Our conversation with the budding illustrator, student and designer
For illustrator, writer, fashion designer and student Meghann Stephenson, the term DIY doesn’t seem to cover it. While still attending Parsons full-time, Stephenson has established a well-received body of work and has opened an Etsy shop that serves as further testament to her talent as an artist and a…
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Wispy, geometric shapes counterbalanced in a bold, feminist aesthetic
From the geometric angles of minimalist, abstract art to the intangible, endless summer spirit that characterizes her longtime home, LA-based jewelry designer Amanda Loos filters a rich range of inspiration into her line, Kyyote. Delicate lines and vibrant colors give Kyyote jewelry a bold, feminine aesthetic. Building an enduring,…
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Anatomical jewelry inspired by duckling bones in Beijing’s 798 Art District
Beijing’s 798 Art District has made a mainstream shift in recent years with coffee shops, souvenir stores, flocks of tourists and the usual weekend deploy of an arsenal of digital cameras. 798 has become the center of lighthearted art entertainment, but it still preserves some hidden pearls of…
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Bold patterns based on natural adventures
Aptly named “Nature’s Edge,” the inaugural collection from UK-based label Sara C comprises a range of woven bamboo tops and dresses printed with unique patterns hand-drawn by designer Sara Cohen and produced locally.
Cohen was inspired to leave her demanding job in the advertising world to embrace her passion for print design after attending the Do Lectures. The small-but-mighty annual ideas conference held in West Wales gave her the motivating jolt she needed to embark on a seven-week adventure around England in her family campervan, known fondly as Able Mable. Inspired by the surrounding landscape, Cohen turned the period of reflection into the genesis for her new business and creative venture.
Cohen describes her designs as “graphic natural shapes infused with bright washes of color. The intricate designs harken back to what she saw on her journey, and the world to which she was longing to connect. “Nature tells millions of tiny, perfect stories,” she says, translating those narratives into a vibrant everyday wardrobe that travels as well through the city as the rich flora of Cohen’s far-flung and often remote travels.
The collection’s designs are adapted from photographs and drawings Cohen has amassed along her way, not only in the UK, but also in the more exotic climes of Australia and Mexico. In the creation section on the Sara C site you can find the story and visual evolution behind each design and the natural beauty that inspired it. The line is also available through the designer’s online shop.
Style, quality and function in a refined accessories line
Designer Shai Levy launched Seventy Eight Percent three years ago when he saw a gap in the accessories market. “I noticed there were a lot of stylish bags, some of high quality and some that were functional, but I had a hard time finding pieces that combined all three of those qualities,” says Levy. “That’s what our Seventy Eight Percent bags aim to do.”
With a design philosophy that holds quality, functionality and the relationship between individual and object above all else, Levy approaches each project considering the user first. “I think of the creative professional,” says Levy. “The person that needs a bag to be first of all functional and able to carry all the supplies they are going to need for that meeting, and, secondly, a bag that is going to make a statement—the right impression when they bring it into that meeting.” In order to meet these standards, each Seventy Eight Percent piece goes through rigorous working and reworking process starting with a series of paper models and gradually working up to constructions out of leather and canvas.
Based out of Levy’s new home base in Hong Kong, Seventy Eight Percent sources its materials internationally and its craftsmen locally in order to ensure the highest level of quality. When thinking about materials for Seventy Eight Percent, Levy, an ex-outdoor gear designer, wanted to stay away from the synthetic fibers he knew and work with natural materials. “From the beginning, I knew I wanted to work with vegetable-tanned leather because it ages well, and I wanted the quality of our products to be evident when someone touched them,” says Levy. Using sturdy, Japanese wax-coated canvas and sleek, Italian vegetable-tanned leather, Levy has built a collection of bags designed to last.
In line with the Seventy Eight Percent philosophy, each bag is handmade, and, as a result of the materials, no piece is the same. With the individual in mind, each bag comes in assortment of sizes and colors ranging from bright blue leather wallets to deep brown messenger bags. Prices range from $625 for the classic Shults briefcase to $110 for the Fritz wallet.
You can find Seventy Eight Percent bags now at Treasure and Bond as well as online where they will be launching a new line of Japanese denim bags by the end of July 2012.
Hand-drawn designs expand to knee-high, anklet and kids’ styles
Since we discovered Sweet Marcel’s over-the-knee socks in 2010, the Texas-based designer has expanded into knee-highs, anklets and Wee Marcel for toddlers.” Anklet socks are the hottest thing in Japan now and selling like crazy,” Sweet Marcel’s founder and designer Amy Anderson told Cool Hunting.
Sweet Marcel’s knee-highs are produced in the traditional textile heartland of North Carolina with yarn from locally milled cotton. The over-the-knee socks and children’s line come from a family-owned textile mill in central Turkey where Anderson travels frequently to oversee production. Each hand-drawn design is named after an influential figure, like Wee Lucienne, which takes its name from Lucienne Day, the 20th-century British fabric designer.
Sweet Marcel’s expanded product line is available in about a selection of U.S. boutiques and online from the site; each pair comes packaged with a vintage safety pin “too cool to not keep”. Prices range from $10-$20.
Cycling-ready heat-sealed rainwear that looks hot too
Braving the elements in style just got a whole lot easier thanks to Terra New York, a new line of fashion-conscious, 100% waterproof rainwear. The semi-transparent, smoky-hued jackets and accessories have NYC-centric names including the “Lower East Side” parka and the “Nolita” cape, and consist of materials like TPU/Urethane—which is derived from recycled materials—to provide structure while still allowing breathability.
Designed with urban cyclists and pedestrians in mind, Terra’s first collection also includes special pieces like a parka with an adjustable hood that can accommodate a helmet.
Each garment is created using a heat-sealing technique at the seams to block out the water. According to co-founders and cycling enthusiasts Yurika Nakazono and Marie Saeki, “Each part of the coat has its own mold, and each seam is heat-sealed with another mold. Our ‘Tribeca’ trench coat, for example, is built with 75 different molds, each one specially made for a specific seam. The seam mold is heated, then applied on to the fabric, merging two, three, or more layers of fabric together. No needle, no holes, no chemicals and no water inside!”
“The inspiration was to allow people to brave the rain with a smile, knowing they look good and are protected,” says Saeki. Nakazono agrees: “Living in Stockholm, Tokyo, London, Paris, and New York, I destroyed so many beautiful pieces of clothes, bags and shoes in the rain. Not finding any cool and 100% waterproof raincoats, I started thinking about doing it myself. Living in big cities, I never wanted the look of the British lord of the manor or the girl with the huge red and pink flowery rubber boots. I wanted to be chic, blend in the rain and feel comfortable.”
Jackets start at $240 and are available online at Terra New York.
Color-coded shopping results in an iOS app
LuxeFinds, the online luxury shopping engine for women, has produced a mobile shopping app that searches the web for lifestyle goods based on color. By taking a picture of an article of clothing or selecting a color from a color wheel, shoppers can find an exact match from LuxeFinds’ massive database. The app, which launched today, aims to help shoppers match clothing to their current wardrobe and fix the common problem of inaccurate colors that tend to crop up with online shopping.
While husband-and-wife team Phyllis and Philip Cheung founded LuxeFinds as a site for women, their app caters to men and children as well with results for clothing, cosmetics and fragrances. Colors can be selected by taking a photograph, or by using LuxeFinds’ color wheel and swatch selector. From there, the app returns a curated selection of items matching the selected color. Shoppers can buy, save or push the items to a number of social channels.
While color-based search options exist across the web, we appreciate the strategic application to styled shopping. The uncluttered interface is easy to use, and LuxeFinds does a spot-on job of curating the mess of items online, presenting users with a kind of color-coded luxury megastore.
The LuxeFinds “Ultimate Color Shopping Engine” is available for free through the iTunes App Store.
Desert boots get the high-tech soles in a new LunarGrand collection
As a follow up to the LunarGrand Wingtip, Cole Haan is launching a line of LunarGrand Chukkas at their SoHo store in NYC this week. The shoes sport a nubuck upper that is paired with Nike‘s Lunarlon sole for a combination of classic style and modern functionality. The ribbed soles are incredibly lightweight, deceptively comfortable and use micro-diamond tread for grip that is a cut above leather soles.
While the wingtips come in suede and leather options, the chukkas are outfitted with a soft nubuck leather. Some nice details set the shoes apart, including the rawhide laces that are fitted with metal tips that must be unscrewed to change out laces. Developed for WWII British soldiers in North Africa and made iconic by the likes of Steve McQueen, the chukka has a rare personality that can transition from dress to casual.
Another curious detail is the welted sole—a construction element practically unheard of in the sneaker world. Cole Haan’s elegant logo is printed on the footbed and can be found on the metal lace tips as well. Three eyelets—as opposed to the traditional two—have been given to the chukkas.
Available in both men’s and women’s styles, the shoes come in eight total colorways. The women’s is equipped with a slightly higher ankle and curvier profile, though the two are otherwise comparable. Simplicity certainly dominates the look, although a small amount of broguing on the tongue reveals contrast leather beneath.
The LunarGrand Chukka sells for $298 at Cole Haan Soho beginning Thursday, 3 May 2012. While currently unavailable online, we expect them to follow in the path of the wingtip predecessors and make it to the LunarGrand section of Cole Haan’s online shop.
Cole Haan Soho
128 Prince Street
New York, NY 10012
Behind the scenes with the NYC-based footwear brand’s founder and designer Ce Ce Chin
Proving that fashion and function can indeed go hand in hand, 80%20 stands out as a chic, everyday answer to the often painful women’s heel. What started as a girl’s spin on what sneaker-heads and skaters were wearing has grown into a much more mature and fashion-focused footwear line for ladies. While the Vans-inspired styles have evolved into a more formal silhouette, the emphasis on comfort and wearability has remained a constant. To get a better feel for this continuous progression we recently caught up with founder and creative director Ce Ce Chin at her studio.
Looking out onto midtown Manhattan, Chin’s Fashion District design studio maintains a sense of order, with only a few inspiration boards hinting to the free-flowing creativity at the heart of the operation. Neatly tucked away behind closet doors is an endless collection of sample shoes, swatches and objects—offering somewhat of a parallel to the designer’s signature style, the Original Hidden Wedge.
Chin describes her design process as “non-linear”, mocking up ideas, sketches and digital models as she goes, and using her unique masking tape technique. Covering current shoe styles in tape allows the designer to create a 3D drawing board of sorts, turning her ideas into a model she can hold in her hands before resorting to an actual prototype. The freedom of adjustment during the design process allows Chin and her team to toy with ideas and colorways, keeping 80%20’s playful attitude going from ideation to production.
As shown in her design methods, Chin says she has always learned better through experience than by regimented task-driven assignments, a style that ultimately led the designer from her hometown in the Midwest to experiment with design in NYC, where her grandfather and father had grown up. Fifteen years later, Chin—who lives in her grandfather’s third-generation Chinatown apartment—has made a name for herself among what she calls the male “shoe dogs”.
Chin sees a future of exploration and expansion for 80%20, aiming to introduce more silhouettes and materials for upcoming collections, like Hudson Bay-inspired colorways and cork-molded footbeds on a high-heeled platform for Fall 2012. As far as inspiration goes, Chin says she prefers to “build based on what works, but shaped on the current vernacular.” With this in mind, the line seems poised to continue introducing innovative new styles that still follow the 80%20 mantra of designing for everyday use.
For a closer look at the 80%20 design studio check the gallery below.
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