So does the name ring a bell? Chances are you've never heard of him, but many of the celebs you know and love look at Taz Arnold as a fashion guru. Rihanna wears jewelry he has designed via his private fashion label, TI$A. Legendary luggage maker MCM has tapped him to create an exclusive line of clothing which will debut in stores this month, and Kanye West has enlisted Arnold's help in the creation of his new clothing line, Pastel, which hits stores in 2009.

No wonder then that New York Times fashion reporter, Cathy Horyn was absolutely taken with Arnold when she spotted him attending the Commes des Garcon show with Kanye West in Paris last month. That evening wrote on her blog, "West has been hitting the shows with a guy whose outfit is fascinating."

I had the same reaction when I met him last week at a private party at A Life, a popular sneaker boutique in New York City. After braving a conga line of fashionistas trying to ge his ear and ducking a bucket of concrete thrown on the party by irate neighbors, I scored an interview with Arnold, below. Talk about the front lines of fashion...

Zandile Blay What celebrity projects are you working on right now?

Taz Arnold I am a music producer so I am linked to several celebrities through that. I work with Pharrell Williams, Dr. Dre, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott and others. I am also a clothing designer.

ZB Tell us a little bit about that.

TA Right now I am designing a line called TI$A MCM, it's a collaboration between my clothing label and MCM. I am also designing for Kanye West. He has a new line called Pastel and I am on the design team for that as well.

ZB All these fashion projects sound very niche. How do they relate to a broad American audience?

TA I would say it's very artistic so anyone who is about being creative and free would like these clothes. People call it fashion but it's just art.

ZB When can we look forward to seeing and buying this stuff?

TA You have somethings for TI$A coming out in late august and the TI$A MCM stuff coming out in late October and the Pastel stuff will come out in 2009.