Stephen Burrows,Still Dancing or Ra Ra Riot’s Rebecca Zeller, From Being “Too Sorority”

The work of Stephen Burrows is as much about fun as it is about fashion. And that message shines through in a retrospective of the designer’s early creations, which opens at the Museum of the City of New York tomorrow. Burrows and the show’s curators, Phyllis Magidson and Daniela Morera, gave  a sneak peek of the exhibition, which features more than fifty garments created between 1968 and 1983. “I didn’t think of it as history-making or anything,” says Burrows of his early, flowing garments made to be worn with ease on the dance floor until 4 a.m. “I just did what I wanted to see in front of me.” Intentional or not, Burrows’ clothes were history-making. At the beginning of his career, fashion’s status quo was old-world, and generally French. It wasn’t until the fabled “Battle of Versailles”—a decadent 1973 fund-raiser for the then-decaying palace during which American designers Burrows, Halston, Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta, and Anne Klein outshined elite French talents Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, and Emanuel Ungaro—that American designers became truly respected. Burrows’ fresh, fun, and wildly colorful Versailles collection—shown on video in the exhibition—was all about a free-spirited aesthetic. His presence at “The Battle” also made him the first African-American designer to rise to international acclaim. 

“It was a career-changing moment,” Burrows, says, quick to add, “More importantly, it was a changing moment for American fashion on the world stage. It made everyone realize that America had a fashion voice in the world.” Burrows, who’s in the midst of conceiving a Spring ’14 collection, recalls the seventies as a time of freedom and prolific expression. It was in the seventies that he had an atelier at Henri Bendel, won three Coty Awards, and designed for Cher, Diana Ross, and Barbra Streisand. “Everyone would come to my house and get dressed up,” he says. “The whole gang. And then we’d go out to all the nightclubs. Sanctuary, Enchanted Gardens, La Jardin. Later it was Studio 54.” The “whole gang” included Halston, Elsa Peretti, and his longtime muse, Pat Cleveland. “He had a wonderful apartment in the East Village,” Cleveland recalls. “It was decorated as a jungle atmosphere, and he had a huge room filled with plants and clothes. We’d go in and just throw the clothes in the air. Whatever we caught, we’d wear out that night…guys and girls. We’d exit like a rainbow.” Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced opens March 22 at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10029. An accompanying book is being released in April by Rizzoli. Ra Ra Riot’s Rebecca Zeller, From Being “Too Sorority”

Anyone who takes up classical strings as a kid probably doesn’t count on becoming an indie rock goddess, but that’s exactly what happened to Ra Ra Riot violinist Rebecca Zeller. The group, which formed back in 2006, when she and her band mates were students at Syracuse University, enjoyed critical success within months; they played SXSW just a year later. Following another packed show at Austin’s annual music festival last weekend, the “chamber pop” quartet is currently on tour in support of its third album, Beta Love, which debuted in January and is a “sonic departure” from previous releases, according to Zeller. “The obvious change is that it’s heavier on the electronic side and not so heavy on strings, like our first two albums were,” she says. “But we’ve changed as people since we started writing songs seven years ago,” insists Zeller, “so it’s only natural the music would change as well.” Ditto Zeller’s personal style. Here, she talks occupational hazards of having long hair and playing a string instrument, bringing a little bling to the world of classical instruments, and the makeup remover wipes that are “a lifesaver” on tour. Your sound has changed a lot since college. Has your look—both onstage and off—also evolved? “It’s changed a lot. I remember we were playing our first shows, during our first semester in school, and the guy who used to be our singer said that I looked ‘too sorority.’ I wasn’t even in one! I thought I was dressing all cool and in-a-band style, so I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ But looking back at photos, it was very sorority: boot cut jeans, pointy high heels, a tucked in fitted tank top with a ‘fun’ belt, my hair flat ironed and pulled back on top with a little poof…”

Ra Ra Riot’s Rebecca Zeller, From Being “Too Sorority”

Now your hair is really long and wavy. Does it ever get in the way when you play? “I used to always put it up and out of my face when I played. But I like it down; it’s like another accessory. This weekend, we were playing outdoors and it was really windy, so my hair kept getting stuck between where the bow and the strings are, which was kind of annoying.” You’re touring with a rhinestone-studded violin. How, exactly, did that come to pass? “I own one expensive classical acoustic violin but I don’t tour with it. The two I brought with me on the road are that bedazzled one and another that’s completely covered in gold sparkles; I played on both at SouthBy. My bandmate Milo [Bonacci] has a yellow guitar, and Mat [Santos] has a black and white bass, but in the violin world, it’s all normal wood. My sister is friends with A-Morir sunglasses designer Kerin Rose, and we started having Sisters Unite dinners, and one time we talked about how crazy it would be if she bedazzled my violin, so she did that and the sparkles one. Now I’m plotting what I can do next.” Do sparkles ever creep up on into your makeup, as well? What are you staple products while you’re on tour? “In addition to my small, pared-down makeup bag, I bring a show makeup bag of dark, dramatic shadows and liners. SouthBy is different because the shows are daytime, and it would be ridiculous to do really heavy makeup to be outside during the day, sweating. But for normal indoor nighttime shows, I do a smoky eye. Neutrogena makeup remover wipes are a lifesaver on tour.” What about packing? Do you bring everything you’ll need with you before getting on the bus, or do you shop as you go? “Planning for a tour is difficult in terms of what to bring. I essentially have two suitcases—a show one, and then my daytime one with jeans and running gear. Opening the same bag every day and looking at the same items gets boring. I love to shop on the road, but I try not to go overboard; so far I’ve stopped at Topshop, and I also got a Rag and Bone dress. The best cities are New York and LA because everyone has stores there. But I always put aside money to shop the boutiques when we tour in Japan—they have the most unique things you’ll never find anywhere else.”