William Ivey Long

“Make yourself more you.” That might just be the official mantra of William Ivey Long, veritable Broadway royalty and six-time Tony Award^®-winning costume designer (most recently, for Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella). Although his gowns get all the glory, Long has always succeeded at dressing the person inside the clothes. From Little Edie Beale to Edna Turnblad to the Fairy Godmother, Long delights in the transformative nature of what we wear.

With cool weather just a few more heat waves away, Long offers his egalitarian perspective on transitioning your wardrobe from summer to fall. His vision is less Fashion Police and more Oprah, gut instinct overruling runway trend. Seersucker, polyester, pantsuits, and even the dreaded socks-with-sandals combo don’t faze him – he gives you his blessing to create your own fashion reality.

On instinct… “Wrap up your fabulous package in different ways. You should spend as much time as you can thinking about and looking at and experimenting with what makes you feel great. Analyze it slightly – why does this make you feel great? But mainly, you should just go with your instinct.”

On inspiration… “Study the magazines, study what people are doing on the street. I love following Bill [Cunningham]’s work. He is a wry poet. His juxtapositions are the thousand words.”

“The best visions are on the subways. Even on the street, people have a strut – but on the subway, that’s when the real truth comes out. ”

On his favorite summer staple… “The look I’ve really grown to appreciate…it’s the simple cotton dress that’s slightly empire, for ease of breathing and walking and huffing and puffing. It’s very hot, yet [you] can breathe. It’s not too tight, and still shows the figure.”

On dressing for fall… “The fall is new beginnings. Renaissance. Rebirth. No matter what we think and what age we are, it’s really back to school. How have I changed from summer vacation? How am I approaching the new year? Even though 99% of us are not in school, fall is the new serious. The new together. People start wearing fall early – when they want to get back to business.”

On classics… “I love to see how classics are reinterpreted in the 2013 world. I love seeing everything that’s old is new again. Zac Posen and Isabel Toledo routinely bring out the best of the late 30s and early 40s.”

On breaking fashion rules… “I love seeing the people who observe [a rule] and the people who break it consciously…and trying to figure out the social reasons behind it. It’s fascinating to me.”

“The other day, [I saw someone] wearing, I think, almost an actual bra and panties. They could pull it off; it looked scrumptious, but they were pushing a boundary.”

On transforming yourself… “The reason I was drawn to Cinderella – to design it, and to help create the magic, and the whole point of the magic – is [the idea of] making yourself more YOU. Transforming yourself into a better, brighter you, a more empowered you. It’s all about sense of self.”

“In Cinderella, it’s aspirational dressing. She doesn’t just want to go to the ball. She wants to walk in the front door. It’s not just about a prince. She just wants to be treated respectfully and as a human being. We have tried to show that it’s not just dressing for the man. These dresses that we’ve done are metaphors for changing yourself for the better.”

For more information about Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, visit www.CinderellaonBroadway.com.

Note: This content was provided by the New York creative services department, not the NYMag.com editorial staff.