Looking back on his career, Maier prides himself on taking the long view. "I've always been such an outsider," said the designer, the son of a successful architect in Germany. Growing up in the small town of Pforzheim, in the Black Forest, he sat at his father's drafting table and accompanied him to building sites, evolving an eye for line and form, and learning patience.
A degree of asceticism informs his work and even extends to the clothes he wears, monochromatic ensembles, many of his own design. A reluctant pinup, Maier cultivates a monkish look, his hair close-cropped, his chin stubbled, his lips compressed. And like a proper friar, he shuns the limelight.
You will not find him out partying with the Beckhams or recovering from his excesses at some boutique rehab. When he is not in Italy monitoring production, he is minding the Tomas Maier stores, the first in Miami Beach and the latest in Palm Beach, which opened in November. At other times he can be seen taking a spade to his flower beds, often as early as 6am.
Sure, he allowed, fashion thrives on a star system, catapulting last season's unknown into the celebrity stratosphere, "and then, who knows … "He trailed off, then brightened. "I don't think you need to be like that," he said. "In any case, I don't want it."
Is his demurral self-protective? "People are very fickle," Maier said. A canny glint in his eye, he added, "If you're never in fashion, you are never out."
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