10 Questions: Lauren Bush on compassionate fashion

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David Puente
AC360° Producer

A cross between the AC360° series "What's Next" and The Proust questionnaire, AC360° Producer David Puente asks newsmakers his own set of questions. If in The Proust Questionnaire – named for the writer Marcel Proust who popularized it – the individual responding reveals his or her true nature, then in this questionnaire we'll learn about the individual and about "what's next" in the coming century.

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Lauren Bush
Fashion Designer

As she visits stores across America this month to promote her fashion collaboration with African women, designer Lauren Bush takes some time to ponder the role of powerful dynasties, stylish First Ladies and the gadget that will make a man sexy in the future.

The niece of former President George W. Bush, and granddaughter, of former President George H. W. Bush, is hands-on when it comes to business, she hand-writes the labels for her very personal women’s ready-to-wear line herself. The dresses, on sale in Barneys nationwide, are part of her "Lauren Pierce" collection. They're made of fabrics hand-dyed by women in the war-torn Democratic Congo. Bush says she named the line “Lauren Pierce” not because she wanted to downplay her last name, but rather because Pierce is her brother's name and also the maiden name of her grandmother, Barbara Bush, a descendant of President Franklin Pierce. Take a look at some of her work here www.lauren-pierce.com.

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1. Family dynasties often rule in Washington – why not as much in fashion? Politics and fashion aren’t necessarily congruent.

2. The quality you most admire in fashion models? I modeled, it takes a certain confidence and a way with your body, like acting.

3. The quality you most deplore in fashion models? They’re not the healthiest creatures in terms of eating and they often smoke a bunch.

4 A century from now which first lady from our lifetime will people admire for her personal style? My grandmother Barbara. She had some good ‘80s style.

5. Will showing even ‘more skin’ be sexier in 2050? Or will good girls be sexier? More conservative is sexier. Showing a little will always be sexy but we’ve taken it to a level that’s grotesque.

6. It used to be that men didn't have to have six packs. What will they have to do to look good in the future? They’ll need to have the coolest gadget. Gadgets are such a part of them, whoever has the cooler gadget will be the sexier man.

7. What’s your greatest professional achievement? I hope I haven’t had it yet. There’s more to come.

8. Is the fashion world more about catfights and struggles, or about feeding the soul and the human spirit? Feeding the soul. It’s a fun, creative expression and wearable art.

9. In the future of anti-aging, what will women do to look younger? We’ll get into some crazy machine that will anti-wrinkle us.

10. What will future anthropologists find remarkable about today's fashion? That in the world of mass-produced fashion there are small designers, including Lauren Pierce, doing really creative work with a purpose.