Loungewear isn’t necessarily tailor Christy Rilling’s speciality. After all, she grew to fame after altering—and eventually creating—one-off pieces for celebrities and politicians, including Emily Ratajkowski and Michelle Obama. With a background in megawatt tailoring, Rilling later went on to launch a debut collection of bespoke dresses. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rilling no longer had clients attending movie premieres or awards shows for the foreseeable future. She found herself with a problem on her hands—and a whole lot of red carpet fabric. To make lemonade out of lemons, or rather, plenty of silk, Rilling started what she terms as a “stay home” robe, a capsule collection of robes that uses leftover fabric from Rilling’s celebrity jobs.
Each robe comes with its own fabulous history. A marigold version of the robe, which Hunt models, uses the silk lining from the dress that Ms. Obama wore to the 2016 State of the Union Address. Another standout is a robe made from Sherman’s print that was originally for the Undercover Spring 2018 collection and was donated to Rilling by Sherman herself. “There is something in all of them that brings back happy memories,” says Rilling. The robes are priced from $1,180 to $2,100 dollars, and with each sale, Rilling will donate 30 percent of the proceeds to the Food Bank for New York City
.Besides the luxury of being able to be swaddled in one of Ms. Obama’s silk castoffs, the stay-at-home robe project has allowed Rilling to keep her staff of 15 working. “The biggest challenge has been to try to keep my staff happy and calm and employed during this process,” she says. “Just make it last as I can until we can get back to work again or unless my clients want to do virtual fittings.” Rilling is able to see her team still, but from afar: Currently, she uses a borrowed car to make no-contact pick-up and deliveries of fabrics and finished robes. If something needs altering, Rilling also consults with her team via video chat. And while Rilling and her team has become accustomed to working remotely, the separation has been difficult, and yet, has served as a moment to learn from. “We miss everybody working in the atelier. It is a group effort because you’re always testing things and talking to one another,” she says, adding. “But when you’re creative and used to making things already, you have an edge up because you’re able to make stuff like that which is a really beautiful thing, especially in this time period.” Looking to snag one? The pieces are available at christyrilling.com.
