Hasta La Ideas

The quirky creative’s first store opens in NYC bringing a clever take on classic garments

A year after French designer Ramdane Touhami moved his family and introduced Cire Trudon to New York with a whimsical boutique, he has since sold the company and moved on to his next venture—the eponymous store and house label Ramdane, characterized by classic garments for men and women updated with the designer’s signature sartorial twists. Using the finest fabrics sourced from well-known names in the industry, Touhami brings together high-quality and fashion at an accessible price point.

As a nod to his collection‘s playful aesthetic and attention to textures and colors, the exterior facade of the Nolita boutique has been draped in woven wool surrounding the neon orange doors; the interior space is furnished with large, custom-made stone slab counters carved from single pieces of rock in upstate New York. Inside there’s an anything-goes atmosphere—after all, the creative maestro Touhani is not only a designer, but also a DJ, director, artist and journalist—with garments hanging freely from the ceiling or folded on counters, each accented with their own unique patterns and colors—a style central to the Ramdane aesthetic.

The store will eventually carry a range of products—furniture, accessories, clothing and more. Current offerings include coats made with Mackintosh fabrics, accented with a dozen or more buttons wrapped in patterned fabric sourced from Scotland, and a motorcycle jacket constructed of the same waxed cotton used by Barbour. The women’s green bouclé jacket and contrasting-neon trenches are at once youthful and sophisticated in slim contemporary fits.

For a more subtle creative touch, Ramdane’s light-pastel sweaters feature multiple collars, while the thick angora cable knit cardigans remain true to classic form. The colorful corduroys are also well proportioned and have a fine hand. We found a favorite in the “Crisis Suit,” an ingenious design that has to be seen—or, ideally, tried on—for the full effect (Touhani put it on for us, but we couldn’t contain his exuberance long enough to get a proper shot of the suit). The three-in-one combination of jacket and vest has a base layer with suit-jacket sleeves and three different vest styles—tuxedo, double-breasted and countryside—to change-up the lapels.

In an effort to bring superior fashion to a more inclusive audience, Ramdane sells his limited-run pieces in a relatively moderate range—sweaters go for around $200, coats for between $350 and $500 and pants for $200. Also of note, Ramdane is offering an extremely unique staggered payment system for customers under the age of 25, allowing for payment to be made in three installments over time. For now Ramdane is exclusively sold through the New York flagship.

To see the collection in motion watch “The Forrest,” a horror movie directed by Ramdane and produced for $500.

Ramdane
64 Kenmare Street
New York, NY 10012
Map

A skate industry vet teams up with a legendary NYC boutique for a collaborative shop with street culture appeal

The most talked about collaboration between skateboarding and street fashion of late, Vans’ first brick-and-mortar store champions NYC sneaker institution DQM. Opening today in the heart of SoHo, the Vans DQM General brings boutique founder Chris Keeffe’s well-edited contemporary skate style to a broader shopping audience. From custom-made tables to the handpicked photographs that adorn the walls, the historic space’s lofted ceilings and worn hardwood floors all add to the rustic general store aesthetic.

Patrons can look forward to a full line of co-branded apparel spanning button-downs, tees and hoodies, as well as three shoe styles set to drop mid-October 2011. The shop will also function as Vans’ first and only store in NYC selling all the classics that made the company what it is today, plus some exclusive specialized goods.

Staying true to both companies’ deep roots in skateboarding, the shop sells decks, wheels and trucks from all the same core accounts you’ll find in DQM’s East Village location. By the brushed steel stairs at the rear of the spacious shop you’ll find a selection of youth apparel and shoes, along with an inviting lounge and custom bar area that will presumably host an array of forthcoming skate-enthused events.

Located at 93 Grand street in NYC, the Vans DQM General is open seven days a week from here on out. For more information check DQM online or visit the soon-to-launch official VansDQM site.

An emerging fashion designer’s 8-bit-inspired latest collection and store

by Adele Chan

Where most go for increasingly hi-def effects, experimental Japanese designer Kunihiko Morinaga took a deliberately different direction with his label Anrealage, designing the Fall/Winter 2011 line around the concept of low-resolution graphics. Titled “Low” in reference to the throwback patterns, the collection includes skirt suits, coats, dresses, tights and court shoes printed with colorful square blocks, meant to resemble pixelated florals and paisleys. The resulting mosaic-like imagery attracts the eye, giving the illusion that moving further away or squinting might pull the designs into focus. The heels of the shoes are particularly striking—cleverly sculptured to look like miniature, offset blocks—reminiscent of Lego bricks.

An extension of the collection, the motif makes for a strong interior decor scheme in the brand’s Harajuku store as well. Entering the space is like falling back into a classic video game from the 1980s (minus the fire breathing plants and teleportation tubes). From the chairs and display table to carpet design and even hanging light bulbs, every piece of furniture appears to be rendered in a few pixels per inch.

Can’t make it to Japan? Get a taste with the Low Pixel print tights ¥5,775 (US$74) online.

Jeans made to order from the most coveted denim in the world

Founder of both Earnest Sewn and Paper Denim & Cloth, Scott Morrison’s commitment to the raw essence of denim extends down to the brand names of each new project. His latest, 3×1 Made Here, borrows a name from the technique that gives denim its diagonal weave. Shoppers at his new 4,000-square-foot Soho space can customize a pair of ready-to-wear limited edition jeans, order a pair in their denim of choice or make an appointment to work with Morrison from scratch.

As a pioneer of the premium denim phenomenon, it makes sense that Morrison’s next step would be to elevate denim fashion to a level typically reserved for high end men’s suit tailoring. But don’t worry, the project is setup for laymen and elitist denim-heads alike. Morrison says of the shop, “I think some people are drawn to the 65+ selvedge denims they can select from, others are just looking for a great fitting pair of jeans, while others are coming down because they’ve heard about this new store/factory/gallery space in SoHo that makes jeans while you watch.”

The idea began back in September 2010 when Morrison started sewing the first patterns in his apartment. The line has continued to evolve and now includes a ready-for-purchase run of limited-edition styles for men and women, with the in-house production curbed at between eight-24 pieces per model. For these, the customer can still tweak the hemline and buttons, but to take it a step further, a second option is available. Patrons can choose an existing cut and then apply one of the 100+ fabrics on hand, coming from Japanese, American and Italian mills, delivering a tailored pair of jeans without going fully custom. Morrison reflects on his raw denim fascination we discovered during a previous interview, saying, “Thankfully we offer both [washed and untreated], but 3×1 is unique in that it’s a raw denim fanatic’s dream shop. There is simply no better place in the world to find the best selvedge denim than in our shop in SoHo.”

I was invited to check out the studio and worked with Morrison for over an hour to achieve the perfect fit. Deciding to build a pair from the beginning, I chose a gorgeous red cast, 15.5 ounce denim from Collect (the coveted Japanese mill) as my base, adding a white button, silver rivets and two different hues of orange stitching. For the back pockets I went large and low with tight parallel run-off stitching and a fold-over top that gives a hit of selvedge. Two days later I was back in the shop, where the mostly-finished pair was perfectly arranged to my specifications (web visitors, check out the gallery to see the process and finished product). I was so enamored with the experience and the output that I ordered another pair on the spot, leveraging the fact that my specs are now on permanent file. This second, summery pair is made from a lighter weight, linen-cotton blend from another Japanese mill, Kaihara, and feature a rainbow-colored selvedge on a blue-green cast denim.

Curious about Morrison’s own take on the ubiquitous material, we followed up our visit with a few questions about living the denim life. Read more about 3×1 and get some advice from the guru below:

How many pairs of jeans do you have?

I’ve probably got a dozen or two pair at home here in the city, but my denim collection (if you will) is at my house upstate. There are probably 300-400 pair—much of which are from my own labels—but far too many for anyone who’s not in the denim industry to rightfully own.

Do you remember when your love affair with denim began?

My first pair of jeans were Levi’s, but my love affair with denim started with my first pair of Replay jeans—which happened to be a limited edition pair made from Japanese denim (which were pretty rare at the time in the early-to-mid ’90s).

What’s your recommended denim care?

I rarely wash my jeans, but when I am I typically go one of two routes. If it just needs a little fresh air, then I spray with a little Febreze and hang outside. But if it needs a heavier clean, then I’ll hand wash with Woolite Extra Dark (make sure it’s inside out) and then hang dry.

How will the concept grow and evolve over time?

My hope is that the brand will grow slowly and steadily, as we’ve intended, and over the coming seasons we will slowly offer a few limited edition products to a select group of retailers around the world, and eventually add a second and third store for custom made and bespoke customers.

3×1
15 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10013
+1.212.391.6969

Vans launches their first “partner” store in Montreal with a 3D-printed shoe

In collaboration with Montreal’s urban boutique Off The Hook, the first Vans partner store in Canada will open tomorrow at one of the busiest corners in the city. Not only will it offer the best selection of Vans in Canada with more than 1,500 shoes in 160 styles from the Vault, California, Classics, OTW, Girls and Surf collections, but it will also have the exclusive option to make custom shoes (previously only available to U.S. online customers) in-store that will be ready to pick up and wear in just a few weeks. See a few images of the store design in the gallery below.

To celebrate the launch, guests got word of the opening party via laser-etched invitation and a classic Vans Authentic printed in 3D by Consult Design, signaling the long line of thought put into the new boutique.

A two-story QR poster and appearances from Steve Van Doren (son of Vans founder Paul Van Doren) and the lord of Dogtown himself, Tony Alva, were just a few of the treats in-store for lucky guests.

The Vans by OTH Shop opens to the general public 5 May 2011, and If you can’t physically visit, CH has three prize packs (each consisting of one pair of Vans and an exclusive Vans and OTH t-shirt) that we’re offering to the first three people to email Off The Hook at info [at] offthehook [dot] com with the names of the two major streets where the new Montreal Vans store is located.