Project runway alum finds his place in fashion

Designer Emmett McCarthy is multi-tasking. He's giving a phone interview from his New York City boutique, EMC2, sending off an e-mail to "Project Runway" guru Tim Gunn and answering another ringing phone to give someone a job lead. Since his stint on the second season of the wildly popular Bravo hit, "Project Runway," the North Haven-born and raised McCarthy said the experience on the reality show was "catapulting. "It totally brought me to a place I was unprepared for," he said.

And that place being & fame? Fortune? Not exactly.

"To accountability," he said. "Accountability to my talent & [to a place] where my talent was recognized. It was put out there in a big way. "I had been in the background [working in corporate America] for so many years due to personal reasons," he explained.

After the very high TV exposure he received, McCarthy realized he couldn't hide his light under a bushel anymore. He made the decision to open his own shop and switched from designing menswear to designing for the more lucrative women's market. "Now I have a design studio, a team of eight people and a board of directors," said McCarthy, 43, describing himself as a hands-on business owner and designer. In March 2006, McCarthy opened EMC2 to amazing success. As Gunn recalls, he told McCarthy not to expect a profit for a few years. But, within three months, said Gunn, he was in the black. "[The boutique] is stunning," said Gunn. "I'm so proud of him." The two keep in frequent contact, said

both men. McCarthy even designed a bobble-head doll of Gunn and had a meet-and-greet event at his store for his TV mentor.

"Four thousand people showed up. They were lined up down the street," said McCarthy. "He signed T-shirts, looked at portfolios." People are so drawn to Gunn and he is so gracious talking to them that McCarthy had to play the bad guy and keep things moving or they might still be there. The formula for McCarthy's success has been a couple of things, he said. His location on Elizabeth Street in the heart of the fashionable Soho shopping district is key, along with his 20 years of experience in fashion. But "understanding the customer's needs and delivering beautiful merchandise people want to wear," is another big part. His customers, he said, are women, ages 20 to 60, who want to indulge themselves in well-made fashions and accessories. While he does seasonal collections, McCarthy said he is integrating new pieces every week. "We sell a lot of dresses and coats & lots of coats," he said. Dresses range in price from $340 to $425, and come in sizes 2 to 14, he said. For spring, prints are very popular, he said. A black and white patterned coat, which he introduced last year, is selling strong again this season.

"The black and white just blew out of the store," he said. "We've done a lot of golds, metallics and white for spring."

An unexpected jacket with trench coat detailing that McCarthy calls a cropped trench retails for $395 and goes well with pencil jeans, he said.

Tweaking the classic trench seems to be a trend this year, with the Associated Press reporting that Michael Kors offers one in eyelet and Zac Posen created a short, sassy satin version. Even Burberry, the venerable British brand that started it all with gabardine coats in the late 1800s, has taffeta wrap-style coats in their spring line.

McCarthy is already working on designs for spring 2008, but the businessman/designer is tight-lipped about just what he has in mind. "It's a very delicate balance. You have to be tuned in to what the trends are," McCarthy said.