Coutorture

Coutorture Community Must Reads 12/02/08

coutorture — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:06:31 -0800

Sample sale, check, weird beauty product, check, designer interview, check, Raf Simons, check---we've got everything a chicster could need on a Tuesday afternoon.

Did someone say Brian Reyes? This is one sample sale we might actually get dressed and leave our apartment for. Fashion First Lunch Later gives up the details on a Brian Reyes sample sale which starts tomorrow.

Okay how do we put this...there is this ball, and it's never ending, and you roll it all over your body whilst in the shower, and...well, go see for yourself. Today, The Daily Obsession writes up "The White Ball".

Bob Bland, designer of Brooklyn Royalty and co-host of our onetime feature called Garmento, gabs with The Smashing Darling Blog about all things design. In the interview, Bland gives her two cents on the design process.

Style Flavors gave a shoutout to a Raf Simons shirt that has a scarf sewn into the collar. We can't help but wonder how such a thing would look on the dance floor...

Interview With Melissa Moylan

coutorture — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:21:58 -0700

Fashion in 50 Seconds 10/30 with Maison Martin Margiela, Rebecca Minkoff, and Damien Hirst

coutorture — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 06:08:59 -0700

In business they say "always be closing" but in fashion it is "always be delivering" and Maison Martin Margiela is taking that to heart with a collection they are calling Avant Premiere that will be unveiled to the trade late next month and delivered to stores in May. A Margiela spokeswoman told WWD the collection would consist of about 60 styles for women and 60 for men, plus a small selection of shoes and accessories: less expansive than many pre-collections.

With a little help from stylist Ilaria Urbinati handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff is relaunching her contemporary clothing collection. Minkoff said they were inspired by Elizabeth Taylor in the Fifties and the darkness of the 1982 film “Blade Runner.” We have never before associated the two and are having a hard time making the leap looking at the garments.

Garmentos can feel evern better about their support for Barack Obama. While campaigning in North Carolina he made the most definitive statement yet about his positions on trade as it relates to textiles. He pledged to support five key textile industry policy positions, including a monitoring program for Chinese apparel and textile imports.

Speaking at London College of Fashion, Stefano Pilati reiterated his position that he prefers seduction over sex.

The Anand Jon sexual assault trial heard its closing arguements yesterday.

Swahili Fashion Week is set to start from November 5 in Dar es Salaam.

The International Quilt Festival is apparently quite fashionable. We would just settle for cute.

Purple is the new black. Except that black is in fact still the new black.

There is a new 12-piece Damien Hirst X Levi’s Collection

Interview Roundup

meganzanke — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:36:02 -0700

Team Coutorture is in San Francisco this week, missing New York a lil' bit, but busy and happy in the meantime. To tide you over, here's a roundup of our most recent designer interviews (that's really the good stuff isn't it?) for content-therapy. We're not willing to beat you over the head with the quick stuff, so we figure we'll just send you over to the pockets we think are worthwhile, until all resumes normalcy next week. Thanks for being such a lovely reader, oh, and have you seen the Naeem Khan Resort 2009 collection? Gush, gush, gush. Makes us think of cougars and martinis and pool boys. Designer Steinunn Sigurd gave us a few kind words in conjunction with our One Train photo shoot. She was a Senior Designer for Tom Ford and lives in Iceland now, working on her line and hanging out with her dog. Sue Stemp is another lovely designer we've created some crazy content around. In addition to shooting her Fall 08 collection post-fashion week, we interviewed her about the process both before and after the show, and, funnily enough, added her blog to our network. For independent designers, we've recently gotten a hold of The Hellers, a brother and sister street wear design duo, Layla Pakzad of Salt Swimwear, and Jesse Finkelstein of JF&Son (on his way to becoming a straight-up household name) whose clothing we shot in a rooftop photo shoot and who, at the moment, is over in India maintaining production facilities so that young, emerging designers can ethically and affordably access the textiles and craftsmanship that the country offers. For video interviews, we have many, but most recently we caught hold of Charles Nolan at his Resort showing, where we sipped lemonade and watched an easy to wear, Americana-themed collection, be presented on a stage equipped with American flag streamers and old fashioned summertime props. In case you didn't know, we also venture away from designer interviews on a regular basis. Our Garmento video series is the best example of this effort. In this series we interview everyone from screenprinters to boutique owners. Also up on the site recently was a cool little interview with the buyer of New York boutique OAK, and one very meta interview with the perfumer behind CB I Hate Perfume. Enjoy!

Direction Trade Show

coutorture — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:51:52 -0700

Garmento

Denim News Shoutout: Coated Denim

coutorture — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 12:40:47 -0700

Every trend forecasting seminar, every manufacturer, every trade show rep is talking about coated denim. Basically, it's denim treated such that it looks like, well, trousers. There are different types of coating (like Polyurethane or more eco-friendly versions with wax) and those techniques are being explored and evolved by different designers and likewise tested on the market. Coated denim, as our Network Partner Denim News points out, used to feel and look quite thick, however, new methods have made it such that there's a thinner sheen, and more wearable weight to these treated trousers. Expect to see these jeans cum, er, pants more and more. The look might not be apt for hot weather but by fall consumers will be looking for something more substantial and special after wearing their torn Levi's all summer. Or so the theory goes. Check out our Garmento expedition to a denim manufacturer's studio, and, the trend alert from Denim News.

The Fashion District Source Book: Interview With The Authors

coutorture — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:37:32 -0700

New York City's Garment District is basically a dreamland for fashionistas. Trunks full of buttons, walls stacked with rolls of colorful fabric, leather men and fur ladies, a warehouse that sells billions of little, tiny sequins. If you dig clothes and you've an imagination, this is your hang out. The Garment District is also one of the most dynamic historical neighborhoods in New York City and one that, unfortunately, is in major turmoil. Everything from real estate pressure (see the New York Times piece on Manhattan's flea markets for more) to manufacturing trends (hon, we 'aint makin it in New Yourk anymour) is turning the neighborhood upside down (a topic we'll save for our Garmento series) and causing shops to close every time you turn around. To help you navigate the district, two recent fashion graduates, Joceyln Simms and Victoria Somers, set out to create a user friendly guide on navigating the neighborhood. The task was not a simple one but the result, The Fashion District Source Book, is a sweet, smart reference guide that helps you find everything from bootlace to button. It is perhaps the author's youth and their passion for the industry that make this guide so refreshing. No old school inhabitant of the neighborhood could have seen things so clearly, that is, there's something to be said for a fresh perspective.

What inspired you to write the Fashion District Source Book?
Jocelyn Simms: New York City, and today’s world in general, are so full of information and product choices, that without tools that can organize and make sense of it all, consumers are lost when it comes to making a decision. The last thing that a shopping district wants is for the consumer to become so overwhelmed that they consistently revert back to the same, safe, convenient option time and again, or worse, forgo the shopping experience entirely. Unfortunately, this is often what happens. We wanted to create a tool that could quickly inform potential customers what to expect from each store in the garment center so they could spend more of their time shopping successfully, and less time doing research and learning through trial and error.
Victoria Somers: It happened more because I went to Jerry to see if he had any side work. He suggested I write this book and to get a friend to help. Jocelyn was the best person for the job because she is so creative. From there we just did a lot of brainstorming, thinking of what people (especially out of towners) need to know about the fashion district. It is something I wish I had when I first moved to NYC. It would have been a huge help when I needed something for a project.

The garment district has such a dynamic history, was it difficult to keep the book streamlined?
JS: History aside, the most daunting aspect of the garment district is the number of stores and the amount of merchandise that is offered. We probably could have written a novel- however, the purpose of this guide was not to be thorough, but to create a USER FRIENDLY guide that gives designers and shoppers just enough information to make decisions. Streamlined is what consumers are craving in today’s marketplace. They only have time for quick, easy answers and that is what we tried to deliver. Although I do think the publisher did a bit of secret editing down for us….as I look at it now, I know we weren’t quite that concise. ☺
VS: We put the focus of the book on the present. It changes so much that it was getting difficult. Some stores were closing in the process of just getting the information. So we would get the info, write it up, then someone would point out that the store just put up closing signs. So we did all we could to get everything current in there. But I am pretty sure that even after we turned it in they needed to keep making sure it was up to date before publishing it.

When differentiating between all of the different shops in the district, did you find it challenging to point out the discrepancies? With a million trimmings shops, in other words, how did you find ways to describe them as unique?
J.S: As often as we used the garment district stores during college and our internships, most stores had already taken on a very specific identity in our minds. We had the shopping background to pick out the little but important things that aren’t apparent just by glancing in a window. One of my favorite functions of the guide is the organizational/rating system that we assigned to the stores. We flagged certain stores as our favorites and flagged some as having great deals as well. We also specified when a store falls into multiple product categories so its easier to find a one-stop shop for whatever you happen to be looking for. Our personal opinions on quality, pricing, and service, combined with the product assortment of each shop, were plenty to differentiate them from one another. I encourage the user to keep their own notes in the book as well.
VS: Although it is hard to tell, they really are all very unique. Even if they offer the same sort of fabrics, they will all have something no other store offers. That could include prices, service, variety, or convenience. If was fun doing the project because we were able to find such unique stores that no one knows about. There is a feather store, for example, that Jocelyn found. And I actually had to use it one day. It happens to be an older man in a room full of beautiful and exotic feathers. It was so interesting to me to know he was creating all the boas all by himself with these colorful feathers from all over the world.

What is one of the biggest rewards of having published this book?
JS: I have heard feedback within the industry, from co-workers, and students, and I know it is making their lives easier when it comes to shopping for fabrics and trims. I think that one of the main things the guide has done is to open people up to trying stores that they wouldn’t normally visit or didn’t know were there. It is easy to go to the same stores over and over because you are familiar with the merchandise assortment. This guide makes it safer to venture out to new stores and therefore discover great resources that you would have been missing out on otherwise.
VS: Although it is a small guide book, it is still not something I would have thought I would have done by the time I was 21. It is an accomplishment of mine that I am happy I was given the opportunity for. Also, I actually use it as a reference quite a bit. So it really helped me out as well.

What are your future plans in fashion?
JS: I am currently an assistant designer for women’s sportswear at Tommy Hilfiger and plan to continue my career in the fashion industry as a designer. However, as a designer it is great to be able to use your expertise in other creative projects, for example the Fashion District Source Book. I plan on being involved in any up-dating and re-vamping that the Source Book may need each year, and look forward to being a part of other similar ventures in the fashion industry as well.
VS: I currently was hired at Tommy Hilfiger for design. (Jocelyn actually helped me get the job). So I am very excited to be getting back into design where I belong. I spent the last year at a vintage print archive here in NYC. I learned so much and was given great opportunities with travel, but I know I am meant for design.

Spring Trends: Colored Denim

coutorture — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:42:08 -0700

It's a very simple formula, an old time favorite covered up with the trend du jour. Denim never goes out of style and so, with all of the bright colors that cropped up in the Spring 08 shows (see Lanvin, Jil Sander, and Marc Jacobs) the necessary (accessible) trend that's pitched to the masses is bright colored denim. It's the affordable staple with a Lanvin spin, if you will. It makes for a nice collage if you're a glossy and brightens up your look book if you're a denim brand. Everybody's happy. For the consumer, admittedly, it's also a fun trend to play around with. 'You say there's a recession coming on? I'm sorry, I can't hear what your saying, MY YELLOW JEANS ARE JUST TOO LOUD!' We're not going to rag on a little bit of color, even if this trend is so easy to pinpoint. We're down with it, and below, a spread of our favorites. For more on denim, check out our recent Garmento article where we went straight to the source.

Cone Denim

coutorture — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 17:04:11 -0700

Garmento Video Series

Garmento: KnoxNY

coutorture — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 12:10:44 -0700

Leather Goods Manufacturer, Garmento Video Series

Ksubi Overdye Super Skinny Zipper Jean - $215.00	Ksubi Super Skinny Zip Jeans in Overdye Purple - $215.00
Cecilia Bright Short Item#: 154364 - $29.50	Ksubi Super Skinny Zip - Tangerine - $215.00
Stitch's Cut-Off Short Shorts - $148.00	Cheap Monday Skyscraper Skinny Jeans in Overdye Turkos - $65.00
Judi Rosen - $209.00	Dittos 'Betty Saddleback' Stretch Denim Shorts - $152.00
Earnest Sewn red stretch 'Harlan' skinny zip jeans - $117.00	Acne Jeans Hep Skinny Jeans in Twill Jade - $299.00