• February 19, 2007
• Vol. 67
• No. 7

Behind the Scenes at Rock & Republic

By Charlotte Triggs/New York City

Just How Chaotic Can a Fashion Show Get? Ask Michael Ball, Who Had to Cope with Late Models, Last-Minute Hair Mistakes and a Music Lapse Too

Michael Ball was just another struggling actor back in 2002, when his then-girlfriend came home "wearing a pair of jeans that looked like crap, frankly," he recalls. "So I said, 'Let me make you a pair.'" Out of that first pair was born the $350 million, L.A.-based Rock & Republic empire that today includes men's and women's ready-to-wear, accessories and cosmetics. Now if only Ball, 43, could get the hang of putting on a fashion show. Last fall, at his New York Fashion Week debut, "everything went wrong," he says, including a dress splitting at the seams. As evidenced by this backstage peek Ball gave PEOPLE into his second New York staging, which took place Feb. 3 and cost $2.5 million (Victoria's Secret models! Thirty-two chandeliers!), he may still need some practice ...

FEB. 3, THE RUNWAY AT CIPRIANI
It's bad enough that close to the show's scheduled 9 p.m. start time, some of the models (running late at other shows) have yet to arrive. But worse, Ball needs to do a final run-through, so guests who have been waiting outside in freezing temperatures are stuck at the bar until 9:30. "I'm sure I'll lose my mind a couple of more times!" Ball jokes. (The show finally starts at 10:15.)

FEB. 3, BACKSTAGE
At 6:45, Ball checks on the models' hair—and is dismayed to see they are all sporting a slick "Helmut Newton look" instead of an array of styles. (He chalks up the error to miscommunication.) "It's too generic!" he yells at stylist Adir Abergel of Frédéric Fekkai. "Pull it all out. It all has to be changed."

FEB. 2, FINAL FITTINGS
"Getting the look is a lot of fun—the hard part is fitting them to the individual models," says Ball, who prefers voluptuous catwalkers like Victoria's Secret model Ana Beatriz Barros.

FEB. 1, FIRST DAY OF FITTINGS
"It's a bit boring," a visibly agitated Ball says while a stylist dresses model Daniel Alexander. "Where are those sunglasses—I need them now!"

FEB. 3, AFTERPARTY
Reflecting on the show—during which the music ran out and looped back to Jay-Z's "99 Problems"—Ball admits, "We missed some cues." Still, celebrating with a model and actress Kelly Hu (right) at the Maritime Hotel, Ball is finally relaxed. "It wasn't perfect, but if it were, I'd probably be bored. You always want to strive for more."