Haute and Hippie with Cady Vaccaro

LCAHouston’s Ruchi Mukherjee sat down with Haute Hippie’s new creative director Cady Vaccaro at Neiman Marcus Galleria to discuss her inspirations, trends and recent trip to India.

RM: What’s Haute Hippie’s style all about?

CV: The Haute Hippie style is all about luxury in layering. It is a collection for the bold and empowered woman who is well traveled. I would describe it as both sexy and romantic. The key components that really set us apart are silk, suiting and layers. Each piece is made with great attention to detail. You will notice the unique novelty trims, treatments, embroidery and beading on all of the pieces.

RM: I see a lot of Indian embroidery work in Haute Hippie designs, and I hear your recent trip to India was simply fabulous! Please share.

CV: My trips to India are so impactful to the collection. The inspiration I get there is magical. I find color, theme, print, embroidery and beading inspiration everywhere. I love to see what the people on the street are wearing. I have gone to all the artisan markets and walked through all the small roads in the beading district. You never know what you are going to find. It is so important to go to the factories and get the opportunity to work with them one on one. You can really specify every detail down to the exact bead you would like. Furthermore you can actually sit at the loom and place the beads yourself.

RM: What’s in your closet?

CV: What is NOT in my closet? It is a very eclectic assortment. I have a special closet designated just for beading and embroidery. You will find mostly Haute Hippie and vintage. I am a big vintage collector, and I find a lot of inspiration in that style. The way clothes used to be constructed always intrigues me. There is always so much handwork that I admire.

RM: How do you keep your creative juices flowing? What’s your inspiration?

CV: Inspiration can be found everywhere. Keep your eyes open to everything, and dream when they are closed. I love getting inspiration from traveling. I also get inspiration from random places. Our last resort collection was based on Peggy Lee and the Maverick Festival. I was inspired by Peggy Lee from listening to her song “Is That All There Is?” at Christmas with my father, and the Maverick Festival from a newspaper I purchased in Paris.

RM: What did you enjoy the most in Houston?

CV: I enjoyed EVERYTHING. I loved meeting the customers. I think it’s important to actually meet and style your customers in order to understand them. I loved meeting the whole Houston community. Everyone is so friendly. We went to dinner one night and the waiter wrote a whole list of places we needed to go to, and even numbered them in order of when we should go.

Photos By Priscilla Dickson