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New York Fashion Week Designer Interview Round Up

coutorture — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 14:59:56 -0800

Coutorture produced a lot of videos this fashion week. We had runway videos, backstage makeup, and designer interviews, making us very busy bees for most of the week. Check out some of our favorite designer interviews including Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein, Chris Han, Isaac Mizrahi, Tory Burch, Naeem Khan, Michael Kors, Joanna Mastroianni, Monique Lhuillier, John Varvatos, Donna Karen at DKNY, Ashleigh Verrier and our very favorite Oscar De La Renta. We have a ton more so please check out all of our video coverage of Fashion Week!

From Start To Finish at Joanna Mastroianni

coutorture — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:43:06 -0800

There is something magical about seeing a collection come together. Our visit to Joanna Mastroianni's studio before Fashion Week made us feel exceptionally lucky as she dazzled us with her laser like focus and inspiration. But seeing the finished collection today was an even more rare privilege. The tiles she had shown us in our video tour manifested in garments fit for a princess from skirts to a hoodie cape.

Indeed, while her theme was more Moroccan this season we asked her before the show if she had ever been inspired by Byzantine princess Anna Comnena what with her emphasis on detailing, gold and noble craftsmanship. Her face lit up and she told us that yes rare and exceptional women throughout history have always inspired her with Anna at the top of her list. It was an esoteric inspiration thus we were pleased to find ourselves on the same wavelength as the brilliant Joanna. We like to think that Princess Anna just may be the patron saint of this royal line.

A/W 08: Pre-Fashion Week Studio Visit With Joanna Mastroianni

coutorture — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:03:16 -0800

Last week, as part of our pre-Fashion Week video series, we were invited to Joanna Mastroianni's studio to hear her talk about her A/W 08 collection and her preparations for fashion week. Having worked as a designer for over twenty years, she a graceful aplomb that reflects her extensive experience creating collections that inspire the wider design community. In an age where partying and visibility are signs of a successful designer it was refreshing to engage with someone who values the craft over bread and circus. We left the studio, literally, in a fit of inspiration, mouths agape, when one of us broke the silence with 'I want to live there. In that studio. With her. You know? Do you know what I mean? I bet she has really nice bathrobes.'. At this point in her career, as other designers leave their work to an under class of creative personalities, her involvement couldn't be more grounding.

Joanna took us through the collection from starting from its first stages as a nugget of condensed information. We realized, while other designers have inspiration boards replete with kitschy references and brooding moods, Joanna has a conceptual and visual arsenal. Where other designers explain 'and then I made this dress', Joanna explains 'and then I made this drawing, and then this embroidery, and then these six interpretations of that embroidery, and then this panel, and then this dress.' The idea is not that other designers are somehow lazing through the creative process, rather, that Joanna is so meticulous in her involvement that her vision and work leaves others in the dust. It is no wonder she is such a success.

More: Pre-fashion Week Studio Visit With Sue Stemp