the cult of vanessa bruno; She's the passion of Parisian sophisticates: tres chic but not trop cher.

Byline: Tina Isaac

Curiously for a designer who owns three boutiques in Paris and is currently celebrating a decade in the business, Va_nessa Bruno continues to hover below the American fashion radar. She is a phenomenal success in Japan, where she has eight boutiques. At home, she is a success story a la francaise: Not only is her name emblematic of a new generation of self-financed female designers, it has transcended its label to incarnate a whole style, right in the middle of edgy. Looking "very Vanessa Bruno" does not necessarily mean wearing her clothes; it signifies a certain Parisian nonchalance-typically in a top that is cut close to the body but not tight, with loose sleeves and a deep neckline, worn over slim pants tucked into boots (as the designer has been wearing them for years). Bruno sums up her style as "easy clothes for difficult girls."

Although some American celebrities such as Mischa Barton and Nicole Richie have recently been spotted in her clothes, Vanessa Bruno is known in the United States mainly for the sequined canvas tote that spawned countless knockoffs. She is stocked in about 50 stores, including Barneys New York, Scoop, and Ludivine in New York; Jake and Hejfina in Chicago; and Ron Herman at Fred Segal in Melrose, Tracey Ross, and Satine in L.A. But the loyal fan base that has followed her from the beginning considers dropping by her boutiques a passage oblige on a trip to Paris.

Bruno's style is at once familiar and elitist. Familiar because she considers herself a stylist, not a createur: She is well enough known that women identify with her lifestyle as a working mother, and her prices are accessible even to modest budgets (her dresses retail for about $500, trousers for about $300). Elitist because there is a coolness to her cuts, fabrics, and details that appeals to a clientele that knows fashion.

"In fashion, I think, there is a healthy rupture between doing very beautiful conceptual designs, like what Nicolas Ghesquiere does, and on the other hand doing what I do, which is creating for myself and other women who want everyday clothes that are seductive in a very subtle way," Bruno observes. Rather than think about how her clothes will look on the pages of a magazine, she approaches proportion by focusing on movement. The result is a sophisticated, feminine take on comfort dressing that is favored by the urban slim as well as women who feel good in their own body, even if that body is over 40 and less than perfect.

On the hanger, Bruno's shapes appear tricky-all bra-defying V-necks, high waists, and loose midriffs. On the body, they forgive a multitude of sins by accentuating the shoulders and the bust and falling fluid around the waist and hips, making a shapely wearer look slimmer (conveniently, most of these pieces could work well into a pregnancy). Bruno's "urban natural" aesthetic is business-appropriate primarily for women in a creative milieu, although her slim-cut trousers would work in any office, and her lingerie-inspired seamless tops in mercerized cotton pair nicely with a suit jacket without cheapening the overall effect. Her dresses in lyocell jersey go with flat sandals by day and a heel at night. "My style is suggested, not imposed, so women feel free to take an element and adapt it," she notes-a very Parisian philosophy of dressing, which has made her a favorite among French fashion stylists and actresses from Charlotte Gainsbourg to Vanessa Paradis and Carole Bouquet.

The daughter of a Danish mother and an Italian father who was one of the founders of Emmanuelle Khan and Cacharel, Bruno knew by the age of ten that she wanted to be a stylist. She honed her craft at Daniel Hechter, Chantal Thomass, and ...