Check Out the New Luxe Sweater Designed by… an Amtrak Conductor

There’s been a big uptick in celebrity designers in the past decade: celebrities starting their own lines or creating a guest collection for an established line is nothing new. But Tina Lutz and Marcia Patmos—of Lutz & Patmos—have busted out of the mold by inviting a “normal” person to guest-design an item for their pre-spring collection: Amtrack conductor Chris Waugh.  

Lutz met Waugh while taking the train back and forth from New York City to her home in Rhode Island, and the two struck up a friendship. Lutz had the idea to invite him to design for their Spring 2009 collection. He agreed, and designed the Shoreline ($495), a 3/4- sleeve, hooded cashmere/wool sweater, named after his train.

Waugh says the sweater was inspired by his daughter, Brooke, and is dedicated to his father, who is suffering from Parkinson's disease. In his honor, Lutz & Patmos will donate $20 from the sale of each piece to the Parkinson's Foundation. We think the sweater is adorable, and love the idea of getting regular folks involved in the design process.

Past invitees have included Sofia Coppola, Christy Turlington, Carine Roitfeld of Vogue Paris, Julianne Moore, Kirsten Dunst and Liv Tyler, and we think Waugh holds his own just fine.

P.S. The guest designer for spring is (drum roll…) Jane Birkin, French actress and inspiration for the Hermes’s Birkin bag (and you know we’ll be covering that). You heard it here first.