Reunited: Michael Bastian and the real mod girl

Dena Bancroft and Michael Bastian met as students at Babson College, a preppy business school just outside of Boston. Shy Michael and outgoing Dena quickly became best friends. Dena's style and appearance from back then was the biggest inspiration for Michael when creating the fall/winter 12 collection.

What was your first impression of Dena?

I first laid eyes on Dena in the cafeteria. To get to the cafeteria, you had to walk down a long zig-zagging ramp and one day I looked up and here was this amazing girl working her way down this ramp; tall, skinny, red asymmetrical haircut, bright red lips, wearing vintage selvedge Levis pegged and cuffed, an oversized red Häagen-Dazs sweatshirt and little pointy shoes. Now this was really something unusual at that school where everyone was basically super conservative and sporty/preppy. Here was this vision, like a peacock in a henhouse. And I thought, “Damn, I need to meet this girl”. Someone at my table who knew her from the dorms said “Oh that’s Dena, she’s from LA and she’s a Mod”. A what? This may have been the first time I heard that word Mod uttered. It didn’t take us long to become friends. I’m sure she approached me first since I was (and am) basically a shy, nerdy guy. But I do know we became friends very fast, which is amazing seeing how my only goal was to blend in - almost to the point of invisibility – while her whole mission was to stand out.

Could you see Dena as a grownup at that time?

I can’t say I ever pictured Dena in the future, her energy was always so focused on this exciting and urgent present. It was always “What kind of trouble can we get in in the next 10 minutes?” versus “What are we going to be doing in 10 years?” Even though she was (and is) a classic Virgo and very organized and methodical about her schoolwork and her future, I could only just barely absorb her version of the present. It’s worth noting at this point, that while Mod was always her starting point, her look kept evolving. During our sophomore year, I remember a shaved head punk moment (dyed black), wearing a pillowcase for a skirt - and that was just to come visit me in upstate New York on summer break. My family still knows her as “the girl who wears pillowcases”.

What hapened? Are you surprised?

We kind of lost touch for a few years after college when Dena and her then husband Douglas (our Boxer character, who was actually a swimmer in real life) moved to San Francisco. But then we reconnected very shortly after I started designing my own line. Now we’re both in our 40s, and she lives in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts and is living a very healthy organic life and taking care of her family. At first I thought “Is my old friend Dena the Mod/punk/rabblerouser somewhere under that polar fleece?” But then I realized the energy and dedication she always put into creating a persona is now focused on creating a healthy, loving and fulfilling life, which is a completely different thing. She even told me her favorite thing now is to mow the lawn; she says it’s the best exercise. But then, when discussing her kids one day she said “You know, I completely horrify my children on a regular basis. I’m now teaching sex education in their school” and I thought - now there’s the old Dena I knew.

In what way do you think she has changed?

It’s so great to me to see how she’s changed from when we were in school. Physically she’s pretty much the same person; still beautiful, tall, sculpted, with thick, amazing hair, quick with an eye roll or a huge loud laugh. It wouldn’t take much work at all to turn her into a credible, chic Mod girl again. But now she’s got more important things on her mind, as we all do, when compared to our college selves. But it was great fun to talk to her about our Mod days. She even came on the shoot we did in Boston, offering styling tips, helping us with the constant adjustments you need to do for photos. She even brought along her daughter Isabella, who is now a college student herself, and will be our intern this summer!

What kind of relationship do you have today?

Today we talk a lot on Facebook and Dena always comes to New York to attend my shows if at all possible. It’s good to have such a close friend support me like this - there’s something irreplaceable about a friend who has known you for over 20 years and all the gyrations one goes through in life. I think we each saw something special in each other way back in our freshman year. Hers was very external while mine was very internal, and in some ways we’ve switched roles, but to me, she will always be that strange, beautiful amazing creature strolling down the cafeteria ramp.

What was your first impression of Michael?

His laugh! It was so easy to make Michael laugh! In my mind’s eye I see him leaning forward to talk to me and leaning in to listen intently, always with a laugh close to the surface. He listened with his whole body! I don’t remember where I first saw him, probably the cafeteria at Babson. But what I do remember is how curious he was about anything having to do with clothes, music and style. I got the feeling he was a bit of a loner, a little shy, a little nervous, very conscious of himself. His clothes hung on him, with shoulders like hangers, they just draped... so tall and thin and somehow tan! He was so friendly and touchy-feely and real and easy to be with. This has not changed.

Could you see Michael as a grownup at that time?

Because we were both the odd-ones-out in a business school it seemed so normal to visualize that after graduation we would somehow morph into regular business people and shed the artsy funky clothes, hair and style that were so a part of who we both were. Well, the crazy hair was mine… Could I have seen him in a suit carrying a brief case? No way, but there were no other examples I knew of at that time of what a creative businessperson would look like.

What hapened? Are you surprised?

It makes perfect sense that the guy who called me up from NY shortly after graduation just to tell me that “Big sweaters are OUT, take all your wool sweaters and SHRINK them” ended up in the fashion industry!

In what way do you think he has changed?

We reunited at the Ralph Lauren store a decade later where he was rearranging and designing vignettes in their home section. The moment I hugged him hello it felt like only a second had passed. He was the same old Michael, full of warmth and humor and obviously had come into his own in all ways, there was a solid confidence that hadn’t been there before. What crossed my mind at that time was how creative he was, how he found a job that allowed him to continue to show his style.

What kind of relationship do you have today?

I must have karma with Michael Bastian. When we are together it feels like coming home.