Carly Cushnie & Michelle Ochs: On Design Inspiration And A Mutual Love For Cheese
Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs – the gorgeous designers behind Cushnie et Ochs – have created a name for themselves with a line that every woman wants to wears. Cushnie et Ochs is all about modern and understated clothing that makes a woman feel beautiful while still celebrating her individuality. Their dresses in particular are pretty much the answer to the age old question: What should I wear tonight? We sat down with the duo at Red Farm to talk style, inspiration, and a mutual love for cheese…
CARLY CUSHNIE (above left)
From start to finish, what would be your ideal food day?
My ideal dream pig-out day would be breakfast at Café Select, lunch at Tacombi Fonda Nolita (love their tacos!), and dinner at The NoMad.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Travel, movies, art, and architecture.
Where are your favorite spots to travel? What won’t you travel without?
Anywhere with a beach. I always travel with a large scarf to cozy up with and a healthy snack like a Kind Bar.
Who is a style icon of yours that has the opposite style as you?
Probably Audrey Hepburn. I’ve always loved how sleek, unfussy, and classic her style was.
Words to dress by…
Life’s too short to wear boring clothes.
Advice to new designers…
Define your aesthetic then live and breathe it.
How do you start your day on a good note?
I like to workout in the morning, otherwise I will never do it, and it gets me pumped to start my day.
How do you practice beauty from the inside out?
I make a green smoothie every morning and notice a considerable difference to my skin and energy when I don’t have one. I add a little coconut oil to the smoothie also, which is great to ingest and to put directly on your skin.
Beauty mainstays you haven’t changed since your teen years…
Taking my Omega’s and fish oils every day. My mother has been giving them to me since I was a kid.
3 foods you can’t live without…
Cheese, cheese, and wine.
3 accessories you can’t live without…
My black Chanel handbag, black Louboutin stiletto boots, and my Jennifer Fisher pave diamond ring.
Items you’d like to steal from one another’s closet….
Michelle’s new Celine bag.
Your most successful and least successful impulse buys…
Least Successful: A pair of way too colorful Marni shoes at a sample sale that didn’t even fit.
Most Successful: My gold YSL pointy wedge sandals. A total gamble, and I wasn’t sure if I would wear them, but I live in them in the summer.
You never liked X till your tried it at Y…
I was always a little nervous to try sweetbreads until I had them at Recette. They make them like hot chicken wings with blue cheese dipping sauce. So good!
What are your favorite cities for food? What restaurants do you go to in each?
The Brits get such a bad rap for food, but I think London has some of the best restaurants of anywhere, and I’m particularly partial to good fish pie! I love going to the The River Café, and Brit staples like Scott’s and The Wolseley. London also has the best Indian food outside India.
Paris has some great restaurants once you get off the beaten track, otherwise it generally gets a bit same-y. I love Les Bistronomes and Le Chateaubriand.
When I was in Phoenix there were so many great healthy food restaurants that weren’t just limited to salad bars or lunch spots. I really liked True Food Kitchen.
In the same vein as ‘what is the new black,’ what is ‘the new potato’ right now?
Beef cheek.
MICHELLE OCHS (above left)
From start to finish, what would be your ideal food day?
Breakfast: Lox and an everything bagel with the works.
Lunch: Scarpetta spaghetti made by my brother, who is a chef.
Dinner: Employees Only steak for two, cooked medium with sea salt and jalapenos and a side of potato gratin.
Cocktail: A slightly dirty martini with no olives.
Dessert: Bottle of red wine and a massive cheese plate.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Movies, they can take you anywhere you like.
Where are your favorite spots to travel? What won’t you travel without?
Anywhere and everywhere. Never leave home without your passport.
Who is a style icon of yours that has the opposite style as you?
Bianca Jagger
Words to dress by…
Life’s too short to wear boring clothes.
Advice to new designers…
Get an MBA.
How do you practice beauty from the inside out? (diet)
Food feeds my soul. This is what makes me happy, and happy is beauty to me.
Beauty mainstays you haven’t changed since your teen years…
Neutrogena Facial Wipes
3 foods you can’t live without…
Cheese, Rice, and Bread
3 accessories you can’t live without…
Hair tie, cell phone, and lip gloss
Items you’d like to steal from one another’s closet…
I would steal Carly’s baby blue fur stole.
Your most successful and least successful impulse buys…
Most successful: My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy, Jack
Least successful: Le Creuset cookware – too intimidated to use it.
You never liked X till you tried it at Y…
I never liked Sea Urchin until I tried a live one at Blue Ribbon Sushi.
What are your favorite cities for food? What restaurants do you go to in each?
My favorite city for food is Maryland for two reasons: crab from the Chesapeake Bay, and our family restaurant, The Nibbler.
In the same vein as ‘what is the new black,’ what is ‘the new potato’ right now?
Kale is the new potato.
*Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs, photographed at Red Farm in New York, NY by Danielle Kosann. Carly and Michelle wear Cushnie et Ochs.
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