Seventeen Talks to Fashion Designer Catherine Malandrino!

Seventeen Magazine

We got a chance to talk to awesome French designer Catherine Malandrino (left, who you may remember from Project Runway as the guest judge in Paris during Season 3) at a special New Year's Eve/Blue Nefertiti concert in her Manhattan store. Check out her advice for all you aspiring designers and see what Catherine was like when she was 17!

17: Did you know that you always wanted to be a designer?

Catherine Malandrino: Yes, I knew that since I was maybe 8 years old. I was really passionate with clothes, with fashion, with everything that can help you express your personality. And I think that clothes is a great way, as well as music. I like to combine both, like tonight.

17: What were you like when you were 17?

CM: I was loving everything that was curious and eccentric.

17: What did you dress like then?

CM: I was looking like a very weird character, like I always was in costume, but, you know, because I wanted to express a lot of fantasy through fashion.

17: Would you still wear the clothes you wore then?

CM: There are some pieces that I still keep with me because some of them are really great pieces that are all about fun. It was a time when I wanted to express a lot of joy, a lot of happiness, a lot of love. It was a weird look of mix-and-match pieces.

17: What advice do you have for teen girls who are interested in pursuing a career as a fashion designer?

CM: Just to deal with their own style and be remarkable.

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Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.