“The very essence of the Joseph Abboud brand is our tailored clothing,” says Abboud. This year, the designer’s label celebrates its 30th year. His Spring 2017 inspiration focuses on seasonal fabrics. “You will see soft shoulders, almost beach-like deconstruction, natural linens, and ivory.” The collection captures masculinity and a sense of adventure.
ON DESIGNING
“As a designer, we don’t always get the best reviews. It’s hard not to be sensitive about those issues when someone doesn’t fully understand the essence of what they may not like. What I always want to be is me, you may like me or may not like me; you may hate my clothes but you can’t be defined by what people want you to be.”
ON SUCCESS
“Survival is a form of success.”
ON PARIS
“I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to go to Paris in 1977. There was no internet, no McDonald’s, no Starbucks. I was in a different country with different shopping experiences, and it was like a world of beauty that I never saw before. I lived on the left bank. You would see the most elegant people sitting at cafes. I remember when I was at the metro and a guy walks in with a tuxedo, and a woman walks in with a long gown and they get on the metro. It was the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen. I would see so many well-dressed men but they weren’t in the fashion business. Paris really opened my eyes to a world of style I had never seen before.”
ON BOSTON
“I have always considered myself a Bostonian. Boston and New England ground me. I love the colors of New England in the fall. You can’t do red like nature does red.”
ON AUSTRALIA
“My mother was always trying to figure out who our family was. When I was a little boy, she had a picture next to her night table. It was a woman in riding crops, and it feels very aristocratic. [We knew she was in Australia.] In the early 90s, I was launching the brand in Australia, and my sisters challenged me to find our family. I was given the name of a man that might be able to help me. This guy brought out a photo, the same one my mother had on her nightstand. We realized we were cousins, and that my great grandfather started the largest tailored clothing company in Australia.”
