Not in Vogue... yet

Samantha Pleet
Age: 26
Backstory: Enamored with playing dress-up, this former As Four intern entertained acting as a career before opting for a fashion design degree at Pratt. But dramatic influences still color the Philly native’s works: Pleet’s debut fall 2006 pieces were patterned after kooky characters, including medieval knights and lumberjacks. Luckily, you won’t have to worry about looking like a storybook escapee while wearing her latest creations, which were apparently inspired by chimney sweeps, dandies and jailbirds: The resulting thigh-skimming dresses, curve-hugging vests and natty jackets—rendered in modern silhouettes—aren’t cartoonish or costumey at all.
Where it’s at: Armoire, Honey in the Rough, I Heart, Stuart & Wright, YLLI

Samantha Pleet Mischief jumper, $275, at Armoire. Photo: Alexander Milligan	Quest cape, $418, at Stuart & Wright. Photo: Alexander Milligan

Favorite products
Annick Goutal fragrances
Repetto shoes: “They are so comfortable and look great with everything. I have them in black and white, and I’ve gone through six pairs already.”
Dr. Denim: “It’s made from great fabric, and the fit is amazing. But you can’t find them in New York yet.” 

Narnia

Photo: Wenyi Huang

Favorite stores
The Lower East Side’s Narnia, Honey in the Rough and Edith Machinist
Soho’s I Heart and Kiki de Montparnasse
Fort Greene’s Stuart & Wright

Favorite NYC landmarks
Historic Brooklyn waterfront: “They keep tearing down beautiful buildings that should be preserved!”
The Angel Orensanz Center: “I’m getting married there this October.”
McCarren Park Pool: “It’s a landmark I actually hang out in.”
The Morgan Library in midtown

B&J Fabrics

Photo: Wenyi Huang

Favorite design source
The Garment District’s B&J Fabrics: “I get all my fabrics from there.”

Favorite bars and restaurants
Williamsburg’s Cafe 1980, Dressler and Monkeytown
Greenpoint’s Enid’s
Freemans and Sweet Paradise on the LES

Fall 2007 inspirations
“For this collection I was specifically influenced by Victorian London, beaux arts Paris and Venice, but I am always influenced most of all by living in New York. When creating the fall 2007 collection, I was reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Letters from Prison by the Marquis de Sade, Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse and the diaries of Giacomo Casanova. I also spent long afternoons in great bookstores like the Strand, looking at books of illustrations from Victorian London, Renaissance Venice and 1920s Vienna.”
“My favorite band of the moment is most definitely my friends Au Revoir Simone. Their whimsical sound is the perfect complement to my designs.”