A Feel for Fashion: Katherine J. Neifeld Neukomm, Esq.

When was the last time you marvelled over something in fashion? 

Since arriving in Paris in September, I have been in a constant state of wonderment. I am a lifelong and ardent Francophile; it’s a serious condition, from which I hope never to be cured, and being here only serves to reinforce that devotion on a daily basis. There should be a word specifically to describe the sensation of wearing one’s French clothes in Paris – at the very least I suppose you could say they’re in context – but wow! I am thinking specifically of a ruffled confection of an Alaïa skirt (pictured) but also Giambattista Valli, Courrèges, Coperni – all while playing the flâneuse against the grisaille. I love the term “lèche-vitrine,” and at the moment all of Paris feels like a giant window to me. The stiff packaging and accompanying ribbon, the cut flowers, the blue hour – each element building on itself to create something truly magnificent, with the resulting effect of something far more sensory and comprehensive than anything you could hope to order online. This feeling is perfectly encapsulated by something I once read about Karl Lagerfeld: that he had his nightclothes and bed linens made from the same fabric so as not to interrupt continuity. Now I think about it at least once a day.  

Tell us a surprising story about how you got to where you are today? 

My first job in fashion was with Condé Nast, where I was in-house counsel for Vogue and W. But my attachment to Vogue much predated my legal career. In fact, I was that person who had never thrown an issue away (absolute reverence for the archives, always!). I remember so vividly moving out of my apartment when I graduated from UCLA and the entire trunk was filled with Vogues. I had studied English literature, but these were my classics. So when I moved to New York, I found the head of business affairs on the masthead, and he very generously took a meeting with me. Three months later, I started working there. If fashion lawyers get big breaks, that was undoubtedly mine.  

Where do you look for new ideas or voices in fashion? 

Needless to say, my love for magazines has not abated. It has evolved and expanded since beginning my professional involvement. And as with anything threatened with extinction, they’ve only become more precious. For me, there’s still nothing better than the alchemy of the printed page, that unmistakable scent of newsprint, etcetera. And the fashion bookstores in Paris are a wonder unto themselves. It would be physically impossible for me to spend a weekend in Paris without popping into Ofr in the Marais. Galignani on rue de Rivoli – the first English bookshop on the continent! – is an endless font. As for the magazines themselves, I am obsessed capital O with L’etiquette: for its styling and also for a guide to literature de mode in Paris last summer that truly became a treasure map. IMAGE, the annual tome from the creative direction studio Ohlman Consorti, who were responsible for that iconic typography from Vogue Paris (it really all comes full circle, doesn’t it?). I am new to Magazine magazine but its editorials suggest I won’t soon be missing an issue. Lastly, two of my law practice clients whom I am especially proud to represent: i-D, since its relaunch, whose central thesis speaks directly to this question of new voices, and Hommegirls, who in addition to creating the best white Oxford shirt ever made, has pioneered something truly remarkable; a magazine with a point of view so singular that its accompanying namesake clothing line allows you to literally step into it.  

In what ways might you hope to have an impact on fashion this year? 

This is an interesting moment to be advocating for artists’ rights. I like to think of my approach as being New York in both perspective and pace, but informed by a Parisian sensibility. There is so much to negotiate beyond just the fee and deliverables. Now that we’ve seen collaborations between every conceivable brand, what’s next? How do we position the work of emerging creatives with well-known brands in a way that is demonstrably beneficial to all? There’s a lot of room to think creatively when it comes to a truly collaborative project, and even though “lawyer” often connotes conflict, the exact opposite is true in the kind of work I do. It’s a privilege to be in the unique position of making sure that the final work is greater than the sum of its parts – a goal shared by all – and because the industry is so intertwined, working alongside many of the same collaborators in various contexts. Of course much is being made of AI, which demands something unusual: prospectively drafting language which protects artists and artistic creation without knowing exactly how these revolutionary tools might evolve. Adding language that prohibits use of our artists’ content to train the models is one thing, but there are other considerations to keep in mind as well.  But the cleverest perspective I’ve seen is from author Joanna Maciejewska who said that she wants AI to do her laundry and dishes, so that she can focus on art and writing, not for AI to do art and writing so that she can do laundry and dishes. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Doing away with busy work and minimising interruptions so that the focus can be as much on creativity and the creative process as possible.  

What defines haute couture in a contemporary context? 

I had the chance to attend the opening of the Louvre Couture exhibition on January 23rd, and what became overwhelmingly clear was that haute couture’s relevance has transcended the realm of the few clients who are in the market to order it. Instead, the crowd was a cross-section of French museumgoers. With the dresses displayed against tapestries and inlaid wood étagères from the museum’s permanent collection, many of which were quite a bit older than the U.S., it became clear that they will be the contribution of our time to the annals of decorative arts history.  

Can you share a mantra for the coming year? 

Some combination of “elegance is refusal” (in matters of contract negotiation, especially) and “un autre noisette, s’il vous plaît !”.  

This interview has been lightly edited.