Roz and Trish (photo taken by Trish's 12 yr. old daughter, Jillian!)

Recently, I had a great time visiting with Trish Wescoat Pound, on Neiman Marcus Galleria’s 3rd Floor with founder and creative director of one of the coolest and fastest growing collections in Contemporary Designer….Haute Hippie, the perfect name for this one-of-a-kind contemporary look that she has created.

Trish, looks every bit the part of the “Hip/Ro-Bo” (Rock Bohemian) customer that she designs for.  She’s definitely a little bit country and a little bit rock ‘n roll, originally from Oklahoma, where her earliest dreams were to become a country music singer. She was, in fact, staying over and  heading to the Rodeo that night with her daughter, Jillian, to see Blake Shelton whose wife Miranda Lambert is a big Haute Hippie wearer.  Although her focus is there, her reach with this line is far beyond a limited demographic, as I for one can prove, as someone that has bought from this collection and we won’t mention how far away I may be from her target audience?!  Shhhh!

She also comes to this point in her life, more than paying her dues from collecting tons of experience as a 20-year veteran of the merchandising/designer world. She has designed for and led many important sportswear companies before taking the leap on her own…several of note are: Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Theory and lastly, President of all Contemporary product at Liz Claiborne, which included Juicy Couture, Laundry and others.  She calls herself a “100% gal,” meaning she does not go into anything she tackles without living and breathing it with all of her existence…her energy is boundless and contagious to all around. She also knows it all, from the creative to the business end which made for a great visit with me, as we played, “Retail Geography”, you know the one….”do you know___?” Read the rest of this entry »