He pauses. Then smiles. He sees how people might assume that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a cis, white male from upstate New York,\u201d Ives says, \u201cBedford [a wealthy town], more specifically. It\u2019s very easy for people to fill in the blanks there.\u201d But Ives\u2019s father is a minister, and his mom \u201cis a self-made pediatric orthodontist who put herself through 12 years of medical school,\u201d he says, \u201cthat work ethic has been embedded in me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does he think people think he\u2019s a nepo baby because he has nepo baby friends?<\/p>\n
He laughs. \u201cWell, yes,\u201d he says, \u201cBut we\u2019ve been having this conversation for years without moving the dial in any kind of way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Does he care if people think he\u2019s a social climber? It\u2019s one very American trait, after all.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I don\u2019t,\u201d he says. \u201cI came up in an era where that relationship,\u201d between a wealthy patron and a young, skilled designer, \u201cwas maybe more common than it is now. But it is a symbiotic relationship.\u201d John Galliano had a supporter in Portuguese aristocrat Sao Schlumberger. Karl Lagerfeld\u2019s muse was a baroness by marriage, Amanda Harlech. And Lee Alexander McQueen was chummy with socialite Isabella Blow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will always seek out inspirational, powerful women,\u201d Ives says. \u201cThat is a beautiful archetype for a woman. I don\u2019t think my woman is quiet or that she is meek. When I think of Sara or Lauren, I think of elegant, chic, powerful women who have moved heaven and earth for me. I love watching them get dressed, and talk to them about fashion. If you have a friend who likes what you are doing and has the power and means to support it, why would I turn that down?\u201d<\/p>\n
Perhaps Ives\u2019s willingness to get closer to power is what ticks off his cohort. Designers of his ilk and generation like to say no to the establishment. It gives them a sense of purpose. \u201cIt just feels so strange to do fashion in 2026 in this edgelord kind of way,\u201d Ives says.<\/p>\n
Lauren Santo Domingo at the 2026 Vanity Fair<\/em> Oscar Party wearing Conner Ives.<\/p>\n <\/span>Neilson Barnard\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Sara Moonves at W Magazine<\/em>‘s 2026 Best Performances party, wearing Conner Ives.<\/p>\n <\/span>Phillip Faraone\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Clout aside, Conner Ives, the brand, is very much a real thing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot keep his clothing in stock,\u201d Santo Domingo says at Moda Operandi, which has carried Ives\u2019s collection since the spring-summer 2026 season. The retailer saw the demand for Conner Ives accelerate starting with his fall-winter 2026 collection earlier this year, having done nearly $500,000 in sales off their fall trunk show in March, which a representative for the retailer says \u201cis an extraordinary result for an emerging independent designer.\u201d It helped, of course, that Santo Domingo, an online influencer in her own right, wore a look by Ives to Vanity Fair<\/em>\u2019s Oscar Party<\/a> around the same time. Only one week after Ives\u2019s fall collection went live in Moda\u2019s channels earlier this month, it\u2019s already at 75% sell-through. It\u2019s the retailer\u2019s strongest fall collection launch of the season so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/span><\/div>\n