Newsflash: Devi Kroell is my Design Hero

Austrian-born designer Devi Kroell — whose debut ready-to-wear line you may remember I shamelessly gushed over last year — was in D.C. recently as the guest of honor for the grand opening of the very cool high-fashion boutique Hu's Wear. Her insanely gorgeous pieces were even prettier in person (I'm seriously contemplating rolling my Louboutin fund into a Devi Kroell pleated eelskin clutch fund). And Devi herself was just so sweet and incredibly well-spoken about style that she pretty much instantly skyrocketed herself into my top five favorite designers, right up there next to Mr. Elbaz.

I did a small q&a with Devi here, but here's one of my favorite parts:

Q: In a crowded fashion industry, how do you create something new?

Devi: One thing that really inspires me is architecture. I find more inspiration in architectural shapes than vintage fashion. I actually really hate vintage clothes.

Q: Which explains why your designs have a very modern feel.

Devi: The '80s are very trendy now, but I would never say, "Let's redo Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' jacket." No way. I'd rather look to the future.

So, sort of thankfully, there will be no Balmain-esque jackets in her future — just chic, airy, exceptional clothes, like these favorites from her spring collection. Including my oversized eelskin fantasy bag. Droooool.