Bill Hamilton knew early on that he was destined to become a fashion designer.

As a 12-year-old in Waterville, he’d watch “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” take notes and get to work on the sewing machine.

“Whatever she would wear that week, I would make it for my mother, and she’d wear it that weekend to a party,” Hamilton recalled, smiling, during an interview in his Manhattan showroom.

His mom was in good company. After earning a degree in fine art from the University of Maine in 1984, Hamilton went on to dress Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Nancy Reagan, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vanessa Williams and scores of other high-profile clients while working with legendary designer Carolina Herrera. In 2002, after 17 years with Herrera, he launched his eponymous label to much success.

The women he dresses love his pairings of simple lines with luscious textiles, such as double-faced cashmere and silk chiffon. Add a little embellishment in the form of sequins, marabou or intricate embroidery, and they’re good to go for evening.

“He’s a great believer in the most beautiful fabrics you can get,” said Libby Pataki, the wife of New York Gov. George Pataki and a longtime friend and muse to Hamilton. She inspired his “Libby” cocktail dress, which has a skirt of sheer, layered navy chiffon under a form-fitting, puckered top in silvery blue. “I think that’s important. The fabrics are so wonderful you really have to keep it simple. He’s very understated, very elegant.”

On a recent visit to his small studio in the Fifth Avenue Fashion District, Hamilton’s

elegance became apparent as soon as he strode through the door. Tall, tanned and handsome, he looked stylish even dressed down, this day in sand-colored jeans, a barn jacket and brand-new trainers.

As he gestured to a beaded lace evening gown in the corner, and later, displayed hand-sequined stripes on an orange and blue feather-trimmed skirt, he moved through his showroom with the grace of an athlete. Indeed, Hamilton trained for years as an equestrian, which taught him as much about fashion as it did about horses.

He counts Corinne Gray of Puckerbrush Farm in Dixmont among his early influences. He recalled her long hair, which she wore in braids, the collection of couture fabrics she inherited from her mother, and the designer suits she donned for meetings in Bangor.

“There’s a lot of style here [in Maine],” Hamilton said. “Any woman I was drawn to, fashionwise, was a horsewoman.”

When he enrolled at UMaine, his love for horses led him to study animal science, but he soon discovered the science part held little appeal. After taking a year off, he re-enrolled as an art major, which was the start of longtime friendships with the late Vincent Hartgen, his wife, Frances, and professor Deborah deMoulpied, from whom he recently purchased a sculpture.

His instructors allowed him to tailor his studies to his interest in fashion, but the jump from art to design isn’t easy, especially in ultracompetitive New York. His contacts through the equestrian world – including the stylish Migi Serrell and Hattie Carnegie, a fashion icon – set him up with his first internship with Tracy Mills, who designed glamorous evening gowns.

“They got my foot in the door because I was not in fashion school,” Hamilton recalled.

When he graduated, he only wanted to work with a female designer, and his aesthetic meshed well with Herrera’s. He quickly moved up the ranks from design assistant to vice president of sales development.

“She’s a nice woman and a good friend,” Hamilton said.

Though Hererra couldn’t be reached for an interview because of her extensive travel, she echoed Hamilton’s sentiments in a 2005 interview with Maine Alumni Magazine.

“Bill is an artist, a gentleman and, above all, a loyal friend,” she said.

Loyalty is key to Hamilton both personally and professionally. Though his clients are initially drawn to his simple, elegant clothing, the business relationship often blossoms into friendship.

“He’s probably become one of my best friends,” said Beth Sanders Moore, a Houston businesswoman who has worn Hamilton’s designs since 2002. “I see that with a lot of women he works with. He gets to know you, your lifestyle, what you like. He takes a lot of time to get involved with you so he can help you. That’s really so important.”

Moore describes her personal style as classic, and she says Hamilton’s pieces blend seamlessly with the rest of her wardrobe and, more important, her lifestyle. She owns a legal staffing firm and is involved in charity work as well, so she needs clothing that will transition from the office to a luncheon and perhaps later, an evening reception or social function.

“I can pretty much wear the same thing all day,” she says. “What I wear I want to be very much in fashion but … I probably am more on the conservative side.”

Hamilton’s designs – from a skirt covered in embroidered netting and seashells to evoke the view you see while scuba diving to a wool tweed jacket over a bubble skirt – can be as wild or mild as the wearer wants. He sells his clothing exclusively through Saks Fifth Avenue’s Fifth Avenue Club, and since everything is made to order, he can create clothing in any size and, literally, 100 colors.

“It’s custom, custom, custom,” Hamilton says, smiling.

The custom cut and quiet elegance of Hamilton’s designs have earned him a dedicated following. Libby Pataki has followed him from Herrera to his own label because his look works for her.

“He’s a great designer for women who have a lot of official functions to attend because it’s a very simple design,” Pataki said “I don’t like to make statements with my shoes and handbags. That’s not my job to say, ‘Look at me.’ My job is to be as elegant as possible without a ‘look-at-me’ approach.”

He has dressed many women in the political spotlight, from Nancy Reagan to Hillary Rodham Clinton, but his dream client has ties to his native state: U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

“I think so many women are taking over political offices and [high-powered positions in] business,” Hamilton said. “And if a wardrobe could dress Collins to go from A to B to C, you want to be able to be that connection.”

Though New York has embraced Hamilton, he’s still a Mainer through and through. His showroom refrigerator is stocked with Poland Spring water. His brother lives outside Skowhegan, and though his mom passed away last year, he still keeps in touch with her friends.

He also keeps her memory alive by continuing her spirit of charity. He recently donated thousands of dollars worth of clothing (his designs generally carry a price tag of $2,500 to $5,000) to the Portland chapter of Dress for Success, which helps women in transition find the appropriate apparel for job interviews.

“I think it’s a big thing to help and to give,” Hamilton said.

After all, philanthropy is always in style.

Kristen Andresen can be reached at 990-8287 and kandresen@bangordailynews.net.