Fashion for everyone

There has been plenty of blog love for We Are Owls and their printed cashmere scarves of late, and I'm sure there will be plenty more once everyone sees the Spring Collection. Designer Ling Chen was inspired by travels through Tulum beaches and ancient Mayan ruins, and the new season's designs are meant to resemble artwork from the forgotten world. The hand-drawn prints make references to Native American glyphs, tribal patterns, and symbolic sugar skulls, all infused with bright pops of color for a modern spin. Here are a couple of my favorite designs, with explanations of the inspiration below.

The onslaught of snow that we've been getting in New York over the past month looks beautiful, but it sure is a mess to walk around in. Every step is a precarious balancing act, and I live in fear of slipping and falling into the semi-toxic looking sludge pools accumulating at every street corner. I think every New Yorker is counting down the days until Spring, and taking a peek at Upstate's Spring lookbook makes me even more desperate for warmer months. Designed by my new friends Kalen and Astrid, the scarf, sarong, and specialty textile line is all hand dyed in Brooklyn using the Japanese technique of Shibori. Each piece is unique, and can be worn and styled in a multitude of ways. January might not be the right season for sarongs, but I wouldn't mind wrapping one of those gigantic shawls around me while it's still cold out. You can find Upstate at taste-making boutiques like Ten Over Six and International Playground. We'll also be hosting a party for Upstate and Chromat on February 3rd at Anchor Bar, so stay tuned for details!

Swing, Stephen Jones, Autumn/Winter 2007

On Tuesday morning, I took a break from the Fashion Week madness and headed uptown to the Bard Graduate Center for a press preview of the new exhibition, Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones.  I must not have read my invitation very well, so I was quite pleasantly surprised when I arrived for a tour of the gallery, and found that the tour was administered by Stephen Jones himself.  The exhibition, which was a collaboration between the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Stephen Jones, is essentially the realization of the book of the same name, providing a sweeping history of the millinery canon. Spanning from a twelfth-century Egyptian Fez hat, to a recent creation by up and coming designer Nasir Mazhar, the exhibition covers all bases, with plenty of relevant Stephen Jones hats interspersed between.

I am an owner of the aforementioned book, and a obsessive hat wearer, so attending the exhibition made me feel like I had died and gone to hat heaven. The show spans three floors, and is divided into sections meant to display the process of creating hats, the way that they are worn, and the clients who are wearing them. One of the greatest highlights is the recreation of Jones's original studio, complete with a small Stephen Jones doll that Philip Treacy made for him after he had finished his apprenticeship.  The exhibition also includes the winner of the Talenthouse contest that I posted about earlier, Aliona Kononova, who made a spectacular dandelion shaped hat out of metal wire and magnets. I asked Jones how he selected the winner out of the five-hundred entrants, and he said that after a very difficult two day process, but Kononova's design was selected because of its hopeful and optimistic feel, and sound looking construction, which he could only judge from the photograph.  I unfortunately could not get a good photo of Kononova's design, so you will have to stop by the show yourself to take a look at it, along with the hundreds of other jaw-dropping hats on display.  The show runs until April 15th of next year.

Stephen giving the tour of the exhibition. 

A doll that Philip Treacy made of Stephen Jones after finishing his apprenticeship with him. 

A recreation of the Stephen Jones millinery studio
 
James Lock & Co. Ltd Conformator and brow hat machines that were used to measure a person's head and create a perfect custom hat pattern to fit their head shape. To the left of the machine are pieces some hat patterns from James Lock's famous customers, including one that belonged to Jackie O.

Myra, Stephen Jones, Autumn/Winter 2003

Olga Shere inspiree par Gruau, Christian Dior Haute Couture by Stephen Jones,  Automn/Winter 2007-2008

Hat with miniature boxes, created for Anna Piaggi when she moved, Student of the Institut Francais de la Mode, 2001

Mickey, Eugenia Kim, Autumn/Winter 1999

Torres Straight hat made by Stephen Jones, Spring/Summer 1996

Pom Pom hat worn by Bjork, Soren Bach, 2007

Bergere hat, France, 1760's, from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Stephen Jones for Undercover

Erickson Beamon is always a huge jewelry inspiration for me, and their presentations at Milk Studios really capture the out-of-this-world aesthetic of the brand. This year's setting was a tropical fantasia, with plenty of real life flora complimenting the giant bejeweled and sequined flowers.  Even though the jewelry was the focus of the show, it appeared that designers Karen Erickson and Vicki Beamon couldn't resist encrusting everything within reach with stones.  In addition to their ornate custom made chandeliers, there were three different mannequins covered from head to toe in gems.  Models, who didn't actually wear much of the jewelry, were made up to look like tropical birds, with plumage in the form of giant feather belts and corsets.  And since no tropical paradise would be complete without nice music, an opera singer provided a live soundtrack.  The technicolor surroundings and gems created a sensory overload, and the real wonder was how the designers managed to cram so much crazy, fun stuff in one place, yet keep their designs gorgeous rather than gaudy.

All photos by Kristian Löveborg.

Just in case it wasn't immediately obviously from the wobbling Cleopatra wigs, Minimarket's Spring collection was inspired by the Ancient Egyptians. Several legendary characters served as muses, including the goddess Isis, Queen Nefertiti, and of course, Cleopatra.  The prehistoric vibe was filtered through a 70's lens, with plenty of dusty orange and green, campy oversized jewels, and high high platform shoes. Of course Minimarket's shoes are always a delight, and even though they're quite difficult to walk in, I'd be willing to give the Spring collection another go. I'm particularly obsessed with the black, orange, and white striped platforms, as well as the floral printed platform brogues.

All photos by Ryan MacFarland

Ursidae, which means The Family of Bears, is very much a family project. When my friend Maj Anya DeBear's father Robert was diagnosed with cancer, he set his daughters with the task of making use of a series of Tessellation drawings that he had created in 1975. Tessellations, which were made famous by artist M.C. Escher, consist of infinite fields of interlocking forms or figures. The work had never been seen by anyone outside of his immediate family before, and Maj Anya and her siblings decided to figure out a way to share the mesmerizing drawings with the public.

Maj Anya, who is an incredibly talented artist in her own right, turned the drawings into textile designs, imbued with vivid colors.  Her first project was a dramatic custom made dress that she collaborated on with her friend Carlo Alcantara for the musician Oh Land, featuring cascading interlocking birds.  Following the success of the project, and the cathartic experience of having her father witness the dynamic dress on stage before his passing, she also decided to create a line of sweeping scarves from the fabric. The choice was based on the heirloom nature of scarves, which are passed down from generation to generation, much like her father's drawings were passed down to her and her siblings.  The story is incredibly moving, and the work is very compelling on its own. I can't think of a more beautiful way to commemorate a moment of loss.