Absolutely fabulous

The word fabulous is the laziest fashion cliche ever, but dear readers, forgive me: there really is no better word to describe Richie Rich. He is sweet, flamboyant, delightful and bubbly, but above all else the American fashion designer is fabulous. Rich - who counts Paris Hilton, Amanda Lepore and socialite Lydia Hearst as friends - arrives in Auckland tomorrow with his muse and close friend Pamela Anderson in tow, and both will launch their new A*Muse collection with a fashion show on Friday evening. Is the typically demure NZ Fashion Week audience ready for the flashy combo of Rich's sparkle and Anderson's sex appeal? They can expect plenty of both.

The A*Muse collection has been described to the media as an "animal-friendly, organic line, consisting of bathing suits, designer printed T-shirts featuring images of Pamela Anderson and the designer himself, including hoodies and zip-ups, a full range of casual dresses and beachwear". Rich, who used to be one half of flashy New York label Heatherette, describes it as "a little bit of Hollywood but tongue in cheek surfer girl - because that's what Pamela's personality is like". He says he wants to "push the envelope with the line of thought that things can look fun but at the same time be good to the environment.

"And at the same time spread some smiles and some joy!"

Rich and Anderson met almost nine years ago at a Mariah Carey shoot at photographer David LaChapelle's studio. Since then their friendship has blossomed: he designed her wedding dress for her marriage to Kid Rock, she appeared on his runway for Heatherette shows and now they are working on the debut A*Muse collection together - Anderson as the poster girl and Rich as the designer. "Pamela's been a good friend of mine for years and we wanted to do a line together, kind of a collaboration. It's an idea about, like, Andy Warhol, the Factory, pop culture, 80s, meets, like a surfer girl from Malibu. It's really sexy and it's really fun!" Anderson - Rich's Malibu surfer girl - is set to make a runway appearance at the show on Friday.

"She's one of the nicest people I've ever met," says Rich. "She's very down to earth, very witty, very charming and very smart. She's just such a nice friend - forget the stuff she's done in the press, like the fame game. She's always just been really, really cool. And she loves to basically wear nothing, and I love that!"

Rich may be the lesser known of the two, but he's certainly just as interesting and infamous as his muse. At the age of 18 he joined The Ice Capades, a travelling ice skating group, before moving to New York to become one of the city's leading Club Kids in the 90s. He was part of an extravagant party scene where anything went (watch the film Party Monster to get a taste), and the more over-the-top your "look" the better. Rich would be paid to appear at parties, clubs and raves where he would throw fake money around (Richie Rich, geddit?) and wear flashy outfits that he made himself because, like so many designers before him, "I couldn't find what I wanted". Before long he started making clothes for friends, and eventually was approached by the likes of Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown and Paris Hilton and began making pieces for them. "It was like my own real life fashion school... It all kind of knocked on my door."

In 1999, Rich and Travers Rains launched Heatherette, a label that went on to earn itself a reputation for its unique mix of flamboyance, glitter and trash. Meenal Mistry of Style.com once brilliantly described entering the world of Heatherette as being "a bit like dropping down a psychedelic rabbit hole".

Rich's former life as a Club Kid has clearly helped shape his colourful and sparkly aesthetic, but he says his life now is a lot different. "I definitely still go to parties a lot, but I'm not as involved as I used to be. I've done parties for so long that I'm pickier with the ones I go to now. But at the same time, I like getting up in the morning, walking my dogs and going to my studio and working really hard. I'm not really up until four in the morning as much as I used to be!"

But Rich, who plans to do some whale watching and vineyard visiting with Anderson while he is here, says working with his friend and muse is just as inspiring as the club scene.

"Working with someone like Pamela - that's inspiring in itself. I think clothing on a hanger is far more boring than being on a person. I design with a person in mind, whether it's a girl for her sweet sixteen or a prom or a party or just something fun in general, I just love that. I like happy clothes!"