From left: the designer; a look from Jeffrey Monteiro Fall09.

“My clothes are for someone who has experienced life, or who wants to,” professed Jeffrey Monteiro when asked about his fall collection. With pensive eyes flickering behind thin, caramel rimmed glasses, he couldn’t have given a more accurate description. A certain savoir-faire lies behind his cropped, pleated trousers, darted day dresses and gently ruffled jackets. This essence of worldly sophistication can only come from someone who is rich in experiences himself—and Monteiro fits the bill. Hailing from well, everywhere, the designer spent his childhood bouncing from the Middle East to an Indian boarding school, finally settling in Australia. He did stints in Europe, some time in London and then in 2000, on a whim, hopped on a plane to New York. He’s been here ever since. “It just felt right. I didn’t really have a plan; it just felt like something I wanted and needed to do,” Monteiro explained from behind the desk of his quaint Centre Street studio.

Coupled with an uncanny intuition, this timely spontaneity has been a recurring theme in Monteiro’s career. After changing his course of study from sculpture to fashion at the University of Melbourne, he worked on the design team at both Carlos Miele and Derek Lam. But in 2007, as the New Year approached, the designer was hungry for change. So he made the impromptu choice to launch his own line—a decision he simply describes as “a response to what I was feeling”.

Monteiro, who also collaborates with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordan on the Urban Outfitters line Mirror/Dash, pulls inspiration from architecture, his background in sculpture, photography and—of course—the diverse group of savvy women who surround him. His fall collection combines all this and more, translating an artistic fantasy into a wearable reality. Schoolboy suiting, hooded coats and a poignant black, rouge and lavender palette were inspired by a series of classical portrait photographs he found on the pages of Domus magazine. “There’s this idea of ‘classicness’ and romanticism, and I wanted to look at how it can always be modernized,” he says. A quilted vest blooming at the sleeves and collar with royal blue mohair most emphasize this modern twist, while intricate accents, unusual plaids and a muted neutral-print blouse are more subtle expressions of the concept.

Easily mixed and matched, and appropriate for almost any occasion, Monteiro’s thoughtful clothes don’t scream, but rather whisper a composed confidence. And according to the designer, that’s entirely the point: “It’s about how [a woman] looks and what she emanates while wearing [my clothes]. And that’s what’s important to me. The clothes don’t transform the woman; they build on what she already is.”

Above images from Jeffrey Monteiro Fall09