Queste Vans California Authentic hanno la tomaia in sporco denim ‘Stained’ riottoso anni settanta. Disponibili nella versione Olive o Light Blue. Cercatele nel vostro shop di fiducia.
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We visit the NYC fashion designer to talk about the process behind lace collaging
Designer Samantha Sleeper brings a fresh perspective to the art and fashion world with her eco-conscious technique of lace collaging, in which she uses remnants of the intricate fabric to create one-of-a-kind handmade pieces. On a recent visit to Sleeper’s studio we got a firsthand look at her design process and talked to the designer about the inspiration for her Fall/Winter 2012 collection, which is comprised of elegant downtown wares like motorcycle jackets, lace pockets for toting small bottles of whiskey and exquisitely crafted cocktail dresses.
For Fall/Winter 2012 we looked at different types of fairytales—a lot of the more traditional with darker undertones, and this idea that in all of these there’s a turning point of a girl lost in the woods. So we picked our linings to be a wolf print and a flannel, and that idea of playing on the hunter and the hunted—which one are you? Since all those stories end up getting super dark and twisted—these girls are getting poisoned or eaten by animals—we asked how she protect herself in modern day. So, we reinvented some of our favorite motorcycle jackets with boxier versions, and used things that were really heavy and thick, just trying to pick fabrics that have a lot of texture and tooth to them. Also, picking pieces that are reversible was really important to me, too, because they always have a duality in character.
When I was at Parsons my senior year there’s a competition and it’s called Solstiss. So, basically, they sponsor two senior thesis collections, they provide all the fabrics and lace for them and the winning student receives the scholarship. I ended up winning the award, so they took me to France and I went to Lyon and Caudry to visit the mills. That summer when I went to France, I began to understand just how detailed lace was, it was made on lever looms the same way since the 1800s in a family-owned mill in Caudry, a super-small town where everyone basically works in lace. When you see the “Welcome to Caudry” sign it’s this stone hedge that has lace laser-cut into it.
The lace was more about this technique and this way of creating a fabric that’s different than a brocade or a cotton loom— the method of making it was so beautiful and the pattern of it can be modernized and that’s sort of what I thought when I was leaving. It was clearly such a dying art. I had never seen—besides hand-woven carpets—fabrics that were still made in the traditional techniques on a mass-market scale. So, I knew that I wanted to do what I could to incorporate it into as many of my collections, even just to keep it around.
Also, the lace is crazy-expensive because it’s so labor-intensive, so I would get all these headers, which are these small pieces that you get when you’re ordering yardage, when you’re thinking about ordering it. You can’t make these 8.5 x 11″ pieces of fabric into a dress, but because they all have their own organic shapes and their own language of what’s going on I started to cut them up and collage them together to create yardage. Then it was like an oil painting, which is what I studied at Art Institute of Chicago before I went to Parsons. I realized because lace is so thin and there’s opacity in random areas you can start to layer them to create depth—it was beautiful, you were literally painting on the dress form and I had never seen another fabric that would allow me to do that in that way.
What I love so much about fashion is the opportunity to transform someone into the type of narrative they want to create for that day and so I try to create pieces that are really special and transformative. We try and keep our silhouettes really clean and understandable and it’s about what’s happening in the fabric, and so we definitely do it by hand and a lot of it has to do with not wanting to waste anything. Lace is the only fabric that I could collage seamlessly, everything else needed another use, so we started to incorporate that because I really hate being wasteful. Every little thing we put in the bin we can find a use for. Some people call it being a pack rat.
For fall my girl is very edgy and pretty downtown. We made this pocket for a little take-away bottle of Jameson, one of those personal bottles, thinking about what a girl at a concert might need. Sorry, Mom! And again, I love having special detailing on the inside, just finding ways to make every seam special. We have a reversible dress—you unzip it all the way down and it’s very clean and then inside all the seams are bound in leather. So it’s a nice rocker downtown vibe.
Samantha’s is currently working on her Spring/Summer 2013 collection, and her Spring/Summer 2012 line is available for purchase on her website.
Quality, tech specs and aesthetics come together perfectly in British-made timepieces
Admittedly eschewing fashion for quality, Schofield Watch Company founder Giles Ellis adheres to a clear and simple motto for his brand—”Make a watch I’d like to wear.” Entering the watchmaking game is a bold move to begin with, especially at the higher end of the market. Ellis, however, has not only succeeded in making a watch he likes, but one that others do as well.
The company launched in 2011 at the Saatchi Gallery Salon QP with the Signalman. The culmination of more than 4,000 man hours of work, the piece was made in a process meticulously controlled by Ellis. His pure attention to detail ranged from the watch strap to the creation of the brand’s website. Though as much as he might obsess over paperstock or typesetting, Ellis spent most of the time ensuring that the 30-plus suppliers of parts and details were perfect for the Signalman, emphasizing impeccable workmanship on the watch’s unique profile inspired by the British lighthouses of the 18th and 19th century.
“It’s my testament to the great British engineering which gave rise to these monolithic structures,” explains Ellis. He also notes that perhaps there’s an element of the English eccentricy and individuality which sits well with him and his appoach to the brand.
A self-proclaimed “breather of design”, the designer’s career path has been heavily informed by his father’s wood craftsmanship. This influence lead Ellis to found The Fifth Fret, a company specializing in the restoration of high-end musical instruments from around the world. He has also designed parts for performance bicycles, top-end hifi equipment and bespoke furniture.
The Signalman has generated a great deal of attention, and while the waiting list continues to grow, Schofield remains fiercly independent to ensure that only the very highest standards of quality can be upheld and the existing level of precision can be secured.
Technically, the Signalman reads particularly well, especially when combined with its unusually pronounced profile. The case itself is machined to a micro-thin 0.01mm, while the lugs wrap snugly around the wrist so it always sits well on the arm. The packaging is a nod to the early Aldis lamps used by the Royal Navy. The watches boast super high-end mechanical, automatic, Swiss-made Soprod 9335/A10 movement with a daily average deviation of plus or minus 4 seconds—or 99.98% accurate if you’re a numbers person.
Yet while technically Signalman’s credentials are as solid as a rock there’s no denying that its looks and craftsmanship lever it subtly onto a wish list without having to resort to garish exotic skins, blingy faces and overtly over the top, needless functions. It’s a piece of wrist art from a small English company about as far from the average luxury timepiece companies as you’re likely to find in this day and age.
The Signalman DLC and DLC GMT PR are available online for £2,465.00 and £2,785.00
Bright bracelets from Maine
A non-traditional take on a classic, utilitarian material, Shana Aldrich Ready’s jewelry line, The Ropes is a colorful ode to her Maine roots. “I always had a farfetched dream of trying to bring my design skills back to Maine,” says Ready. “I like the idea of visiting different metropolitan cities but then coming home to Maine to interpret and digest everything.”
Inspired by the nautical materials and the rich marine culture of her home state, Ready launched The Ropes in March 2011. “The Ropes actually started completely accidentally,” she says. “About two years ago now I was just messing around with rope I had around the house and ended up making two bracelets for myself.”
Those two original bracelets are now the Kennebunkport and the Portland styles, which, along with the rest of the line come in a vibrant assortment of colors from neon brights to classic white—inspired by the buoys Ready’s husband uses in his lobstering business. Each piece is handmade in Maine using authentic nautical hardware and cords, most of which are made in Maine as well.
The Ropes can be found online at Spaces Kennebunkport and at the Bliss boutique in Portland, Maine. Prices range between $30 for the Scarborough bangle to $70 for the multi-strand Portland bracelet.
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Questa è la linea tecnica di Vans, si chiama LXVI. Un balzo avanti in termini di comfort, flessibilità e peso.
Three new colorways and two new leather treatments in Cole Haan’s debut collaboration with Hiroshi Fujiwara
As ColeHaan continues to rewrite the book on comfortable formal footwear with the LunarGrand, we’re excited to see today’s anouncement of the Fragment Design collaboration. Building off the original suede wingtip and leather chukka, Fragment’s Hiroshi Fujiwara—of Nike HTM fame—introduces three additional colorways in two new leather treatments, each embossed with the Fragment Design logo.
Presented in Fragment Design’s trademarked black upper with white outsole, the Scotch grain leather wingtip and chukka feature a distinct pebble grain texture to set the benchmark for subtle sophistication. Conversely, the black, putty and neon pink colorway takes a bolder, more forward-thinking approach. Inspired by Fujiwara’s desire to design a saddle shoe, the shoe is constructed of rich corrected-grain leather—buffed to reveal a uniform surface—with waterproof coating. As a solution to his design temptations, Fujiwara cleverly integrated the contrast coloring into the readily available wingtip silhouette for a contemporary take on the iconic spectator shoe.
For the final colorway of the collaboration Fujiwara presents an additional corrected-grain leather LunarGrand wingtip, this time in a putty-colored upper with a blue sole. Although the bright soles of the LunarGrands seem to push the brogues towards a more playful position, the traditionally welted soles remind the wearer—and anyone with a discerning eye—of the classic craftsmanship that goes into each pair.
The Cole Haan & Fragment Design LunarGrand wingtip and chukka will officially launch in store at Cole Haan SoHo on Friday, 13 July 2012. The Chukka will sell for $328 while the wingtips will be available for $298. For a more full look at the Hiroshi Fujiwara designed LunarGrands see the slideshow.
Detail images by Graham Hiemstra
Skullcandy ha lanciato un nuovo progetto in collaborazione con alcuni dei migliori deejay producer europei. Prima release è dedicata a Parigi con ONRA.
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