The lean, androgynous silhouette of Rad Hourani’s black, unisex clothing may be the look of the moment, but it would be a mistake to dismiss his work as trendy. “I’m anti-trend,” the self-taught designer explains of his signature slashed and slender pieces. “Even if people think it’s cool now, that doesn’t mean next season you won’t see it at my shows.” Hourani, who fell into styling shortly after high school in Montreal and now splits his time between Paris and New York, has developed a singular confidence in his personal aesthetic. “You see so much clothing as a stylist,” he says, “but I never really saw anything I wanted for myself. So in 2007 I decided to launch my own collection.”

In the five seasons since, Hourani has studiously worked and reworked signature pieces like rectangular tunics, sharp trousers with cutouts and rich jackets in silk, wool and leather. For his spring/summer 2010 collection, the designer further expanded the flash of metallics he showed in his fall/winter 2009 line, draping silver chains across leather trousers and vests, and running silver elastic through leggings. Also new for spring: zippers aplenty to transform sleeve and hem lengths.

Critics may bemoan his single-minded vision, but it’s Hourani’s obsessive attention to detail that sets him apart: a longer cuff inside a leather sleeve so that, as he explains, “the inside is as beautiful as the outside,” or straps hidden inside a jacket so that the wearer can carry it backpack style. “It’s important that when you see a piece of my clothing, you know that it’s Rad Hourani without looking at the label,” he says. “I took the pieces I loved and made them more perfect each season—like an evolution.”

Hourani’s clothes may appear to be wearable only for a select few blessed with model proportions, but the designer insists on a more democratic take: “One of my best clients is 65 years old, a curvy size 10, and she wears it extremely well. She says my clothing makes her feel long, slim and ageless. I think you can take any of my pieces and make it your own.”

Related Links:
Rad Hourani : http://www.radhourani.com/