15 Minutes with Vanessa Traina
Author:Lindsey ShookSan Francisco native Vanessa Traina is known for her impeccable style and impressive work with iconic fashion houses including Balenciaga, Altuzarra, Reed Krakoff, and more. She recently translated her taste to the design industry with the launch of The Line, an immersive retail and e-commerce concept that contextualizes beauty, fashion, art, and home products in a residential space. With locations in New York and California, we asked the style maven to share more of the story/backstory (or somesuch) behind this revolutionary business and her overall take on the industry.
Who is your fashion icon?
My mother.
What inspired you to launch The Line?
The idea and concept for The Line came from the idea of offering a pared-back but holistic lifestyle approach to shopping. We wanted to create a space and experience where goods across all categories—fashion, art, design—could be put into the context of home and inspire customers to see their value within their own lives but also trust that they are the best in their category, tried and true.
Where do you see fashion and interior design intersecting most often?
In retail, now more than ever. It seems people are searching more and more for context and meaning behind their purchases and looking for meaningful stories around the objects they bring into their lives. Interior design and fashion are both extremely important representations of oneself’s expression, so it’s no surprise both are being taken into consideration when it comes to retail. It’s something we pay close attention to with The Line.
How has the essence of San Francisco inspired your aesthetic?
San Francisco is quite European, in terms of its architecture and design, and naturally, having grown up there, I feel it does inspire me in that way.
What icon (dead or alive) would you love to style?
Slim Keith.
The perfect night for you includes?
Dinner with my friends and family at one of my favorite restaurants, then ending the evening by relaxing at home.
