Have you ever had one of those friends that is really passionate about something and when their onto something good they just glow, Robert Burke is one of those people.I met with Robert (the outgoing Fashion Director and VP of Public Relations for Bergdorf Goodman) today to talk about his new consulting venture. He must have recently met with Michael Bastian (Mr. Bastian will be one of Robert's first consulting clients) because he could not wait to talk about his collection. As he was telling me about the design concept and the prices ($1200 for a jacket, $300ish for a shirt, etc) Robert had this small smile ,a smirk really, and the distant gaze of someone trying carefully to choose just the right words to express just how excited they are about a new project.
Michael Bastians collection will be big for a debut effort ,140 samples, and encompass all the categories a Sartorialist needs to face the world. Bergdorf is ,of course, very interested in carrying the line but the price points are at a level that will not make it restrictive to store all around the United States and abroad. A lot of the details are still under wraps but as soon as the samples are available in the U.S. (through my Sartorialist friend Massimo Caronna) I will be there with my camera to bring you a preview.
As for Robert's other clients, I'm sworn to secrecy, but suffice to say it will probably include at least one very important young designer collection besides Michael Bastian, several other design/merchandising consulting assignments for both large and small, mens and womens, designer brands and consulting with a few very major investment firms on potential investments in the luxury market. Not to be pigeonholed Robert is also entertaining offers from such diverse sectors as entertainment, food and wine, and mass consumer goods, basically anything that could benefit from Robert's finely tuned aesthetic and commercial sensibilities. Ok, basically he took my dream job, but I'm not bitter, I just made him look shorter in this photo than he real is,oops.