INTERVIEW: Kate Wasserbach Talks Abel Honor New York, What’s In, What’s Out, and NYFW Highlights

As packed as fashion week could be, designer Kate Wasserbach spoke with us at Glitter about all things fashion. Wasserbach is an alumnus of Parsons School of Design and has worked at major fashion houses, including Dior, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren.

During our virtual sitdown, she discussed her early beginnings, her clothing brand Abel Honor New York, and the best trend anyone could own. Check it out below.

BRITTANY: Kate, thank you so much for speaking with us at Glitter today. How are you?

KATE: I am well. How are you? Thanks for taking the time.

BRITTANY: I’m doing well. Happy Fashion Week.

KATE: Happy Fashion Week, I can’t believe it.

BRITTANY: I know, right? So tell me, so far, how has your Fashion Week been? What are some highlights?

KATE: Sure. Yeah, it’s been good. We’ve had this, like, major heat wave, which has been wild. It’s kind of thrown off my outfits a little bit, but I guess it’s good for the designers, considering they’re showing spring and summer, so maybe it’d be, like, a little bit more aligned with the theme of the whole week. But yeah, it’s been good. I’ve been seeing, like, a lot of great shows. Really happy with the product that’s coming out and, you know, the new trend or inspiration to follow. So I’m pumped about that.

BRITTANY: Do you have any favorite shows at the moment?

KATE: Oh my gosh. Yes, there is a lot of them. But I would have to say my favorite is probably Kate, and not being biased, and Brandon Maxwell. I think that the two of them like how they played with layering, which is also very similar, you know, aesthetics as Abel Honor, but a lot of layers, boxy construction, you know, like different mixed media as with like, you know, sheer mixed with a tailored top and stuff. And I just thought they just did. They executed it perfectly, and I loved it.

BRITTANY: That’s awesome. Now, before we delve into what we’re seeing this week, let’s talk a little bit about your early beginnings. So, you say that you’ve been drawing and creating basically since you could hold the pen, so that could lead to so many different careers and industries. So, how did you land on fashion?

KATE: Yeah, totally. So, I always say that overall, I consider myself an artist first before a designer, and then yeah, I mean, I was drawing before I learned to write. So I’ve always had a pen, pencil or whatever you could find in my hand, chalk, whatever it is. And I think that, you know, fine arts is like my main medium. And then, around third grade, I started to really dive into clothing and really getting into expressing yourself and that avenue. So I think when I was like around seventh grade, I kept them separate, and then I was like, “What am I doing? Let’s put them together.” It’s just another form of art. So, I decided that the route I wanted to take was fashion design.

BRITTANY: So you ended up obtaining your BFA from Parsons, and then you went on to work at major fashion houses like Michael Kors, Christian Dior, and Ralph Lauren. So tell me a little bit about what that experience was like.

KATE: Yeah, I mean, they were amazing. Every single experience was completely different for me, and I learned a lot from each separate house. I do think that I attribute a ton of what I learned today from my mentors there. And like, for instance, I learned at Ralph Lauren, I’ve learned lifestyle, like how to create like a lifestyle brand, which we are trying to, you know, Ralph’s been around forever, but hopefully will be one of those 40 years down the road as well. And then at Dior, I learned, you know, the, like, quality and refinement, and then cause I really learned reach. So I kind of put those all together. Weirdly enough, it does, even though Abel Honor, from the outside, might not look very similar to those three designer designers separately. But we are pretty much running in the same ball game as well as kind of aesthetic in a sense and quality and like overall morale.

BRITTANY: I think that’s so cool because, like you said, you kind of took a little bit from here, took a little bit from there, and then you were able to create your own unique brand. So I think that was really cool.

KATE: Yeah, it’s been fun. It’s been like I said; I really couldn’t have done any of this without my mentors from the past. So it takes time to build. But I’m so happy I didn’t just jump right into it after school.

BRITTANY: With that, you know, you also created Kate Wasserbach Designs, where you specialized in styling, red carpet looks, and album covers, and even worked on Sons of Anarchy. Tell me a little bit about your experience. What was that like, and how exactly did working in the fashion houses alongside kind of maybe correlate?

KATE: Sure. Yeah. So I started that right when I got out of school, and I was kind of like a broke college student, and I was like, “Okay, what am I going to do now?” And I knew that my five-year plan, you know, everyone tells you to do your five-year plan. So my five-year plan was I wanted to start Abel Honor. So that was a part of my plan. Ever since I’ve dreamed this up of being a fashion designer in seventh grade, so I took all the steps necessary to get to where I was and come 2018. But yeah, so when I graduated college, I wanted to find a design house that would really give me all of the tools needed to start Abel Honor. So in a sense, I was holding out for a hero, as you would say. And in the meantime, I was like, “All right, I need to start making some money.” And we go back to the point of me saying that I was an artist first before I was a designer. So I pretty much was like, “Listen, I’ll do whatever you want. You want me to make you an album cover? Like, I can do that. I can do, you know, a red carpet Look, I can do, you know, graphic design.” I did it all. So that’s why I was more of a design house rather than fashion design. Then I finally landed the job at Kors, and that really like jumpedstarted my career in fashion design, which further led to Abel Honor.

BRITTANY: Let’s talk a little bit about Abel Honor. First off, how did that come about?

KATE: Yeah, so when I first started Abel Honor, I know it’s a little bit unconventional not to have, especially I think in my generation, to not have your name be your label name. I didn’t want that because I felt that at that point in my life, I made the connections that I needed to and within the industry. But I really wanted to see I had a blank slate, and I really wanted to see it, to have its own name and to see like where it kind of took off without my complete I mean, I’d be behind the scenes, but without my complete, like driving the car and saying, this is a Kate Wasserbach design. So overall, I specialized in women’s wear, but I eventually wanted to get into men’s wear, unisex, all of that. And I didn’t want to pigeonhole our brand. And I felt that Kate Wasserbach just felt a little bit more feminine. So I think that, like for both men and women at the time, I really wanted something that was very strong, a very strong name. So I used to do this in, like, second grade. We did like these mind maps, and it looks like this like when you get like I came up with two main sources that meant strength to me because I think the overall idea I wanted people to feel empowered in our brand and in our clothes. So I was like, “All right, what does strength mean to you?” And in less of a literal term, I kind of was thinking of the values that were instilled in me. And the first one that I came up with was someone who is like a can-do person and someone who is very willing and able. And then the other one I did was a very loyal person and someone very honorable. So I took Abel Honor, and I thought that sounded very strong and kind of aligned with the idea that I was going with. And I changed. Instead of it being Abel “a-b-l-e,” I changed the name, able to kind of also give the idea that maybe it is someone’s name so able on her. Then right before my grandfather passed, he was so proud of me that I was starting my brand, and he said, “Oh, you know,” he calls me munchy. He said, “Oh my gosh, you have to you have to put in New York like, that’s where you’re from. That’s your roots.” All that like, “That’s what all the great designers do.” So Abel Honor New York is what it was and what it is.”

BRITTANY: I’m not going to lie; when I heard Abel, I also thought it was named after a person. So, I really like that you were able to take that concept. I like that concept. You know, you made that name for yourself. It is one of those names that is more unique because it’s not necessarily your name, but it is your brand.

KATE: Yeah. I mean, we get so many different. It’s funny what people think it is. They’re like, “Oh, is that your grandfather’s name?” Or, you know, is it a biblical context where. Which is kind of cool. It could be because, like with Cain and Abel, like Abel was the good brother. So, at least we’re not the evil brother. But it wasn’t that either. But it is funny to kind of hear, hear the different speculations behind it.

BRITTANY: Abel Honor New York’s style is described, and I have to read this because I want to get this right. As the brand for “Rebellious IT Girls, encapsulating a unique mix of juxtaposing ideas, punk rock with feminine florals and angelic imagery with combat boots.” So the first thing that I immediately think of is Gossip Girl. You know, you have Jenny Humphrey, you have Blair Waldorf, you have Serena. They all had, and although they all had their own unique style, you saw the different styles within the character. So, that’s the first thing that I thought about. So how did you come to this idea, and how did you ensure that is being shown through your work?

KATE: Yeah. So, I think going back to again, just me being an artist, I think that I always use, whether it’s juxtaposing an outfit together or juxtaposing something on a canvas. I always will use irony. I always love like the highs, the lows, the north, south, etcetera, whatever, what have you. And so irony is always a big, big play whenever I design anything. And so I think that it kind of keeps a sense of intrigue for the viewer, guessing there’s so much to do with it, but it also harmonizes. So, if you have something that may be a little bit too edgy, you could be like, Oh, let’s put some florals on it, and something that someone would think about. And you’re kind of like, “Wow, this was a challenge for the designer, and they pulled it off great.” So that was the kind of idea that we always have and down to our roots. You know, we are constantly doing irony and, you know, a sense of just like what’s out there with what’s comfortable. We love it all when we paint our girl or our guy at the beginning of a season of our design process. We’re kind of like, “Okay, it’s like the jock who also loves to read books like that kind of thing. Like, who is who is he? Who is she? Where is he going? What she where she eating, you know, all that stuff?” But the girl or the guy is definitely an intriguing, very, like, juicy person and has a lot of different traits that maybe some people wouldn’t see on the outside.

BRITTANY: You know, I really like that because, for a lot of people, style isn’t just this one particular aesthetic, you know, like to mix and match. So I think that is really cool. And I like how that’s shown in your in your line.

KATE: So, I think that’s yeah, I mean definitely, I mean fashion and design is it’s just another form of art. So, you know, I always think that like art is in and just like how someone would, you know, make a, an outfit, it would be like, okay, she’s I never want someone to say, “oh, she looks pretty.” I want I want someone to say, “Oh, she makes me feel something.” So it’s kind of like art’s not supposed to look pretty. It’s supposed to make you feel something.

BRITTANY: It is so evident that you’re knowledgeable in your craft and your field. So, let’s talk trends. It is Fashion Week. We can’t let you go without talking trends. To start off, let’s talk about some trends that may be stuck around from last season. Is there anything that we’re seeing that either stuck around or might be adapted into, you know, a similar format?

KATE: Yeah, for sure. I think that, first off, like I am. I am not a huge trend fan. We always say I think that aligns with kind of our brand as well; it’s what we always like to say. We don’t follow trends; we kind of make trends. And I think just a lot of designers probably say that I’m not the only one, but I think there is room for, you know, as designers, it’s our duty to bring back historical references or innovation or, you know, bring in new, you know, brand identity or sustainability concepts. So I think with trends, it’s like if you’re already doing that, and we’re just not the design house that does do that. But if you’re already doing that, but it’s already been done and what’s, what’s kind of innovative about that. But I will say the things that I absolutely adore that have been brought to this season, and I think have done a little bit better the last season are certainly the intricacy of boning in corsets, boxy tailoring, which I adore and love, flowy, oversize things, asymmetrical hems. And again, like a lot of the mixed media that I mentioned earlier, I really love it as well.

BRITTANY: Listen, I love a good oversized blazer. They just look so good. It’s like you look really cute. But then you also look very business-like because you can pair them with shorts, you can pair them with essentially everything.

KATE: You look cool. You’re like, oh, you can pull off your boyfriend’s jacket or, you know, is there anything better than like the bride at the end of the night when she’s wearing like, her new husband’s, like, you know, tuxedo jacket? Like, it’s just it’s awesome. I love that. I love that whole entire look.

BRITTANY: Me, too. So let’s talk about what’s new. You know, we were hearing a lot that for this fall, cherry red was the color. Do you think that’s true?

KATE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, cherry red is certainly. I’ve seen it actually in the two shows that I adored, which were Brandon Maxwell and Kate. They have just like this at first; it’s like a very monotone black, white, and gray. Then, like, halfway through the show, they’ll just come out with, like, this stunner piece that’s cherry red from, like, head to toe. And so it’s funny you say that because I was like, “wow, what a, being cherry red.” You don’t think it’s a breath of fresh air, But it was like an exciting breath of fresh air where it almost took your breath away in a different way. And I loved it. I think it’s here to stay. I think it really like plays off of the old, like, nineties Pretty Woman idea, which, like, I know the nineties having like the heartthrob is like coming back. So I love it. It’s great.

BRITTANY: We have to talk. What’s out, you know? What are some things that people might be getting rid of in their closet? Is it a long list? I don’t know.

KATE: Let’s see what’s out. Oh, I think like the ’60s vibe, which I’m so happy to see go. Like with the patterns and, like, the shift dresses and the big block heels. Love, Tweety. But, like, this is definitely more my vibe, what I’m seeing today or this week.

BRITTANY: For sure. And I like the fact that you brought up, you know, we don’t necessarily follow trends. We make trends, and your brand overall isn’t really big on trends because it’s New York Fashion Week. And as we talk trends, you’re going to have your people that are like, “But it’s so hard to keep up with,” and they don’t necessarily like to follow trends, and they might be hesitant. So what do you say to somebody who is hesitant or maybe just overwhelmed at this, like overconsumption, like this revolving door of trends?

KATE: I’d say continue with that. More like a moral compass because that is like so my vibe. We, as a brand, are trying to work against fast fashion and bring back bring the consumer back to like quality. So I really think at the end of the day, people who like what they like, they’re going to end up wearing what they like. I could have ten jeans in my closet, and at the end of the day, every week, I wear the same two jeans that I like because they fit me well and I feel most comfortable with them. And I think the major trend that’s here to stay is confidence. So if you wear something like don’t try to, you know, try to make a square fit into a circle peg or whatever they say, you know, at the end of the day, do something that you feel comfortable with, and that’s what’s going to look best on you. You know, florals are like all the rage, and you just don’t like florals. And they’re not your thing. Like when you put it on, people will know, you’ll know, you’ll feel uncomfortable. It’s a night ruiner. So go back to what you feel comfortable with, and at the same time, that helps. Zero waste helps in sustainability, and it helps in, you know, maintaining a strong wardrobe that you can live with for a very long time and perhaps pass down two generations next.

BRITTANY: The trend is confidence. I love that. You know, there are some times when people follow trends, and it’s like, but I don’t feel comfortable in this. You look your best when you feel your best.

KATE: Right. Right. That is so true. And I can’t, I cannot stress that enough. You know, Abel Honor might not be for everyone, but we’re not trying to make it for everyone. We’re trying to make it for the people that, you know, feel it. They align with it. So that’s here to stay.

BRITTANY: As we wrap up, I want to ask you, what is your advice to somebody who looks at your career, looks at what you’ve done, and says like, “That’s where I want to be. That’s what I want to do.” What is your advice to them?

KATE: I would say, wow, there’s so much to say. I think that. Stay in your lane. In fashion, it’s so easy in this industry, whether you’re a consumer, a designer, a manufacturer or producer, or an influencer. It’s so easy to compare yourself to other people. And I think just in all successes or in all careers, success comes and goes. It’s an it’s an ebb and flow. So if you look at the person next to you who’s been in the industry the same amount of time, and maybe you see them with great successes, and you don’t have that. Your time will come. That’s their that’s their time to have success. So I think to stay in your lane, hang tight, and never stop. Never stop learning, Especially being a designer and an artist. You can get inspiration from everywhere. It doesn’t have to be at the New York Public Library. It can be out on the streets. Again, I can’t stress enough how much passion is a form of art, but so is conversing. That’s a form of art, too. Creativity is used everywhere. So really tap into your feelings. How did that person make you feel? If that person really made you? You went out and met someone the night before, and they made you feel great. It’s like, Well, how would you encapsulate that in a print or in a story or in in anything in a painting? So I think keeping your eyes open, staying humble, and just keep learning is the biggest advice that I could give to someone.

BRITTANY: What a way to wrap up this interview. I think the last two questions specifically, you know, just the advice that you gave, I think it was amazing. So I want to thank you so much for speaking with us at Glitter, and we’re wishing you a happy rest of Fashion Week.

KATE: Thank you. You’re so sweet. I’m glad you took the time to meet with me. It was a it was a pleasure. Enjoy the nice weather.

Watch the full interview below.