Cindy’s Corners At NYFW With Thale Blanc Designer Deborah Sawaf

Photos: Thale Blanc and Very New York

Los Angeles based accessory designer Deborah Sawaf makes her “runway” debut of her collection Thalé Blanc Statements, featuring sportswear, along with her accessories.

We sat for an exclusive interview to discuss the collection, COVID, family and women’s empowerment.

C: Deborah, you were determined to have collection show during NYFW. Tell us about it.

D: I always wanted to have my own show. For many reasons, I felt now was the time. For me, the collection was needed more than ever. My collection makes a woman feel special. We need that now. We were all set to show months ago. Then, our show was cancelled. I knew somehow I was going to show. I continued designing. Then, an opportunity through my team at Very New York came to us through the virtual show. I made my debut and have received great response from clients and the media.

Sawaf’s couturier touches which are synonymous with her Thalé Blanc handbag collection were evident throughout the collection of dresses, coats, tops, skirts, pants & vests. Thoughtful detailing like quilted panels along with logo & verbiage printed taping provided sporty edginess that married flawlessly with higher end touches like the most luxurious fabrications in the market today & whimsical plays on proportion that are more commonly seen in the efforts of her avant garde European counterparts.

C: Who is the Thale Blanc Woman?

D: With Thalé Blanc Statements, I set out to give today’s modern woman, who is as likely to be a corporate executive or actor as she is to be a mother or philanthropist, a new version of what is quintessentially thought of as the ‘LA Look. Think Hollywood meets music meets fashion… it’s a new LA-vibe… a basic with a serious twist that leaves people saying, ‘YOU look beautiful!

C: If I could use three words to describe this collection, I would say feminine, details and bold. How would you describe the collection?

D: I grew up sewing as a very young girl with my grandmother, studied in France and worked in bridal houses. My background taught me to dress a woman like a woman. Make a coat, a skirt or a handbag “special.” My pieces also mix and match with multiple pieces within the collection so that a woman not only looks feminine, but unique. I actually showed the F/W 2020 collection, available now with great coats, pants and skirts.

C: I have many readers and followers that love “modest” dressing. You have some great sweaters with a flowy sleeve in leather and some great sweaters with fringe.

C: How has COVID changed your business?

D: I am lucky to have an incredible husband and three children who support my work. I closed my store on Robertson and they helped me establish a studio at home. The collection also seized the moment to embrace the ‘see now buy now’ trend that has been gaining momentum of late.  Almost the entire collection is available on-line at www.ThaleBlanc.com either available immediately or as a pre-order with only a 5 week wait from order to delivery.

In the two years since Deborah Sawaf took over the company she founded about 8 years ago, where she now sits as CEO & Creative Director, she has been speaking to every detail of her company’s operation, from concept to final consumer. She has spoken in classrooms and at business meetings across the country encouraging women to own their own business and take chances.

On a final note, the collection’s label “Statements” was inspired by Deborah’s belief that “every woman is a statement by her very being & what better way to pay tribute to women than by having my collection be a part of my customers’ everyday personal statement.”