having a life beyond you.

Is there anything that you are sorry for?
Not really. I’ve never intentionally hurt someone, and that would be the only thing I think I would carry around with me with any real regret.

How would you describe your current political point of view?
My current political point of view is hopeful. So much of my adult life was spent being embarrassed and frustrated by our president. And now with the new administration, I at least feel someone with intelligence and human empathy is at the wheel.

Who is your favorite musician/composer and why (feel free to list up to five)?
This changes every day — or more specifically every season. Right now. I’m listening to tons of Latin music trying to find runway songs for our spring ’10 show (which will be in New York on Sept. 14 of this year), and I’m loving Vanessa da Mata, Sara Valenzuela, Zoé, Las Ketchup and [early] Jose Feliciano — particularly his original “Light My Fire.”

Please arrange the following four subjects in order of importance to you: science, religion, politics, art.
Science, art, religion, politics.

What is your favorite quote?
“It isn’t the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent — it is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin

What is your greatest source of inspiration?
The greatest source of inspiration for me is walking around the streets of New York — particularly in my neighborhood in The Village. I’m right in between three schools — NYU, The New School and P.S. 41. And the funny thing is, I probably get the most inspiration from the little kids at the elementary school. They all live in the neighborhood and have nice liberal parents who seem to let them pick their own clothes out each morning, so you end up seeing the most incredible combinations. My favorite was this little boy walking to school in a Spider-Man costume on top, corduroys and work boots on the bottom, and the most perfect little orange down vest. He was just wearing all of his favorite things all at once, and it was perfect.

Define love in as few words as possible.
Love is that moment when you realize you care about someone else more than yourself.

What is your greatest fear?
This reminds me of something the model Kristen McMenamy once said. She said when she was just starting out and no one would give her any work and everything was so hard, she used to have the most beautiful sweet dreams, but once things turned around for her and she became one of the world’s top models, she would constantly have terrifying dreams of it all being taken away. I can completely understand this; once things start going your way, your biggest fear is it’s all going to suddenly stop and be taken from you. That’s kind of where I am right now.

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