Charles Harbison Interview On His Line Harbison, New York Fashion Week, His Aesthetic

Charles Harbison, designer of the new womenswear line Harbison, developed an interest in fashion at a young age from watching and spending time with his mother. "After coming home [from work], she would transform into this more confident, elegant representation of herself," Harbison told Uinterview exclusively. "I know now that that's what I'm referencing and that's what I want to continue to do for women — offer them the tools so that they can aesthetically represent themselves to the world in a way that gives them confidence and ease of mind."

Harbison's design principles were largely guided by the Bauhaus modernist movement during his formative years studying design. "I was taught to understand portion and scale, balance and structure," said Harbison. "This movement out of Germany that was so disciplined in a beautiful sort of way. So I tried to apply those tenants to the clothes."

In his designs, Harbison strives to shadow the inherent contradictions that exist within women. "I love to give her access to those parts of herself where she can be fully feminine and love the soft, nurturing, fragile aspects of herself," Harbison told Uinterview exclusively. "But at the same time, she gets to incorporate the aspects of her that are strong, that can be dominating, that can be challenging and that's that hard and soft that I love to represent thematically. And then the baseline is just giving her beautiful clothes that she can live in."

In September, Harbison showed at New York Fashion Week and he was greeted with resounding praise by the fashion press. "I still haven't completed my first year so business is moving at a really amazing pace but slowly," said Harbison. "Each of these affirming moments, every moment is like, 'Ok, there's a market. There's a woman that exists that enjoys what I'm doing and that there is a place for me, there's a niche. So Charles, keep going!'"