About 2,000 people a week visit the Andrea Rosen Gallery on West 24th Street, and a lot of them are famous—Rosen usually maintains a New Yorker's detached cool. But not with Jean Paul Gaultier. "I said to him, 'Thank you for inspiring me for decades.' "

Fashion is important in the gallery. After all, the most successful employees are those with strong aesthetic points of view; it only follows that their wardrobes reflect this. "I wouldn't say that I hire people based on their looks or the way they dress, but it's absolutely something that interests me," Rosen says. But for her, the ability to express oneself through dress has a deeper significance. "The gallery is about social values as much as it's about anything, and I feel it's important for my staff to be engaged in those kinds of ideals. And part of that is having people who feel that they have the right to engage themselves and to inspire. You have an opportunity every day to be creative." "The art world is one of the few places where extreme wealth—collectors—and extreme poverty rub against one another," says Nathan Coutts, who, in addition to being the gallery's preparator, is also a sculptor and a performance artist. "So people expect quirky."

Susanna Greeves, Director. (pictured, sitting, far left)
Among such spectacular work, sometimes simplicity rules.

John Connelly, Director. (pictured, standing, far left)
"Conservative doesn't really work here."

Melissa Levin, Receptionist. (pictured, standing, second from left)
"I think of it as playing dress-up."

Andrea Rosen (pictured, standing, third from left)
"I'm extremely engaged in beautiful, high-end, designer clothes." Rosen is in a skirt by John Galliano, boots by Anne Demeulemeester, and a sweater "from when I was 12."

Laurel Jensen, Registrar. (pictured, standing, second from right)
"I'm just always looking for something interesting to wear." Her friends help: "Most of what I'm wearing was a gift."

Laura Mackall, Director. (pictured, standing, far right)
"If a client comes in, I like to look professional. Nathan Coutts Preparator. "I love Western shirts from a place in Pennsylvania. It's called the Barndance Boutique."

Nathan Coutts, Preparator. (pictured, sitting, far right)
"I love Western shirts from a place in Pennsylvania. It's called the Barndance Boutique."