When Jonathan Riss, the designer of Jay Ahr (the name is the phoneticized version of his initials), opened his boutique on Madison Avenue in October, society glamazons like Alex Kramer, Samantha Boardman Rosen, and Fabiola Beracasa filled the place. Riss’s princess ball dresses and sexy sheer paneled minis have made the 31-year-old Paris-based Riss fashion’s newest It Boy.
Born in Belgium, Riss learned about style from his mother, Johanne Riss, a jewelry designer. His first collection was wedding dresses, which sold for big bucks at Bergdorf Goodman. Today his Jay Ahr atelier in Paris, next door to Colette—the epicenter of cool—is Riss’s haute couture laboratory.
“Paris is a very pleasant place to work on all my projects. Here is where I have my couture, jewelry, and embroidery factories. My work is my fun,” he says.“Paris is really exciting. Paris and New York are two completely different cities—their architecture, lifestyles, and work styles. What I like the most in New York is what I dislike the most in Paris, and vice versa.”
Riss calls Bianca Jagger and Anita Pallenberg, in their heyday, inspirations, but claims he doesn’t have muses. “I am even more inspired by the women I meet than the women I see on magazines. I don’t so much read the tabloids. I like the authenticity of what a woman wants to wear,” he explains. “Like a woman in a crazy-short dress in a nightclub, and women on a beach with a piece of fabric, or a beautiful socialite at a charity dinner in New York.” Riss returns to New York frequently. “New York is a kind of a dream city,” he muses. “It’s full of energy, big buildings, big projects. I really love it. It is the city where I would love to chill all day long.” He spends most of his time at the Jay Ahr store on Madison. “I love all my customers. They all have their personal beauty and I get back from them a very gentle experience every single time.”
