We don't know what it is about New York label Sophomore that has us positively enchanted--but we're not going to analyze it too much. Let's just say that we have a weakness for DIY look books, thick eyebrows, cotton basics, and goofing around. We could try to talk about the color palette and the cuts but it's hard to go from trend reports of the Paris shows to an easy-to-wear contemporary line made primarily from cotton. There's a place for both in fashion and we're just saying that Sophomore tops our list when it comes to that kind of thing. We will say that there are silhouettes and zippers in this collection that are spot on in the trend-department and suggest maybe Sophomore is, well, graduating. Click the link below for the Spring 2009 look book.
No one, especially in New York, can be high-fashion and fabulous all the time--no matter your age, income, or geographic location everyone, once in a while, needs to run to the store to get milk. With the Thanksgiving holiday coming up we can't help but endorse a product that scores a little higher in the comfort department than most of our fashion suggestions. On the bright side we think Penfield has the most chic coats in this category. Pair this Novi Penfield coat ($200) with slim dark jeans, a pair of riding boots, and a knit hat and you'll be warm, comfortable, and not embarrassed to run into someone you know in the grocery store. For all the chic cotton pairings to wear under the fabulously warm coat, check out Net-a-Porter's 'home comforts' shopping list. You'd be surprised what a cotton jumpsuit will do to your life...
We're happy to see the color orange and inclusion of zip dresses from Sophomore though as trend aware as the Fall 08 collection may seem, it's still a very simple formula--we're loving the new look book shot by Cass Bird, who also shot the Spring 08 collection. Little New York brands like this make fashion so easy to break down. There are more important things, they remind us, than fashion. Sophomore is excellent at communicating the importance of simple, sexy style over thousand dollar handbags and it-frocks. In fact, these are the depictions of women that your boyfriend probably prefers nine times out of ten to the glossy magazine spreads. And, no matter how accessible cotton-basics might be, we think that's saying something.
The Suh Tahn Spring 2009 show was made up of great denim, black, and white pieces that can only be described as 'edgy basics' whether it was a body-skimming cotton dress, denim vest, or geometric leggings. The pieces all neatly fit into a contemporary aesthetic that admires Rick Owens and Rad Hourani but from a slightly lower price point. Our favorite piece was the two-tone jacket/vest (left) that looked easy to wear and versatile for day and night looks. Having a jacket like that in your wardrobe would probably rid you of the desire to wear anything with it but body-skimming cotton dresses, denim vests, and geometric leggings--sometimes it just takes on piece to make the point for an entire collection. In New York, Suh Tahn is carried at Opening Ceremony. If you should be stranded somewhere, they've an online store coming soon. Also, check out our first glimpse of the Spring 09 collection, when we visited Coterie last month.
We gravitated towards Anna Ruohonen a Finnish fashion designer currently working in Paris. In her designs Ruohonen aspires to provide an alternative to the ever-changing fashions in clothing. For her a garment is not made just for one season, but rather it should be able to withstand time. Ruohonen’s philosophy is reflected in her work on show in HARDCORE, where she presents her designs under the title Black Classics a selection of the designer’s own favorites since the year 2000. Her emphasis on timelessness comes out in the quality of the construction and the fabrics
The Swedes aren't the only Scandanavians dedicated to denim. The Finns apparently have a yen for the top notch stuff as well. koneHELSINKI (the Finnish word ‘kone’ means ‘machine’ in English) is a design company founded by Finnish fashion designer Kalle Kuusela. The philosophy behind the line centers on the "sameness" of traditional denim. Jeans are often a piece of clothing that has a tendency to look like mere variations of the same theme - despite small changes in fashion, every pair looks basically the same. koneHelsinki’s jeans, on the contrary, show that even jeans can be uniquely captivating in their design. We aren't sure how well they succeed from the small set of samples we saw but we do like the philosophy nonetheless.
Our favorite piece however came from watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva. Son of the prominent Finnish jewellery designer Pentti Sarpaneva, he comes from a family with a long heritage of craftsmanship. He first graduated from The Finnish School of Watchmaking then moved to Switzerland to further his studies at WOSTEP. The Sarpaneva watch on show in HARDCORE is titled Time Tramp. It is a pocket watch made of the used kickstart pinion of an old Harley Davidson motorbike. "The idea was to make something simple and a bit brutal, but beautiful…like life in Finland.” said Stepan Sarpaneva in a QP magazine interview. We were certainly smitten, along with every man we have showed it to so far. Clearly a pocket watch is only appealing to a man if it strays as far away from its foppish history as possible. And it is pretty hard to get anymore "hardcore" than a kickstart pinion from a Harley.
For More Meatpacking Design District 2008.
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