To many if not most, Phillip Bloch needs no introduction. A celebrity stylist, television correspondent, and designer, Bloch worked  a model, doing shows for designers such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent, and Comme des Garçons. He also had a stint at Studio 54 in New York, and a designer career, launching the Les Enfants du Paradis cashmere collection with his partner Stefano Di Sabatino before becoming one of the original celebrity stylists working with Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Nicole Kidman, Angela Bassett, Fran Drescher, and more.

Bloch recently launched Omniscient Things, a luxury cashmere collection using vintage-inspired cashmere, silk, sheer and brocade fabrics for one-of-a-kind pieces. As his brand statement puts it, “Omniscient things enhance your power for statement dressing with a glamourous twist.” But you should it hear from the renaissance man himself.

What inspired you to start Omniscient Things?

My inspiration for creating Omniscient Things came very naturally, on a walk through Central Park after having a brilliantly inspirational meeting with Linda Fargo from Bergdorf Goodman about fashion and all things fabulous. Linda is extremely chic, kind, and honest. She guided me through the store as we admired and sometimes questioned the creative choices of the most extraordinary talents in fashion today and throughout fashion history, and the differences between then and now and what really works in the real world of fashion now.

Linda was extremely helpful in helping me understand and unrooting what my natural direction should be based on my four decades in the fashion industry, and the knowledge and varied experiences I have had in my different fashion careers.

My style education has been endless. I have immersed myself extensively in all kinds of fashion,  from haute couture to street style and day-to-day looks for women of all ages, sizes, and ethnicities. So on that walk through Central Park, all that information from all these years just kept flowing through my head, and that is how I came up with what would be Omniscient Things.

A few years before that epiphany, I had worked with Michael Jackson on his last photo shoot. Michael asked lots of questions about designers and fashion and many of the beautiful celebrity women that he and I have as friends such as Diana Ross, Brooke shields, and Halle Berry. Michael had done his research but was still very inquisitive. I eventually said, “you ask a lot of questions,” and he said, “my friend Quincy Told me ‘You do your research, you hire the best people, and then ask them a lot of questions, and that’s how you learn about something – from asking the best.”

Linda seemed like the perfect person to talk to about what a luxurious high-end collection would Look like from me.

Specifically, why did you decide to do one-of-a-kind sustainable pieces?

It was important for me to do a sustainable collection because the statistics surrounding fashion and global waste are unconscionable. The world creates 92 million tons of textile waste every year. Clothing and textiles currently make up at least 7 percent of the total amount of waste in global landfill space;  87 percent of the materials and fibers used to make clothing will end up in either incinerators or landfills. Only 20 percent of discarded textiles are collected, and only one percent of clothes will get recycled into new garments and as a mindful designer. That is the one percent I want to be a part of.

Besides being sustainable, I pride myself in this being a socially-conscious and mindful fashion atelier.  Philanthropy and giving back has also always been a huge and extraordinary part of my career as a TV personality and celebrity stylist.

Describe your fashion philosophy, and how it plays into the new collection.

My fashion philosophy has always been to find clothes that don’t make you just look good, but make you look better. When you look in the mirror, your clothing choices should accentuate the positive parts of your body. Just because something is trendy or everybody else is wearing it, or it’s by a designer that you think you need to be wearing, doesn’t mean you really do need to be wearing that….and if you are suffering for fashion, you are definitely not wearing the right things. It’s important to feel good as well as look good, and if you feel good, you’re gonna look good.

When I went about creating omniscient things, I was very conscious of what women need and love. Now, more than ever women have such busy schedules from board rooms to ballrooms. from running to the PTA to walking red carpets.. every woman is a star in her own show, and I made clothes to dress leading ladies.

Everybody loves a great cashmere sweater; something comfy, and cozy. They can go from day to night, whether you’re putting it with a legging to run to the store or with a ball gown skirt for a work event. I knew that re-purposed cashmere sweaters would make a great base to create my collection around because if you’re gonna spend a lot of money on clothing, you want it to be quality and you want it to be something you can wear without having to worry about it.

How important is sustainability in your life? How does the conscious approach manifest itself?

When I started my career in my life in the fashion world in the early 80s, I was going to Studio 54 all the time. I even worked there as a busboy just to get in for free, l and then as I worked as a model in Europe for almost a decade, so I was always immersed in the glamorous life but didn’t always have the budget to look glamorous. That’s when I first fell in love with vintage shopping. Who knew it was good for the environment in those times.

As human beings, we can all find many ways to be resourceful and repurpose, recycle, and reuse things in our day-to-day life and especially with DIY becoming so important and main stream thanks to YouTube and Instagram, we all have a lot of resources that we never had and awareness of before.

When I was looking at the world of fashion, I realize that what was the ultimate luxury, it definitely is not buying logo-emblazoned designer gear. Everybody already has it …I realized after talking with many of my clients that the ultimate in luxury now is one-of-a-kind pieces, so, as I began to create omniscient things, sweaters, I wanted to make sure that each one was a treasure.

What are some of your favorite pieces in the collection?

Having multiple careers over the years that revolve around fashion and entertainment, I am very blessed to see my creations on some of the world’s most glamorous women already. As a matter of fact, my first showings of the collection were to my celebrity and supermodel girlfriends in LA. At Oscar time, I literally took a big suitcase filled with sweaters too their houses, and it was so exciting to see their enthusiasm and have them try them on and find out what they loved and what didn’t work, so good we can always learn from our mistakes and make things better

You already got icon Fran Drescher in one of your pieces. Who else is your dream customer?

The legendary Pat Cleveland was the first recipient of one of my sweaters, and Fran Drescher, Lydia Hearst, Vivica Fox and Dania Ramirez were my first customers. I was so excited when my friend Rodney Burns, who owns Church Boutique in LA, gave one of my sweaters to Lenny Kravitz to give to Zoe Kravitz. over the last few months I have been able to create pieces for Julianna Margulies and Kim Cattrall and I am working on some special pieces for Angela Bassett and Cindy Crawford as we speak. I’m hoping to get my sweaters to Christy, Linda, and Naomi…I would love to dress Kate Middleton and Kamala Harris in Omniscient Things as well.

What’s next for Phillip Bloch?

This has been an exciting year for me…This is all like a dream come true…creating a new podcast called “True Crime, Fashion and Passion” with my cohosts Pat Cleveland and Carol Alt. It’s a fun, sensational, and sometimes scary or inspiring look at the world of fashion and the amazing people we meet along the way. every other week. We have interviewed people like Mickey Boardman, Miss Jay Alexander, Stephen Burrows, and Marielle Bobo of Ebony magazine.

And the second part of our series focuses on true crime in the world of fashion. I do that part with Carol Alt and have over 300 cases of true fashion crimes. Some of the episodes include legendary runway model Katoucha Niane and we even did a piece on designer Anand Jon and his tragic rise to fame and fall.

Our podcast is a real tribute to the creators.