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March 6, 2008 5:27 pm
Like any woman counting down the days to her wedding, Ana Lerario is preoccupied by matters sartorial: the dress, in other words. But unlike most girls headed to the altar, Lerario has more fashion expertise on speed dial than she can handle: Not only is she a designer herself, heading up the label Lerario Beatriz, but she’s also the founder of New York’s directional Fiftytwo Showroom, and the man with whom she’ll be exchanging vows next month is none other than menswear talent Robbie Geller. So who’s making the gown? “Richard Chai,” Lerario says, happily. “And it’s amazing.” Lerario and Chai go way back—she interned for him at Marc Jacobs, assisted him at TSE, and then, when they both struck out on their own, she convinced him to split loft space with her downtown. Chai’s studio is a matter of steps from Lerario’s, which definitely proved a convenience as the harried designer/entrepreneur/bride-to-be found herself splitting time between wedding plans and getting ready for her Fall ‘08 collection. “I feel like this collection is the most ‘me,’ ” she says, noting the mix of subtly “armored” looks influenced by her adopted hometown of New York and the loose, bohemian vibe of her native Brazil. With her show behind her, Lerario is spending the last weeks before her walk down the aisle in Brazil, and leaving the dress stuff to Chai, who’ll be flying down for the ceremony. “It’s a big secret,” she says of his confection. “Robbie keeps telling me, ‘I don’t want to know. I just want to see you in it.’ “
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