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Orlando Carreras has been in the fashion industry for over 20 years. He made his name at The Gap and later with the launch of the Old Navy line. But looking at his new spring collection, you would never know that he ever even stepped inside an Old Navy store.

How did you get your start in fashion?
At 15 I decided that since I faint at the sight of blood I would be a horrible doctor, and since I get stage fright I could not be an actor- so I would give fashion a shot. Well, that is not the whole truth but I will say that I have for as long as I can remember thought that people make a statement about themselves by the clothes they wear and so I wanted to be able to express myself and communicate through clothing. My mother knitted and made clothes so I saw how something that was a childhood idea could actually happen.

What current fashion trend are you horrified by?
Oh, so many. As a broad statement I would say that any time someone wears something that they are not completely comfortable in and I am not necessarily talking about size, I am also talking about color, fabric, pattern, casual versus formal; whenever it is not right it looks wrong. The trend that I am the most horrified by is the “Ed Hardy tee shirt with baseball cap with sloppy vintage looking jeans and sneakers look.” To me it is so inauthentic. Sort of like someone having a mid life crisis in need of validation. I am seeing way too many people rock that look.

How would you describe your own line?
There is wit and humor to it in the pattern and color choices. It has a young spirit but is very adult in the execution, so the fabrics and the workmanship are all top notch. Every piece is meant to become a classic and a lot of it was specifically designed with the intent to not be super season specific. So a shirt from my line that you pick up in spring should also look great in the fall and vice versa.

What inspires your designs?
I get inspired by anything I really love. Sometimes it is friends. Sometimes it is a film- could be new or old. Sometimes it is music or an artist. Lately I have been finding a lot of inspiration in musicians who who wrote heart felt lyrics and amazing music. Stevie Wonder was on heavy rotation on my iPod when I worked on spring '07 that will be in stores in Feb. I was also constantly looking at the art of Chris Ofili who is a British artist of Nigerian descent.

Your collection has no skulls, crossbones, or crosses. it is very refined but hip. discuss...
I have a strong distaste for anything that is not authentic. I first remember seeing skulls and crossbones on punk rockers back in the day. That I was cool with because it was a way of saying that they were against the “norm.” Then it was skateboarders and it was a way of saying “I am tough” and a few bruises or maybe even a fracture are alright. Today it is the ultimate statement in phoniness. As far as crosses are concerned, I think religious symbols have no place on clothing except for the clergy. A crucifix on a necklace is something else but personally I’m staying away from designing things like that.