I was first introduced to the magic that is Rad Hourani while working backstage at his Fall 2009 Fashion Week show. Unlike many designers, Hourani was quiet and focused–working closely with the dressers, hairstylists, and make-up artists… and making sure the male models had practiced walking in their heels before hitting the runway. The intimate show impacted me far more than the tent extravaganzas that might as well be the parking lot at the Chateau Marmont–where the audience is more focused on which Gossip Girl is sitting in the front row or the celebrity-turned-”designer” strutting down the runway as the photogs lose their minds like wild animals. Hourani’s show was simple, classic, mysterious–the dream come true show for a young designer. In a New York full of Carrie Bradshaw duplicates, this was one of those moments where I thought to myself  “Now, THIS is New York fashion.”  So don’t expect Hourani to be the next in line for a collaboration at H&M, but do expect Rad Hourani and his timeless, anti-trend pieces to become a household name… he’s just begun. I wonder if he makes those heels in an 11…

(BY: Alex Catarinella)

Why should people care about your lines? It’s a question of personal style. I’m not trying to make everyone crazy about what I do. I’m doing what I love to do and if someone likes it, that’s great. I believe in quality not quantity and that less is more. I hope to reach people who do not define themselves primarily as men or women, who go beyond the classical demo graphical criteria.

Is the Rad by Rad Hourani line recession friendly? Not at all. It was planned way before launching my main line. It’s a natural process for me and this is why I launched RAD by Rad Hourani that will be available online this December.

What’s the ultimate vision you wish to get across through your clothing? Unisex, timeless, long, straight, silk, black.

What kind of woman wears Rad Hourani? What kind of male? It is actually interesting how the media and the audience are formatted and how it is not usual to pass the message of asexuality in a clothing line. You ask me who the Rad Hourani woman or man is, but i’d prefer to think that there is a Rad Hourani client, a person without giving a gender to. The androgynous dimension is really key to my line. People who do not define themselves as men or women, who go beyond the classical demographical criteria. All my pieces are unisex.

Celebrities (Rihanna, anyone?) are now rocking your clothing — who would you die to have decked out in Rad? Michael Jackson, but he’s gone.

Your shows are kind of creepy and mysterious in a good way — in Rad’s world, everyone dresses in black and is genderless. Were you a weird/creative kid growing up? Were you always so stylish? My mom told me that I never wanted to wear any piece of clothes that the other kids were wearing and I refused to wear what she was buying me. I had to do my own shopping. I was not an easy kid at all. It was hard for my mom–I was very demanding about the way my outfit would look like. I guess I’m still the same but in a different way because I know what I want now and I found my own style. I don’t know if it’s as creepy as that’s the way I see the world today. I like when something makes you think in a mysterious way.

You used an eery version of the Rolling Stone’s “Paint it Black” in one of your shows… Tell me about the song selection in your shows. What music inspires your collections? It was the perfect match to start my line, all the words in the song were perfect to describe how i feel. I wrote some songs but i never had the time to get them all done, one day I’ll the selection of my song will be made in house when the time is right

What’s one Rad piece everyone should own? The half leather pants, I live in it.

Do you ever take off the heels and the black to just go shopping? It didn’t happen yet, maybe one day.

How would you say city life inspires your work? Circumstances have brought me to move around from an early point in my life, and I’ve felt compelled to continue on doing so, for this experience has made me consider things in a wider perspective, with no restrictions. I want to convey his notion into my line, and design clothes that can be worn anywhere, anytime. Also with no limit of age or national identity, it helps me focus on something that has no reference of the past and no limited rules.

Where are your favorite places to shop in New York and Paris? I never shop as i make what i feel like wearing, i never found what i was looking for in stores and that’s one of the reasons i started my line. I was always looking for something completely unisex, timeless, long, straight, modern, comfortable.

Is there any current trend that just MUST stop? ALL trends with no exception.

I noticed you kept many of the same models in this Fashion Week show as the Fall. Why? What do you look for in a model before casting them in a Rad show? Here’s an answer from my casting director Wayne Sterling :”Well, I would say the first factor is beautiful lines in the model compatible with the clothes. The second is that the model have a strong presence in the clothes. It is not so much about the name or the fame of the model but more about the energy and understanding they can bring to the clothes.”

What would you like to see more and less of in the Fashion World? I have no interest in the fashion world, it’s a money fashion that has to set up trends each season to sell. I’m into real style and I hope that one day people will wake up and stop looking like fashion victims who follow trends and all these hypes.

What’s next? A book, a movie, step by step…