Sarah Luna Finds Its Calling

NEW YORK — Before Sarah Blumenthal found her true calling as a fashion designer, she tested a few other possibilities.

First, she went the academic route and enrolled in the graduate program at the New School University in Greenwich Village, where she studied philosophy after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College. Then she opened a restaurant, Irving, in 2000 in Gramercy Park that served Jewish, Mexican, and Italian cuisines, or what she liked to call, “Jewsion” cuisine. The restaurant, however, was short-lived and closed in January 2002. Finally, she caught the fashion bug, possibly from her sister, designer Alice Roi, and launched her contemporary line, Sarah Luna, in 2003.

“I’ve always bitten off more than I could chew,” said Blumenthal, draped across the arm of a couch as she stared lovingly at her newest venture, Sarah Luna, hanging in front of her at her showroom at 252 West 38th Street here. “Life is too short,” she said.

Sarah Luna had a soft launch two years ago, but now it seems as if the collection, like its designer, has finally found its true voice. The spring collection consists of 40 to 45 pieces and includes corset tops, embroidered jackets and patchwork dresses. The wholesale price range is between $78 and $300.

Blumenthal, 32, a native New Yorker, said wrap dresses that are undeniably girly, but edgy, are among her key pieces for spring. “I like to call it, ‘hard girly,'” she said. “Or ‘pretty with a bite.'” Blumenthal’s body-conscious yet wearable designs have skull detailing, bondage buckles and tattoo art.

Her love of philosophy, poetry and rock ‘n’ roll is apparent in the one-of-a-kind vintage prints. It’s no surprise she cites former Guns n’ Roses frontman Axl Rose, and Ossie Clark, the late famed British designer of the Sixties and Seventies, as design influences. But like everything else Blumenthal has dabbled in, she’s learning as she goes. “The more experience I get, the bigger the collection will be,” she said, adding she hopes to one day incorporate denim into her line.

“I’m totally from the H&M school of thought,” she explained. “I think fashion should be accessible. I want it to be sexy, youthful and fun. I take a totally egalitarian approach to fashion.”