Ray Alex Smith is the Style Reporter for the Wall Street Journal, he was also the first ever Menswear reporter for the Journal, which is quite an achievement if you ask me! Never the less after this interview I found that Ray comes across as very humble writer with a penchant for jazz and a love of fashion. Being familiar with @rayalexsmith on twitter for a few seasons now I have seen him tweet off an on about different fashion events and I had a hunch that there had to be some great stories behind all these tweets! So I asked him a little bit about his history with the Wall Street Journal and his favorite memories of covering such a glamorous beat. I also asked his opinion on rules in fashion and who he would invite to a dream brunch cohosted with yours truly. I don’t want to spoil the interview for you but he invited Prince! Obviously the talented Mr. Smith is my kind of guy! You can read the full interview below and if you like you can follow @rayalexsmith on twitter or visit his profile page on WSJ to read his latest work. Thank you Ray Alex Smith for this awesome and fun interview!

FG: How did you get your start writing about fashion?

RAS: I had been writing about commercial real estate for The Wall Street Journal for a number of years and in 2004, I began thinking about giving another beat a shot. I wanted to write about something a little more consumery. I had always admired the work of the Journal’s expert fashion writer Teri Agins and thought it might be interesting to write about menswear. At the time, the Journal was planning to launch a Saturday edition and increase lifestyle coverage. I had a meeting with an influential senior editor at the paper to discuss my potential next career move and proposed covering menswear. The paper liked the idea and covering menswear became my beat. It was the first time the Journal had a reporter devoted to menswear.

FG: How long have you been working with the Wall Street Journal and Do you have a favorite memory of this experience?

RAS: I have been with the newspaper since 1999 – and I worked for the Journal while in college, as a news assistant. My favorite moment covering fashion, that’s a tough one. But some of my favorite moments have occurred at fashion shows. The first few Michael Kors fashion shows I attended were a treat. They were so big and energetic and fun. And he had legendary stars in his audience, not just the hot new young starlet. It was exciting for a newcomer like me. At that point, the other shows I had been to were mostly menswear and much smaller. Another memorable show was the one for the Lanvin and H&M collaboration, held last fall. It was held at the Pierre Hotel in New York City, and it was a very heady experience. Butlers fetched Champagne or scotch on the rocks for you and the models really vamped down the runway, laughing and seeming to have so much fun. It was so spirited and a little bawdy but not in a tawdry way. It felt very “Can-Can”, very old-world Parisian hothouse. It really put you in a good mood.

FG: If you weren’t a writer, what would your next career of choice be?

RAS: I would love to have been a jazz musician if I wasn’t writing.

FG: Do you believe in rules in fashion? If not please explain, if yes what is your #1 fashion rule to live by?

RAS: I think certain rules are helpful. Like the one about buttoning one button on a suit jacket, especially for men. There is a right and wrong way to wear certain things, sometimes it’s just about the little details like that button. Or not having the tie fall below your belt buckle. I find it fun when you can try to do a combination of sticking to rules and improvisation with an outfit.

FG: Let’s end this interview on a fun note! You and I are having the brunch of our dreams and inviting whomever we want both living and deceased. I have already invited Oprah, Stefano Gabbana, Elsa Schiaparelli, and My Mom to my side of the table. Who would you choose to fill your four seats on your side of the table?

RAS: I would choose James Baldwin, he was a big inspiration for me to become a writer, Julianne Moore, Duckie Brown (they’re a duo so I may be hitting my limit) and Prince.

Simon Alcantara is a jewelry designer, former ballet dancer, native New Yorker, proud member of the CFDA and one of my absolute favorite people on twitter! We met over a tweet about the Shaft theme song and have been twitter bff’s ever since! The more I learn about Simon the more I am shocked at how humble he is in regards to his many achievements. Not only did he receive a big break from Patricia Field who first sold his budding jewelry line he also worked with Oscar de La Renta creating runway jewelry and he designed collections for Balmain Haute Couture, that is only to name a few of the accomplishments by the talented Mr. Alcantara. In this interview I asked Simon about his start in the fashion industry, challenges he might have faced and what inspires him to make such beautiful pieces. Of course I kept this interview “Fashionisgreat” while tapping into his fun side by asking about his perfect day in NYC, his ideal imaginary dinner party and what food he might be if he were one. Simon Alcantara is as fun and inspiring as his designs are well crafted and breath taking. (more…)