After winning the coveted CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund she and her team were paired up with Tom Ford, who served as their mentor during the yearlong process. What was it like working with everyone’s favorite Virgo? “He’s the most brilliant person,” Vassar says of the renowned designer, adding that Ford helped them really hone in on their brand identity. “He helped us find this idea of Brock being raw American romance,” she says. “And if it’s not romantic and it’s not floral, if it’s not who we are, get rid of it.”
As for her own advice to aspiring designers? “There’s no right time,” she says, thinking back to some of Brock Collection’s earliest runway shows. “You just have to do it—you just have to go for it.” It seems to have paid off for Vassar and co.: The brand is now stocked at big-time sites like MatchesFashion, Net-a-Porter, and Moda Operandi, and they’re currently working expanding the brand internationally, partnering with Onward Luxury Group to produce ready-to-wear pieces in Italy. Not too bad, right? We can’t wait to see what they do next.