B (2:52)

I had read, and I don't recall where I had read some small little article, I think, in a music magazine about a woman who had a store in Greenwich Village. And I didn't know New York from anything. Something very witchy poo happened. I don't know what. And in the back of my mind, I was like, I'm gonna meet that lady one day. There was something in that small little article that made me go to New York. And the day I landed in New York, Friday the 13th, July, 1984, if my memory is correct, very witchy. Also, I walked over to pat's store on 8th street, and I walked in. I had a paper dress on and dreadlocks and my Southern accent, so it was all twisted and warped. And she was in there with Mary Paul, who some people probably don't know, but she's a French stylist who styled Madonna in 84 in the beginning. And they were looking at rubber bracelets, which Madonna made a trend, a huge trend. I remember being so intimidated. I'm sure she was standing there with two cigarettes lit and Mary Paul. And it was a tough crowd. And there I was, my little paper dress on and my accent. Who knows what I seemed like to them? But I introduced myself and asked her for a job, and she was like, do you know how to fold T shirts? And I was like, well, I don't know, but I could try. And she said, well, there's Keith Haring and Jean Michel Basquiat T shirts in the back. Those two guys had made some T shirts for Patrick and go back there and fold them for me, and I

A (4:40)

started work there, and the rest is history. Molly worked at Pat's store, and then Pat morphed into one of the most famous costume designers of the screen. And then so did Molly.

C (4:51)

So you didn't plan on becoming a costume designer?

B (4:54)

No, I never knew what I was gonna do. I felt like everybody around me had figured out what they were gonna do for the rest of their lives. I know that's not true, but I really felt like I was wandering, and I'm so glad the wandering turned into, like, a path, because I was never really that interested in clothes, really. I'm a lot like Pat. I don't know what the it bag is. Pat was always like that. You know, you have assistants that are younger that can tell you the it bag is the Rose blahdy, blah blah. I have people that are interested and can inform me that way.

A (5:37)

But Molly's assistants also have to be particular kinds of people.

B (5:40)

Girls come up to me and say, I love to shop. Can I work for you? No, that is the wrong thing to say to me. If you love to shop, that's telling me personally that you love to shop for yourself. And that does not make a very good shopper. If you come up to me and say, I am so familiar with Pat's style and the downtown scene, and I am so I know the hottest nightclub right now is a secret spot in Brooklyn, and I go there five nights a week. I will be like, you are the kind of shopper that will bring me something that I have never seen. And that's what I'm interested in. That's what I think is a wider eye. It's like looking at the bigger picture. And one of Pat. I want to say this about Pat, too. One of her most dreaded questions from a reporter would be, how do you find what's going to be a trend? And she was like, I don't subscribe to trends, and I see what I like and I go for it. And that's how I was brought up by her.

C (7:09)

Does it feel like you're sort of injecting downtown style in a mainstream way?

B (7:14)

I mean, I don't get too many ideas from an Upper east side housewife. You know, we built Charlotte on that look, right? So, yeah, I guess so. I guess downtown street, something that has a little edge to it. And I get almost all my inspiration from the street. And that is the New York street or the Paris street or the Tokyo street. If you are trying to do contemporary fashion projects, your inspiration, you have to be contemporary yourself. So when a movie calls for me to. Cause I work in such a contemporary, usually such a contemporary script that you can go out and shop it. It's about how you interpret it and style it.

C (8:08)

So do you have any tips for people watching? Like, how do you actually go about observing the streets?

B (8:13)

I don't have my head in my device. I open my eyes. You need to open your eyes and look around and see what's right in front of you.

C (8:27)

I feel like so much of the work you've done is about pushing the boundaries of what people can wear and what they can. You know, like, why not wear a tutu on the street? You know, why not do something. Wear a dirndl. Wear something a little nutty. And I think people. Do you have any advice for people who might be a little at risk taking when it comes to what they wear.

B (8:48)

I think it's important. Pat taught me this, to take something that has a specific purpose and to give it that twist, that Sex and the City twist and put it towards another use. If you feel like your wardrobe is flat, let's say, and you want a little twist to it, then take a scarf, for example, instead of putting it around your neck or putting it around your hair or head. I'm sure some people have seen this a million times, but some people haven't. Tie two together and wear it as a belt. Do you know what I mean? Like, woo, groundbreaking. No? Take an article of clothing and make it do something other than what it's supposed to do. You, you experiment and you have fun. Have fun. Do you like an article of clothing? Then by all means get it and wear it with good health.

C (9:56)

Well, I wanted to ask because, you know, I remember and when I would take kind of risks in clothes and people would make comments or be like, you know, did you get dressed in the dark? You get like feedback and I know you've gotten your fair share of.

B (10:12)

Yeah, I was telling someone the other day I got a death threat for putting that hat on Carrie in the Park. That hat was called My Head in the Clouds and it was a real soft, floaty hat and everybody had an opinion. But you know what? I liked it and she liked it and I liked the artists that made that hat. And so a comment about did you get dressed in the dark or whatever doesn't really mean anything to me because I liked it and I can stand on that. You know what I mean?

C (10:51)

Can I, Can I ask you about Devil Wears Prada too?

B (10:54)

A million girls would kill to not only work on the first one, but then work on the second one. I feel like I've been hit by lightning and hopefully people will like it. And if they do not, I sure had fun doing it and I want, I really want to enjoy it and I hope people will enjoy it. I just wonder, are we able? Including myself, am I able? Is the audience able to go and just go somewhere in the movie and not be like, well, I would have chosen a different blouse, you know.

A (11:31)

But I do think it evidences, I

C (11:33)

do like that people have opinions, even if they're sharp opinions. I do like that they care and they weigh in and they like, I

B (11:41)

don't like death threats over a hat.

C (11:43)

No, I'm sorry.

A (11:46)

And here is why. This little mini episode is sponsored by Macy's. It's where you can get a little piece of Molly Rogers style for yourself.

B (11:54)

I have created a collection with Macy's that I'm super excited about. One of the reasons why I was attracted to doing a collection with Macy's is because it just has such a New York legacy, which most of the shows that I've worked on have as well and take place in very New York.

A (12:14)

At the core, Macy's is one of the last great department stores. It's a New York institution. It's the funder of the Thanksgiving parade and the fourth of July fireworks. They have a tradition where the whole staff lines up to applaud the first shoppers who come in every morning. And last time I went in there, I was like, wow, this building is remarkable. Listen to that. They still have a wooden escalator in the store. It's from the 1920s. Macy's is a special place.

B (12:39)

So it all felt really like a good connection. But I wanted to create something that maybe was unexpected to see at Macy's. And I hope I did that because I brought kind of my favorite things, all of my values or ideas into a collection. I like to tell people there's a beautifully wafer thin, paper thin duster in the Macy's collection. And it's a beautiful blue. I don't know if I'd call it cerulean. We'd have to put that. And I don't know if it's gonna be trending that blue. I just know that I liked it. You know, I don't go by predictions or forecasts. And it's paper thin. A thin duster coat like that has nothing to do with weather conditions. It's not going to keep you warm, keep you from not getting wet. It is literally a piece of jewelry in a way that you can add as a little addition. And it's something that if I saw in a store, I would want to see wafting across a New York City street. Also, there's an idea that I have always wanted to reimagine. There's a green five pocket pant in the collection. And Macy's helped me put the pocket on the back of the pant right above the bum. So it's like a fanny pack, but it's already incorporated into the pant.

A (14:10)

That pant with the built in fanny pack. So cool. Why hasn't anyone done that before?

C (14:15)

So when is your line coming out at Macy's?

B (14:18)

May 6, right at the beginning of the wonderful, beautiful weather. And I hope that I will see people in it and enjoying it.

C (14:30)

If you see someone wearing it, are you gonna go up to them?

B (14:32)

I might, yeah. Where did you get that fabulous jacket? That would be so much fun.

C (14:39)

That's reason enough to get the collection to get a chance to meet you.

B (14:43)

Yay. Yeah.

A (14:44)

The collection Molly Rogers made with Macy's is available now.

B (14:49)

Yay. Macy's.