Style & Fashion

Backstage before his New York Fashion Week show at St. Bart’s Church on Park Avenue, Dennis Basso, the king of fur for many a Trump (he’s a family friend) and rich New York City lady, revealed he was celebrating 35 years in the fashion business.

“It went by in a snap,” Basso said in his gravely timbre. And to mark the milestone, it was time for a change. This collection included sportswear, he said, not just fur. Watch out for evening dresses and leather, he said. Even denim. “I love fashion,” he said of having no plans to retire. “It doesn’t feel like work.”

As for objections over using fur, he batted away the question by claiming there were “more important things to worry about,” like child health. He wasn’t dressing any Trump women right now, as he has in the past, he said. Neither Ivana nor Tiffany, guests at past shows, were there Monday. He thinks the women of the family are “dressing beautifully,” demurring any further comment on the presidency itself: “I’m not political.”

It was on to the next 35 years, Basso said, and added—in terms of an as-yet unmet ambition—“I’d like to act in a movie.”

A few moments later, the 70-outfit strong collection rolled out just as he said it would: There was still fur, luxuriantly worn as ever, but there were also slinky evening dresses, ornately beaded gowns, and short leather skirts. The redoubtable Basso sails on.