- CR: I think a lot of designers overspend, the over-commit and end up losing money. They have to know that buyers usually decrease their orders, and then the designer ends up with leftover materials. I was lucky; we had a pretty seamless transition. Priestess broke even our first season, and turned a profit the second.
- SH: Why Priestess? Where did that come from?
- CR: This was my first line, and I wanted something other than my name in case it didn’t go well. I was going to just call it ‘Cody Ross’ but I thought if I did something else it would be better in case there was any negative press about Priestess.
- This surprised me. Yes, it was a smart move that resulted in a creative name but Ross seemed so confident throughout the rest of the interview. This didn’t sound like the designer or the capitalist. This impulse to distance the company from himself sounded like the real Cody: the man between those two facets.
- SH: Blowfish feature pretty heavily in your designs. Where did that come from?
- CR: Well, I’m just obsessed with weird, freaky stuff. I had this (a plastic blowfish doll) and I just wanted to incorporate it into my clothing. So that’s where this print came from, and then the lining has sperm on it. I just try and bring in something unexpected.
- SH: It’s definitely unexpected, but I love that it’s not your typical Brooklyn look, which is so popular right now. It’s very Manhattan.
- CR: I have to think about the buyers. Places like Bergdorf and Barney’s tend to go with safer designers, and the quality is important to them. I make the samples here and I know how to drape a jacket, and create the silhouette in a dress.
