SJP
InStyle | January 2017
By Laura Brown
LB: Do people expect anything different now from your style than they used to?
SJP: I dress based on what I have. I’m not a huge shopper, but I love beautiful things. To be able to borrow them is ridiculously fortunate, and I enjoy every second of that. I have a pretty standard wardrobe, though I’ve got wonderful shoes. That’s more so the case now. I genuinely don’t know what people think of me or want from me.
LB: Why did you start making shoes and fragrances?
SJP: I love producing. I learned to do it on Sex and the City. I think it’s very exciting to be responsible for projects and people. And I think being an actor who’s a producer is especially interesting and potentially helpful to those on set because you know what is needed. You can read faces, you can read rooms, and you know what you want and what’s important. You have to be a people person, and I love people. I love taking care of them.
LB: What have you learned about business and the fashion industry since becoming a designer?
SJP: It’s really tough. And it’s competitive. I don’t mean the designers are competitive. I mean it’s a competitive industry. Without marketing dollars, you have to be consistent with your customers. You have to be deserving of their money. I’ve learned how to deal with people and get past obstacles, disappointments, and even biases; how to run a business and be taken seriously; and how to earn people’s respect by demonstrating how serious, hardworking, and accountable I am.