coutorture --

The One Train

coutorture — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:27:31 -0700

Today's original Coutorture editorial, shot by photographer Wayne Liu, took place in the 168th street subway station. We took the 1 train up together, pieces from the Fall 08 Steinunn collection in tow, and spent the rest of the day underground. Funnily enough it was the first day of Spring in New York.

To learn more about Liu, check out our interview and his first photo shoot with us called, Haunted. After the shoot we asked Liu to write us something on what would become 'The One Train'. Below, his narrative, and the shoot with Steinunn Fall 08.

'Ms. X appears, on the silver screen or right next to me—I cannot know the difference. I am no stalker, no, I’m too disinterested to even try, but perhaps we’ve talked at some point, and perhaps the static air of our whispers is what remains stalking me. We connect on the topic of ephemeral relationships and their malcontents; then she drifts, tugging her hair, or maybe her bonnet, and begins to straighten her blouse. She pretends not to notice the gum dried on the track, nor the glance from the edge of my eye. These matter not to her, these flirtations exchanged. She enjoys herself for reasons I shall remain oblivious to, so it seems with her eyes desiring couture endlessly that I can relate in my obsessive collecting of her images, presented here for a future Ms. X.' -Wayne Liu

Five Fall Trends: Past & Present

coutorture — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:28:14 -0700

In today's original Coutorture editorial we've pulled together what we consider Fall's top five trends and depicted one vintage and one modern interpretation for each. We know mixing price points is an important consideration, especially in this economic climate, and we thought it neat to show two versions of the same trend in order to display just how accessible the Fall 08 looks are, no matter what your budget. Our stylist and Network Partner, Liz Baca from the website M.I.S.S. Crew, came up with some amazing looks and we'll break those down, later this week, with corresponding trend galleries from the Fall 08 catwalks. Baca was able to come at the project with strong insight from both the modern and vintage perspective because, in addition to styling shoots and writing about modern fashion, she also sells vintage to the hippest boutiques in the Lower East Side. We'll be posting an interview with Baca soon, where she articulates the challenges of being a vintage buyer and her perspective on the Fall 08 season. We'll also be posting behind the scenes photo galleries, beauty spreads, and an interview with the husband and wife design team, Shannon Sinclair and Bryn Bowen, who photographed and made set (respectively) for today's shoot. Stay tuned for all of these great pieces of Coutorture content. We're off taping a few pre-fashion week video interviews and sneaking in one shoot before New York Fashion Week kicks off so expect lots of exciting things popping up on our front page, from here all the way through the Spring 09 Paris shows.

For some instant gratification, check out the spread below with some of the items we pulled from eLuxury, Net-a-Porter, and Shobop for today's shoot. We don't pull current season by accident...we know there's something to be said for immediacy in fashion.

The Sun Doesn't Care Photo Shoot

coutorture — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:52:57 -0700

For today's original Coutorture editorial, our lack of inspiration was our, er, inspiration. It's been a steady ninety degrees, sample sale season has been in full swing for months, the fall clothing has yet to deliver, and Spring fashion week is not yet upon us--time has been kind of dragging by. Top that off with a recession and being located in a city predominately void of air conditioning and you've landed yourself in crazy town. Lately we've been wearing our one-piece bathing suit to work (with shorts of course) and broken the cardinal rule of never wearing havaianas beyond the deli on our block. Yes, it has been that bad. We're sure most of you are right there with us.

After our poolside shoot we had not much left we felt really excited about, save for the editorials that will crop up closer to Fall (i.e. next month). Shortly thereafter, we saw this dress and a light bulb appeared over our heads. Yes, ombre would save us. Ombre has been a trend for a couple of seasons now and, in truth, it's not really going anywhere. Editorializing ombre might be a bit boring, if it weren't that it makes the perfect analogy to our current situation. What happens to your perfectly constructed style when the forces of nature (and/or the economy) are fighting against you? Well, it fades away...

Unabashed Product Placement! DIY Tips!

coutorture — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:52:12 -0700

If you want the goods in our The Sun Doesn't Care photo shoot you can have them at anywhere from zero to eight hundred dollars. You can also have them for Resort 09. Yep, we're all over the map this week. Our spread below includes those current season goodies in our shoot courtesy of Shopbop--all will undoubtedly work for fall (heck, some of them are fall). From the pink sequin ombre frock to the elegant purple blouse, it's all up for grabs. As for the clothing in the shoot not shown in the spread below, well that's Pencey and we'll be bringing you the low-down on that line and the Resort collection later today.

Finally, anything randomly ombrized (oops, we just made up an awesome word) well, that's our styling skills with the help of e-commerce aficionado and former Anthropologie display coordinator, Stephanie Draves. From the chain and feather necklace, to the purple rope necklace, and its matching ascot necktie, it came from us--we dip dyed in our bathroom until the wee hours of the morning with the help of Ms. Draves. There's not too much DIY advice to give aside from making sure you don't splash your roommate's white towels with a giant orange ombre bow (soaking wet). We just hope that you take our interpretations as encouragement to embrace the sweltering weather, buddy up, and get wild with some drug store dye.

Our E-Luxury Picks For Island Life

coutorture — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:54:35 -0700

Three key pieces made our Island Life shoot from eLuxury. Namely, a hot pink Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, and a patchwork bag and pair of patent peep-toes by Dolce & Gabbana. Our concept for the shoot was swimwear and acessories: the only purchases outside of a sample sale that make sense this time of year, and so these pieces made our wishlist from the e-commerce site. A rundown of their draw, below.

Dolce & Gabbana Runway Miss Pocket Patchwork Bag: Clocking in at four grand, this bag is intricately detailed and luxe in the best sense of the word. Narrow horizontal panels of genuine snakeskin make up the exterior of the bag and a super-soft grey suede trim adorns the frame. Trust us when we say this bag, in person, is a show-stopper. Each panel of snakeskin has its own unique color, sheen, and perforations making it look, from afar, like a beacon of exotic skin dangling off the arm. On the practical side of things, there's a cell phone pocket inside and has (we love this in a bag) a long strap and short handles, so you've some styling options at the end of the day.

Marc by Marc Jacobs Pretty Nylon Little Tate Tote: This bag certainly falls in a different category that the patchwork number but it still made our wish list for eLuxury nonetheless. We thought the $158 dollar nylon tote, for its color and size, would be an apt accessory for the remaining summer months. One thing we hate about the generic canvas tote is how supple the material is and how dirty they can get in a matter of days. This bag is easily washable and would not pick up every grain of sand it touched. Furthermore, the Tate Tote is quilted, giving it more girth than your typical beach-tote (which makes it feel more like an actual handbag).

Dolce & Gabbana Patent Lace-Up Bootie: Reasonably priced and Fall-ready, these shoes made our list for their sheer end-of-summer appeal. Because they are open-toe, these booties are more than appropriate in warm weather and, come fall, could be worn with a sheer sock or pair of stockings just fine. They're sexy, masculine, and trend-appropriate shoes and they are, indeed, something to swoon over. For the shoot, our pairs were grey and snakeskin but the shoes also come in patent black. As we know, seven hundred dollars in today's world can buy you one sick pair of shoes.

Island Life Photo Shoot

coutorture — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:52:53 -0700

It's the home stretch of summer and swimsuits are all we can wrap our mind around. We're gearing up for fall editorials and spring shows (Spring 09 Fashion Weeks are looming) and, at this stage in the game, we know that the best purchases are swimsuits for the beach and accessories that will take you straight into the fall season. So, we blocked up and went up to our fabulous intern's rooftop pool, to shoot these pieces. From Dolce and Gabbana to Marc by Marc to Old Navy, our options for July shopping are still plentiful. We firmly believe in mixing the high and low price points, and below, you'll find the items in our Island Life shoot, up for grabs. Later today and tomorrow we'll bring you enough swimsuit content to make you want to head straight for the beach on Thursday afternoon, it's only Tuesday and we're just about there ourselves.

Lost Bag Photo Shoot And Designer Interview

coutorture — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:13:39 -0700

We started story boarding today's original Coutorture editorial with two things in mind. Namely, the location; an abandoned airport near Gerritson Beach in New York, and the utilitarian handbags by designer Shiho Nagshima and Ramana Goldstein for their brand, Dunlin. Later that week we popped over to OAK to pick up some clean, white and grey cotton clothing with interesting detail, started talking to Nagshima about an interview, and finally walked one empty suitcase over to Greenpoint to pick up some bags. On the way back, when it was stuffed with expensive leather goods, we felt like a thief in a bad neighborhood until we realized we were fashion editors in a quickly gentrifying bourgeois one--such a fine line and such an appropriate dichotomy to start off this shoot.

Although the clothing captured in today's editorial, by Complex Geometries, OAK, and Form, should be recognized for it's cleanliness and structure, for today, we'd like to give recognition to the handbags. We first met Shiho Nagshima at a party in the Spring but knew her bags previous to that from shopping at OAK. We knew we liked them because they were very urban and kind of anti-"it"-bags and between debates on eco-friendly versus [long-lasting] leather, and on it-bags versus contemporary bags, we thought it was the perfect moment for a shoot.

Photographer Wayne Liu went about capturing the raw urban quality of these bags, interspersing that with a feeling of loss, of irrelevance, of innocence as decided antonyms to the fashion industry. More than anything, we thought he understood the other side of the handbag debate quite well and so another editorial was borne.

For more, check out our interview with designer Shiho Nagshima of Dunlin and, of course, our Lost Bag photo shoot below.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you began designing handbags?
We were introduced to each other back in 2000 and have been friends ever since. I was working in photography industry. Ramana was doing odd jobs and making art. Fashion was actually the furthest thing from our minds. Eventually Ramana started working in the industry designing bags. He worked for a bunch of different labels. It seemed fun. One day we were walking and talking and kidding around about starting our own handbag line. A year later we came up with the name - Dunlin. Names are not easy you know, especially when two people have to agree. Anyway, designing handbags just seemed like the right thing to do at that particular moment in our lives. It seemed right to get into something where we could direct our creativity in a completely different direction, one with more tangible results. Although art making continues to be one of our life projects, we are free to pursue it in decidedly more personal and ephemeral ways. It has only been two and a half years since our bags first started selling in stores and we can both honestly say, we have enjoyed every minute of it. Even the hard times are good. They teach us patience and sometimes nudge us in surprising new directions.

Your bags have a distinctly urban/utilitarian aesthetic, how do you conjure this look? (what colors or shapes do you stay away from? what do you think about when you are designing?)
Having been born and raised in Tokyo, I was exposed to the culture and aesthetic of the handbag quite early. In grade school my friends and I were already seeking to define ourselves uniquely by what bag we carried. It is crazy to think back and realize I was already developing a personal aesthetic at such a young age. Large bags, men's bags, military bags, vintage suitcase attracted me most. To this day they have continued to provide me with inspiration as Ramana and I work on Dunlin.

Perhaps these early formative years helped define the signature Dunlin look or perhaps it is the fact that we are a male/female design team. Obviously both have contributed to the fact that our look is unisex and many of our bags can be carried by both men and women. We tend to stay away from shapes that are girly. But I should add, this is not a rule. Nothing about our design process is absolute. We have ideals, but they exist in the moment and are always free to transform and grow. The one thing you realize quickly in a partnership is that you have to let go. You have to suspend all rules because one of us will end up tipping that rule on its head. If we don't, once the bag enters the public domain it happens. After all, this is not just a partnership between Ramana and I alone, it also includes the people that have come to support our brand and wear our bags. Their voice is also part of our aesthetic. So at some point we have to confront a duality of perspectives. Actually every one of our designs is a work in progress that grows organically from season to season.

I guess this still doesn't answer your question fully. Context is so important. We are a New York brand. Our look is dark and understated with a distinctly urban feel. Black's, grey's, metallic's, and shades of white define our signature pallete, but we do like to throw in a color now and again to keep things fresh and exciting. It is impossibe to live in this city and not respond by creating designs with an urban/utillitarian aesthetic, right? So our authentic approach to design is the result of a convergence of practical and conceptual aesthetic concerns rooted in the creative culture of our city, our time, and our individual vision as designers.

The principles that inspire us are abstract and conceptual ideas surrounding the very meaning of a bag. The meaning of a bag is not only its form, as one commonly assumes, but rather its space. A bag in itself is nothing more than a structure that gives form and functionality to space. A bag makes space available for us to use. Approached from this angle we realized that a bag that effortlessly expands and contracts to allow for more or less space as needed takes this and pushes it to its limits. This is a bag designed to give us freedom. Expandability has been the driving force behind our signature design, the Lafayette line. This was our very first concept and has come to define the very essence of our design approach.

With 'it' handbags being so popular in America, how does a contemporary handbag line establish a reliable following without trying to compete with year long waiting lists and instantly recognizable shapes?

Our dark understated look runs completely counter to the concept of the "it" bag. Our bags are really for a small select audience that appreciates subtlety and nuance. We seek to continually refine and simplify our statement, whereas an "it" bag tends to go in the opposite direction with dangles, logo's, and a lot of unnecessary detailing. We don't want to water down our vision to give it the kind of mass appeal of an "it" bag. We are a small company that tries to be sincere about its craft. There is a realism that can only come about by keeping things simple and close to home. I think that comes through in our designs. That being said, we are gaining recognition with a specific niche audience who understands our aesthetic. But our aesthetic is not for everyone and we will be the first to admit it. Anyway, we are happy with our unique place in the market. We will likely remain a niche brand indefinitely, but that is in keeping with our attitude and approach to design.

Eco-friendly bags are becoming more and more popular. Why should someone carry a leather bag over, say, an organic or non-leather bag?
To be quite honest it is hard to answer this question. We both live conscientious lifestyles and recognize the importance of personal responsibility. We do draw the line with exotic skins like snake and fur where animals are killed for the skins alone. However, we wont be eliminating leather from our bags anytime soon. We simply love the look and feel of leather. It is hard to find a substitute with the same kind of versatility, durability, and natural beauty. The leather we use on our handbags come from cow, sheep, and goat. Therefore it is a byproduct of the meat industry. It is our belief that if we were to eliminating leather from our bags is would be more or less a symbolic gesture. Global meat consumption is really the root of the problem. It is massive and produces a large number of by-products that if unused would become industrial waste. Leather is one of those byproducts, so we don't feel guilty using it. That being said, symbolism is important and we are looking to introduce fabric bags in the near future, but it will be for both ecological reasons and for aesthetic ones. Fabric offers an entirely different set of formal and conceptual challenges that we are excited to take on.

What is your everyday life like? Does running Dunlin take up most of your day?
Dunlin is an unending focus weather we are sitting in the office or relaxing on the beach we never stop thinking about Dunlin. It is a joy to have such a focus and direction in life. We both have found a tremendous amount of meaning from this experience. We are still a young company. With time the meaning of our vision will certainly become richer and more gratifying.

[Summer] In The City

coutorture — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:47:46 -0700

The aggressive debate over whether it's better to be in 'in the city' or "in the country" has raged since Plato's Republic. Strong feelings about what constitutes the good life in relation to the city have been active since antiquity as we ponder our place as individual in society. The current iteration of the debate seems to center around that elusive topic of "summering." For New Yorkers in particular, that means a discussion over how much time should (or could) be spent in The Hamptons. But no matter where you live, 'summer in the city' is a concept which requires defending.

To that end, when we grabbed hold of pieces from the Karen Walker Fall 08 collection we immediately thought of our shoot's concept (or argument, if you will). Although the collection winks to many different fashion eras, something about the striped turtlenecks, the vibrant colors, and the lux velvet tie-dye trousers, said 1970's and thus we found our angle. What era is the hands-down the most infamous (and surprisingly celebrated) era in the history of New York? The 1970's of course. When you think of New York in the 1970's you think of crime, of parties, of politics, and of, at the very least, personality. From there we pulled a navy striped Jets swimsuit, some high waist jeans by Denim & Thread, and some of Catherine Holstein's amazingly 70's Fall pieces (including all that bright yellow and one velvet tie dyed shirt).

If there's anything a homebound New Yorker can put on the table when his friends flock to the beach for the weekend, it's the fact that the city is the place where everything happens (no, the opening of a Rugby store does not an event make). While those beach bound city-dwellers are tanning and shopping, the rest of the city is sweating and drinking margaritas in the street, playing baseball under bright white lights, having rooftop cocktails to the sound of sirens in the background, and wearing clothes that fall somewhere outside of the sarong and flip flops category. If something is going to happen, there's going to be concrete around and there will not be sarongs.

It might sound crazy, but to us, that possibility might just keep us here weekend after weekend. In honor of summers in the city, everywhere, here's our 1970's salute to saturated color (both on our clothing and our building facades) and saturated experience.

G-Shock Party And Photo Shoot

coutorture — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:00:41 -0700

Last week we attended the 25th G-Shock anniversary party, which turned out be something more than just mini BLT's and apple martinis. We toted along Marcia, from Red Model Management, and Jonathan Melamed, OAK's exclusive in-house photographer, and wore our G-Shocks in mid-week 'ready-for-a-drink' pride. First, there was the press conference in which Spike Lee and G-Shock's head gentlemen discussed the brand's still-hip image despite it's unaltered aesthetic. At the end there were questions from the audience where a few people poised sports questions to Spike Lee (totally unrelated to the brand and downright inappropriate if you ask us) and then we decided to give the panel of speakers the old Coutorture treatment and boldly inquire why there weren't any women in their marketing material.

You see, Coutorture's always been down with menswear and our reasoning isn't very complicated. We think it's just fine for women to wear fashion items marketed towards men, you know, whatevs. The answer to our question, given to us by the brand director, involved an explanation in which we were directed to the G-Shock's 'Baby-G' line for women. So, you know, to hell with being anyone's baby and the frustrating (and patronizing) streetwear trend to preface a women's line with such a word. We're pretty capable of wrapping our minds around a color that is decidedly 'not-pink'. Though Baby-G does offer some pretty sweet watches in more delicate weights and brighter colors, we prefer the G-Shock watch we grew up with.

We subsequently spent the rest of the night drinking drinks, giving people high fives (our question inspired Spike Lee to put his hat over his face), and getting Marcia in and out of clothing we pulled from OAK for the occasion. Her G-Shock and short shorts, inspired attention from more than just our own photographer and the culminating shot was of the lovely watch-clad lady with G-Shock's inventor Mr. Ibe. Overall we felt we gave G-Shock some marketing material to speak of (for the gals who prefer the more rugged-looking watch), and had some fun with OAK's covetable clothing and talented photoman. Our favorite G-Shocks and our original photo editorial, below.

Coutorture's Original Photo Spreads

coutorture — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:22:46 -0700

Coutorture is proud to produce its own original and exclusive fashion spreads with a team of savvy editors, photographers, makeup artists and stylists. Our photo editorials are inspired by what we believe is happening now in fashion, from the immediacy of a collection fresh off the catwalk that won't hit the store for months to current season collections that reflect the cultural moment. Our ethos is firmly grounded in the belief that fashion does not happen with a three month lead time but in the moment. We aim to capture and publish style at a pace as quick as the business of fashion itself. But most critically we publish original work that comes from our own unique vision, a vision honed by the best new media and the blogosphere has to offer, with quality and standards to match. Julie Fredrickson, Editor in Chief