StyleMaven: StyleFile - Designer Interviews: Colette Malouf

By Erinn Morgan

Colette Malouf is the doyenne of design when it comes to hair accessories.Her chic, cool baubles are coveted by the ultra-hip the globe 'round. Evencelebs powerhouses such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Heather Graham, Madonna, andGisele Bundchen are hooked on Malouf's goods. Lest you think she is merely ofthe headband, barrette, and pony holder mindset, her repertoire includes head"necklaces," Austrian crystal headpieces, wire webbed "head scarves," and pony "cuffs."

The designer was born and raised in New York's Greenwich Village, where her Lebanese family ran a couture clothing business. Her first foray into hair accessories was the Malouf Pouf (a double-elasticized cuff) in 1987, which sold out at Bergdorf Goodman in just two weeks. Today, her business is till rockin', and she is the only hair accessories designer to be a part of the fashion world's prestigious Council of Fashion Designer of America (CFDA).

Three years ago, realizing her materials would transition well into another venue, she launched into jewelry design, and since then her sexy statement pieces have become as hot as her hair wear. "I love to work with glass and leather and sterling," she says.

Additionally, fashion phenomenon Michael Kors is so enamoured of Malouf's direction that he recently collaborated with her on a collection which she designed under his name. "We both see eye to eye," says Malouf. "Everything is very bold and clean and simple."

The Malouf collections are sold in New York at Jeffrey and Bergdorf Goodman; in Los Angeles at Fred Segal Tiara; and in San Francisco at Saks Fifth Avenue and nationwide at Sephora. The designer has also just inked a deal with fab bi-coastal salon

As a time-constrained girl with a penchant for fashion, we knew we'd get to the core of it all by asking Malouf her favorite shopping spots. "I change where I shop a lot, because I feel if I go to any one place too much it becomes redundant," she says. Thus, her list is quite varied: so "I recently went to Barney's lingerie department and had a great time this line Cappucine which is phenomenal."

* "I love L'Eclaireur in Paris in the Marais."

* "There is this great store in Bolognia called Hotel--they have Prada and Gucci, but everything else they carry is also very sophisticated."

* "I love Joseph, particularly for outerwear."

* "Really, I do a neighborhood at a time for shopping

* "Keep rotating and mix it up in your wardrobe.