- You may hear young boys and girls say, I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up.

While few actually accomplish this, today on Fit 2 Stitch, we meet CD Greene who worked for Tommy Hilfiger for a short time, then moved his amazing talent from Chicago to New York.

Join us as we peek inside his New York studio to see his dazzling designs and hear his story.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Fit 2 Stitch is made possible by Kai Scissors.

(piano music) Bennos Buttons, OC Sewing Orange County.

Vogue Fabrics.

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And Clutch Nails.

- Well, I am thrilled to meet you.

I hope you don't feel stalked, because I know a little bit about you, but I want everyone to know your story because there are so many little boys, little girls, who want to be you when they grow up.

And I think if we share your journey, if you don't mind, it'll help them see that the choices you made, the the corners you turned, they're all a matter of choices.

- Absolutely.

- And layering those choices one on top of another.

I know your father wanted you to be what?

- (laughing) A physical therapist.

- He wanted you to be a physical therapist?

- Yes.

- So that's kind of what he?

- He thought it was something stable.

He thought it would you know, be something that I might become interested in, but it was totally not me at all.

- When did you figure that out?

Because that's tough as a young person.

- Like in high school, when you're thinking about what you want to do.

And I always knew, even when we were having those conversations, that I really wanted to be a designer, but I didn't want to talk about it too much.

I kind of kept it to myself and I was into fine arts.

And so, I think that he thought this is a much better stable life for yourself than being an artist.

Who knows about your success when you're an artist.

It's a big chance, it's a leap of faith.

- Of course, and I can't imagine very many parents hearing that their child wants to be a designer say, Oh yeah, I'm right in on it.

(both laughing) That's just a very ambiguous.

- It is, protective.

- Sure, sure.

So he obviously accepted it on some level.

- He accepted it because my mom said I believe that he has something special.

I believe that he has something different that he can offer.

Whether it's in fine arts or whatever.

She just always believed in me and she would say, you should believe in yourself and you have talent.

And so, when I went to apply to art schools, and I applied to art schools in New York and in Chicago and went to school at the Art Institute of Chicago.

And I was accepted and I was so excited because I was totally thrilled 'cause I was looking forward to doing what I love.

- Sure, I mean, I can imagine because I followed the same thing and my father, my family, is doctors.

So here I am kind of out of this orbit.

So I totally understand that.

And yet, at the same time, it's a really convincing thing.

So, lesson number one, we can say is you really have to hear yourself.

- Totally.

- And follow what you think is the path for you.

But, even when you went to art school, and you didn't get to go to the one you really wanted to go to.

- No.

- They were just so expensive.

- They were expensive, and my mom wasn't happy with me coming to New York to go to school.

She was just like, out of the question.

- Because you're from Chicago.

- I'm from Chicago, and she's like, New York is so fast paced and I'm afraid something's gonna happen.

It's like nothing's gonna happen to me.

I really wanted to go.

And I was accepted at a couple of schools.

But they were just like, no, just go to Chicago, go to the school here, and they just felt more comfortable with it.

- Sure.

- But then I love the Art Institute of Chicago.

It was a great school.

- And, question for you, because you actually, as you go into art school, I don't know how many have been there, but you have choices.

And you have fashion merchandising and then you have graphic arts.

And so, you actually didn't do fashion merchandising.

- No, what was gonna be my main focus of interest at the Art Institute was graphic arts because I love graphic arts.

- Which is more of an engineering, isn't it, and the designs feature?

- Yes, like product design, that kind of thing.

Which is very, very interesting, but I always hung out with the kids who were in fashion and the kids who shopped at the resell stores and bought stuff.

You invent yourself through clothing from stores and you wear them differently than everybody else conventionally wears a sweater.

- Sure.

- And so, I loved these kids and they were creative and fun.

And so, we just hung out together.

As a matter of fact, I would go to their classes more than I would my own classes and the instructor thought I was in her class, but I said, no, I'm not.

And she's like, you can't keep coming.

Just get in the class and you can come.

- (laughing) you have to either pay or get out.

- Yes, and so I said, okay.

And the next semester I did, took all fashion classes.

I just started to believe in what I wanted to do was important and it just made me super happy to do it.

- And, again, listening to yourself.

- Yes, totally.

And so, for all kids out there, whatever age you are, it's totally believing in yourself.

And when you feel that passion, then you know it's right for you.

- Yeah, yeah.

Even when your dad says it's physical therapy for you son.

- My mom was so against it, it's like, are you kidding?

But, it was wonderful, and they became very supportive.

- And they helped you a lot.

- Oh, they were very supportive along the way.

- But you went to New York even against your mother's good wishes.

- After like later, like after I had gone to the Art Institute for almost four years.

And then, a friend of mine, I was like, I've really got to get out of the city and I want to learn more about fashion.

And so, I came to New York and I got a little job working at a not very great big brand or anything.

But I think that what helped me the most was not working for a big brand is that I had a chance to sort of create my own identity as a designer.

And develop my own style and things of that nature.

So, that was a wonderful journey to realize that I could create something that wasn't what everybody else was doing.

- So, I'm gonna say maybe along that way, you were finding the hole, the hole that you wanted to fill.

I think every designer, as I look at how they possibly made it, it just seems like they found a hole.

And they found a hole that they loved being in, that they could really take hold of that.

And I do think that takes time.

And I think it takes experience to really.

- It does, it does.

- You kind of have the ambition, and then, but how am I going to do it?

And so, slow may be the pace, but steady at the same time.

- I think that's always the best way, because I've got a lot of experience.

I worked for a sweater company.

I worked for a dress company for awhile.

And so, you get a little bit of experience here.

It kind of collects and you sort of take that knowledge and you add it with this, and then you do your own thing for a little bit, and then you work for another company and you learn what they have to offer, and then you build up this portfolio in your mind of different creative ideas and processes and it really helps you as a creative person to get as much different exposure as possible.

- Different exposure.

And then, what was the biggest day?

When was it the first time you got your line?

You opened a line and.

- The biggest day was a friend of mine, Ron, was working at this store, he had met the fashion coordinator for Bergdorf's.

And so, he says I'm talking to her about you.

She wants to see your collection.

And I was like, oh, fabulous.

So, I already had a collection, but I hadn't shown it to anybody.

And so, I made the appointment and I went to see her.

- How nervous were you?

- Extremely.

- (laughing) I'm just curious, like Bergdorf calls.

- I was so totally.

So we had a meeting and she says, these are very pretty dresses, let's show them to Dawn.

And I'm like, Dawn Mello, my God.

So then we take them on the hangers to her office.

We're on the elevator, and there were shoppers, and they were like, that's really pretty, what floor is it on?

And then, so Liz says, no... - Well, that's good.

- It's not in the store quite yet.

You didn't plan for customers?

And so, then we go to Dawn's office and she's sitting behind this big desk and we show her the dresses and she's like, those are beautiful, let's give him a window.

And I was like - Wow.

- You mean I got in Bergdorf's and I'm getting a window?

So that was a wonderful moment.

- Wow, wow.

But then, later on, they told you, what did they tell you they wanted you to change?

Which I find fascinating.

- Well, it was like I had a very young, kind of kitschy kind of collection, which was fun, it did well, sold well.

But I kind of wanted to become, not just a kitschy designer, I wanted it to have more of a couture edge.

So, for awhile, I had to sort of reinvent myself.

And I had to reestablish myself as CD Greene.

So, after several attempts, we called the store and I said, I have a new collection now, it's much more grown up.

And so, they were like, okay, we'll take a look.

And I had a wonderful fashion coordinator came up and she looked in the collection and she says, you know we love your collection, and we love your lines, we love your proportion.

We love how you address a woman's body, it's wonderful.

She says, but you have to do somewhat of an upgrade.

She says, where you're doing the jerseys, do cashmere.

Where you're doing mink, you have to do chinchilla or sable.

So I was like, okay.

So I just created another collection using more expensive fabrics, more detail, more hand finishing.

And we called again and we were like, okay, come look at the collection.

I was holding my breath that day.

- No kidding, 'cause now you've spent all the money creating all of this.

- And so, they said okay.

And the gentleman who came up, he was like, this is beautiful, I love it.

He says I love your sense style and everything.

And then, a few days later, they called and said, yes, you're in.

And I was totally ecstatic.

And I was given a major part in the evening room, which was incredible.

And Linda Fargo has worn my clothes, which is the highest compliment, I think, a designer could have.

- Well, but many have worn your clothes.

We hate to name names, but let's name names.

Why not, right?

- Well, Beyonce's worn things.

Tracee Ellis Ross and Mariah Carey.

- There's a long list, but I found it fascinating because you did a dress for Tina Turner and yet you never tried the dress on Tina Turner.

- No, it was her stylist came to us and I think she had started her Wildest Dreams Tour in South Africa.

He's like, she needs something that's got a sparkle and she can move, blah, blah, blah.

- And you did that dress.

- Yep, I did that dress, I actually made that dress myself.

- One night 'til two o'clock in the morning.

- Because they were leaving, the flight left at 11:30 and they were calling we're on our way to pick up the dress.

And I'm like, but you can't pick up the dress yet, it's almost ready.

And then it got ready, it was ready, and she tried it and she she loved it.

And they ordered several more.

And then they even said that she would keep the dress on and meet her fans afterwards, which is really a wonderful compliment.

And, to see her in it, I've admired her forever.

- And then you'd never even met her.

The whole thing took place.

- Nope, yes.

- That's incredible.

- Yes.

That's way skills high, that's like 18 levels high, really, that's incredible.

- She has a great figure.

And, needless to say, the most beautiful legs.

So it didn't need to fit, we just kept making them for her.

- So those days are beneath you now and you get to soar on.

And I know that you've got now a CDGNY which is taking all this beautiful upscaling and now making it to where it's just more affordable for women who just don't want to spend.

- More affordable, more approachable, because I love the idea of the couture and working one-on-one with clients.

And I think that that's given me a great perspective on how a woman's body is and how to make clothes fit, how to make them comfortable.

I've gotten so many wonderful clients from my couture clients who says, I felt great all night.

I was comfortable, I felt glamorous.

- The details.

- I've never got so many compliments.

But I want something for my daughter.

I don't want to spend quite as much, develop something.

And so, that's what CDGNY is all about.

- Oh, that's so exciting.

And it just takes you on a whole different level.

- Yes, yes.

- You never stop growing.

- You can get excited about the next thing.

You finished this collection and then, in my head, while I'm doing CDGNY I'm thinking, but I really want to do this CD Greene couture gown, and the process is going through my head of how it's gonna come together and what's gonna be the fabric and what will be the crystal.

And then it comes into reality.

I do the sketch and then, I have to say, I have the most amazing staff of people who make me look really good 'cause they work so hard and they care so much, and I love them, yes.

- So, do you find that you enjoy the process more with support behind you?

Which is the most enjoyable for you?

- Hmm, I'm kind of like a person who likes to have my own space.

So I love to be just left alone to my own devices and just do what I like to do and be creative.

And someone can throw an idea out to me, why not this, why not that, and I'll say okay, but I always do what I want to do.

So, I love that creative process.

I love being inspired by architecture.

I love being inspired by movies.

I love designers like Edith Head, and Adrian, and Orry-Kelly, they inspire me.

Particularly when you see their work over the 30's to the 40's.

And then you see how fashion changed to the 50's.

The movies give you this incredible reference of fashion and lifestyle that changes from the 30's to the 60's.

And you look at a big change.

Short things, embellished, simplicity, architectural shapes.

And then the 70's where everything's more funky and cool and that kind of thing.

And the music changes, that's a big inspiration to me also.

- The music, interesting.

- Yes, yes.

So you're everywhere, inspiration comes from everywhere.

- Everywhere from walking down the street and just seeing people, how they dress.

I've traveled to Paris, I try to go a couple times a year to Premiere Vision to look at fabrics.

But the most inspiration is just seeing people walking around.

And it's amazing, and you love to see how that person put that outfit together, and then that gives you inspiration.

There's always something wonderful happening in Paris you know.

So, that's a wonderful thing.

And, even in New York, I mean, there's so much creative energy here.

One of my groups that I did was a charm mirror group was actually inspired by, I was coming out of my apartment, and a gentleman was on a motorcycle, biker outfit, black leather jeans, cap, jacket, with a huge key chain full of keys, like a hundred keys.

I'm like, what does he need these keys for?

But the way he had them dangling from the belt, it was so cool.

And I thought, how can I do something like that?

And so, I had the idea of doing, I love mirrors, I had mirrors cut in different charm shapes.

And then I did a whole mirror collection based around charms, based around somebody I never met.

But that was, thank you whoever you are for that great idea.

- So let's see some dresses.

- Okay.

- All right, so this is the fun part.

- Yes.

- This is the best part.

That's after all the work's been done, right?

- (laughing) These are what I got famous for.

- The paillettes.

When I first started were paillettes.

And two of these dresses were styled by the famous stylist Franca Sozzani and it was in Italian Vogue and it was a major spread and I was over the moon.

It's beautiful, I see it on online all the time.

It was beautiful, but it was a whole silver group.

But these are the paillettes.

- So, this is very light.

- Yes, these are light.

- The dress itself is very light.

- These are all put on by hand.

- Every row of that.

Do you start from the bottom and go up?

- From the bottom and go up.

- You do.

- Yes, around and around and around.

- So it has to be straight.

Because if you get to the top and it's not straight.

- Yeah, you don't want a little crooked dress.

- Well, that's what I'm thinking, if you don't get it right.

- You just take them back off and start again.

But we have kind of like a little method that we'd use.

- Ah, the method to the madness.

My dad, when I was little, he used to make me put tinsel on the tree one at a time.

And I used to cheat and throw a whole bunch.

You can't cheat on this, can you?

- No, you totally cannot.

- There's no way to cheat.

- You totally cannot.

- There's no way to cheat.

- And this was also featured in Italian Vogue as well another time.

- Oh my goodness gracious.

- These are put on by hand as well.

This just was one of my favorite, favorite dresses.

And it was in the Bergdorf Goodman magazine, and it was called the girl who fell to earth, and she's laying on black sand, and I think it was shot in Hawaii.

But this is one of my favorite dresses and one of my favorite pages from Bergdorf's.

And these are all put on by hand.

This was the dress that we did for the American Music Awards for Tracee Ellis Ross when she opened the show in this gown.

And that was a wonderful moment as well.

Now this is a heavy dress.

- What would you say it weighs?

- At least 50 pounds, at least.

- 50 pounds, wow.

So, Tracy Ellis Ross lives in California.

- Yes.

- Did you?

- So then.

- Oh no.

- Stylist, measurements, get it done.

- Really, something like this long?

- We did this dress in, I think, two weeks.

- Long distance.

Long distance, and that kind of, but I love Tracee and I kind of envisioned her.

And we had no fit problems whatsoever, it fit perfect.

- That's because of you - (laughing) And this is a beautiful fabric that I actually picked up on a trip to Paris at Premiere Vision.

And I love this kind of feel to it, the graphicness of it, and the texture.

- That's where that whole beginning engineering structural design helps you at this point.

- Totally.

- Because you see a little differently than many.

This is like chain.

- And this is chain mail, we've done a lot of chains.

- Is that as heavy as I think it looks?

- This one isn't quite so.

- Oh, it's a jacket.

- So, it's a little jacket.

- It's beautiful.

- And this just a little dress that goes with it.

- Oh, I love the drape on that.

- Thank you.

And then, over here, this is the actual dress that was part of the Met Gala, one of the earlier ones, it's called rock style.

And this is the dress that I did for Tina.

This was the actual dress that was on display at the Met.

Which is a wonderful experience to see your dress behind the glass, it was really nice.

- That is stunning.

- Thank you.

- And they can't even get an idea as to what this weighs, but this it's gotta be what?

- This one isn't quite so heavy because it's on a stretch tulle.

- It's beautiful.

- Thank you.

- And they just wear a little slip dress under it.

- She wore nothing under it.

- She wore nothing nothing under it.

For the record, she wore nothing under it?

- No, just a little G-string, that's it.

- Okay, that's Tina Turner.

- Well, that's it, she's got the body for it.

- There you go.

- Yes.

- Can't wear that unless you're Tina Turner.

(both laughing) - And this is another... - These are incredible.

- Chain mail I do with crystals also.

I love chain mail.

- I do too, I love the drape.

Look at this.

How do you actually cut it?

- There are a lot of tricks, tricks of the trade.

- This is featured in the latest Fadi magazine, it's an online magazine.

And it's a coat with a little exaggerated bow.

- That is beautiful.

- And the exaggerated collar.

And this is all little pieces of leather with feathers.

- And this is all hand sewn on?

- Yes.

- Individually, oh my goodness.

But that's light.

- Yeah, this is very light, this is very light.

And this one was actually featured in a Bergdorf Goodman Christmas window.

We did this jumpsuit and it's a lady on a tightrope.

And she's balancing through this swamp full of these beautiful little creatures that are all around the swamp, it's beautiful.

They do incredible windows.

- I get that vision, I actually get that vision.

But what you're saying is you get a vision like that a lot of times before you even get the dress.

- Mm hmm.

- The vision of what it's gonna look like and what it's gonna be, and then you work it backwards.

- Yeah, backwards, or they'll say this is the window, she's gonna be holding an umbrella, she's on a tight rope, and she can't fall into the water, over this mystical beautiful water.

And I said, okay, a paillette jumpsuit.

(laughs) - So it's a real collaboration.

- Yes, and I did a sketch and they were like that one.

And so that's how I came up with it.

- Just for the record, there's a zipper in there.

- Oh yes.

- I mean, there's a zipper going through all those.

Oh my goodness!

So when those are hand sewn on, they're just made to lap over that zipper.

- Mm hmm, mm hmm, mm hmm, yes.

- Now you've got my heart rate up.

- This was a fun project.

All of the Bergdorf Goodman windows are.

- Do you think you ever over all these years have a favorite dress?

- Yes, can I get it?

- I want two.

(both laughing) - This actually is a jumpsuit.

- Isn't that beautiful.

- I love jumpsuits.

- And this was featured in the Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman window at Christmas.

And the background were all French horns in silver, all different types of horns.

And this was the one mannequin in front.

It was beautiful.

- There is nothing better than those windows at the holidays.

- Oh, yes.

- And Swarovski crystals, can I just?

- All Swarovski.

- Oh my goodness.

- So, when you actually sew these, because I've done a little bit of beading, do you actually have a plan or do you kind of evolve the plan of the pattern of the beading?

- Well, it's sketched out on the pattern.

- Oh, it is sketched out?

- Yes.

- Even the details of all the beading and everything?

- Where the largest stones goes, where the smallest stone goes.

And then we look at the sketch the whole time.

And then, it's the process, you add more here, you add more there, then you're finishing.

- So your sketching is actually in proportion and everything?

- Yes, totally.

- Oh, wow.

- It comes very close to what I sketch.

- That's impressive.

- This is one, actually I just said three were my favorites, but they're all my favorites.

- That was great insight into how a designer works.

The little black dress is a style essential and a must have for many occasions.

In our next episode, Laura will be our model while we show you how to get perfect fit while draping this dress, making changes to the pattern tissue and so much more.

Join us next time on Fit 2 Stitch.

(piano music) - [Announcer] Fit 2 Stitch is made possible by Kai Scissors.

Bennos Buttons.

OC Sewing Orange County.

Vogue Fabrics.

Pendleton.

Imitation of Life.

And Clutch Nails.

To order a four DVD set of Fit 2 Stitch Series Nine, please visit our website at fit2stitch.com.