A flash of insight, an inspiration, a map, a plane ticket for two, and a whole lot of frequent flier miles. This jet-setting describes a big part of Morgan Carper’s artistic process. Whether it’s to the desert Southwest of the U.S or the hills of Laos, other cultures and their artisanal means and traditions are a big part of her seasonal collections. However all is not first as it might appear. While many designers begin by being entranced by ethnic fabrics and the ancient technologies that create them, for Mrs. Carper its about finding the answer to the desire that’s already stirring within her.
story written by Seth Friedermann
photography by Ned & Aya Rosen
makeup by Isabel Ruiz
styling by Michael Tucker
model is Paris from Muse Model Management
all garments by Morgan Carper
A flash of insight, an inspiration, a map, a plane ticket for two, and a whole lot of frequent flier miles. This jet-setting describes a big part of Morgan Carper’s artistic process. Whether it’s to the desert Southwest of the U.S or the hills of Laos, other cultures and their artisanal means and traditions are a big part of her seasonal collections. However all is not first as it might appear. While many designers begin by being entranced by ethnic fabrics and the ancient technologies that create them, for Mrs. Carper its about finding the answer to the desire that’s already stirring within her. Continue reading “Morgan Carper – Finding Herself In Translations”
The brother and sister team of Chris and Nicole Kunz and their label Nicholas K may seem like a new brand on the U.S fashion scene due to their recently acquired hot label status, but they’re far from freshmen. As they close in on a decade of design, it’s important to notice that from the very first looks of their 2003 launch, their work already contained many elements of their naturally signature style. In the following years there has, of course, been experimentation with shape, texture, and construction as they’ve zeroed in on their form of fashion. And as with all of the really strong brands, there has been refinement from season to season, but the style they were going for has been apparent from day one.
story written by Seth Friedermann
photography by Adrianna Favero
styling by Susan Alexandra
hair by Eric Hinczak
makeup by Clara Isabella
models are Aibek and Shelby from Major Model Management
The brother and sister team of Chris and Nicole Kunz and their label Nicholas K may seem like a new brand on the U.S fashion scene due to their recently acquired hot label status, but they’re far from freshmen. As they close in on a decade of design, it’s important to notice that from the very first looks of their 2003 launch, their work already contained many elements of their naturally signature style. In the following years there has, of course, been experimentation with shape, texture, and construction as they’ve zeroed in on their form of fashion. And as with all of the really strong brands, there has been refinement from season to season, but the style they were going for has been apparent from day one.
I was showing someone my photography portfolio recently, when I realized that it really lacks color. I often shoot in color, but very seldom are my subjects colorful. I usually pay more attention to lighting the shape of the subject than creating a mood in any other way. This editorial is an attempt to break into strange territory and intentionally play with color in ways that are new, at least for me. Also, Ashley was able to pull together looks from some really talented designers like modaCYCLE favorites Mandy Coon, Tadashi Shoji, Stacey Clark, and some we’ve never featured before like L’Autre Chose, Sretsis, and Salvor.
photos and text by Charles Beckwith
styling by Ashley Roberts
makeup and hair by Alana Guy
models Catherine and Jillian from Fenton Moon, with Davis and Gabriela from Red
I was showing someone my photography portfolio recently, when I realized that it really lacks color. I often shoot in color, but very seldom are my subjects colorful. I usually pay more attention to lighting the shape of the subject than creating a mood in any other way. This editorial is an attempt to break into strange territory and intentionally play with color in ways that are new, at least for me. Also, Ashley was able to pull together looks from some really talented designers like modaCYCLE favorites Mandy Coon, Tadashi Shoji, Stacey Clark, and some we’ve never featured before like L’Autre Chose, Sretsis, and Salvor. Continue reading “Pop Color Pop”
New York-based designer Bibhu Mohapatra’s creations are complete visual sentences. They clearly communicate an idea which always feels fully realized. His designs possess the rare quality of transparency in process. It is as if the individual history of each piece is on display within the garment. You can see the idea behind the piece that fascinated Mr. Mohapatra in the first place, whether it was a technique an iconic image or a fabric treatment his work is bravely exposed. This clarity of vision may be a by product of necessity as his road to becoming a fashion designer was neither direct nor easy.
story written by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
stylist Aminah Haddad
styling assistance by Ashley Roberts
hair and makeup by Angel Yu
model is Arianne from RED Model Management
New York-based designer Bibhu Mohapatra’s creations are complete visual sentences. They clearly communicate an idea which always feels fully realized. His designs possess the rare quality of transparency in process. It is as if the individual history of each piece is on display within the garment. You can see the idea behind the piece that fascinated Mr. Mohapatra in the first place, whether it was a technique an iconic image or a fabric treatment his work is bravely exposed. This clarity of vision may be a by product of necessity as his road to becoming a fashion designer was neither direct nor easy.
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“Where I came from in Orissa (now called Odisha, India), there were no fashion schools. We had a great tradition of textiles of fabrics but not design.”
He made it to the United States via a scholarship in economics from Utah State University, but while he was there his experience in a few art classes led the faculty to tell him to apply at FIT. Following school, Bibhu Mohapatra built his reputation at J. Mendel, where he transformed and reinvigorated the label by using previously unseen combinations of materials and textures. Since launching his own line there has been rapid and profound growth in his collections. His designs have become increasingly refined and subtle, yet they have not lost the power to captivate. Mr. Mohapatra has remained a fierce explorer of his own deep imagination.
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Much like his individual pieces, his seasonal collections also bare the stamp of thoroughness. The most illuminating thing I learned during my time visiting with him at the C.F.D.A Incubator was his concept of the life cycle of clothes.
“I can make a great dress. It can be praised and photographed and everyone can love it, but it is not complete until a woman buys it and wears it.”
The intensity and articulate way in which he stated those words reveals the passion and drive behind Bibhu Mohapatra. His designs, his collections, his brand, all matter a great deal to him. He is a smiling, warm, and likable man, but he has the spine of steel and the fire in his eyes that all great artists possess. His most recent collection had more length and less visible complexity than his past efforts but when you looked closer the technique, the imagination, and the degree of difficulty were clearly visible. To see the clothes is to see the artist, and to know the artist is to understand the clothes.
Attention, attention, world of fashion commerce, you have 30 minutes to make up your mind about your future. That is all. It’s no secret that a vast number of cultural and economic systems are at worst collapsing or at best mutating. Retail fashion is, of course, just as seemingly chaotic and unsettled as everything else right now, as hundreds of companies, entrepreneurs, and financiers try to “best guess” their way to riches and influence. In the absence of long term data and faced with still developing technological platforms and mechanisms, history shows that most of the billions of dollars that are being doled out will be lost on companies that last a decade or less. In the face of such a sobering rapidly on-rushing future reality, how can the industry tell what to do and which horses to back?
story by Seth Friedermann
photo by Boris Marberg
Attention, attention, world of fashion commerce, you have 30 minutes to make up your mind about your future. That is all. It’s no secret that a vast number of cultural and economic systems are at worst collapsing or at best mutating. Retail fashion is, of course, just as seemingly chaotic and unsettled as everything else right now, as hundreds of companies, entrepreneurs, and financiers try to “best guess” their way to riches and influence. In the absence of long term data and faced with still developing technological platforms and mechanisms, history shows that most of the billions of dollars that are being doled out will be lost on companies that last a decade or less. In the face of such a sobering rapidly on-rushing future reality, how can the industry tell what to do and which horses to back?
After our recent interview with Agatha Ruiz De La Prada, our photographer Adrianna Favero took some of the renowned Spanish designer’s wildly colorful outfits into the studio.
photography by Adrianna Favero
hair and makeup by Angel Yu
styling by Ashley Roberts
model is Janneke of RED Model Management
garments by Agatha Ruiz De La Prada
ring and earrings by Danika, necklaces by Circa Sixty Three, earrings by Crux, shoes from Luxury Rebel
Tadashi Shoji’s Spring 2012 bridal collection once again confirms that the veteran designer’s calling card is his balanced touch with embroidery and other potentially garish or voluminous design elements. In short, the man knows when to stop and precisely what to do to create a compelling gown.
story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Adrianna Favero
Tadashi Shoji’s Spring 2012 bridal collection once again confirms that the veteran designer’s calling card is his balanced touch with embroidery and other potentially garish or voluminous design elements. In short, the man knows when to stop and precisely what to do to create a compelling gown.
The interplay between life and death, decay and rebirth, are common elements in the world of art. It is rare, however, for a fashion designer to be able to illustrate these tensions in their work simply as a matter of practicality. Ashley Lloyd, a young milliner based in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, balances the grotesque and the beautiful on a razor’s edge. She utilizes a variety of remains and relics that includes skulls, horns, insects and deconstructed birds, among other artifacts.
story by Graham M. Steffen
photos by Ned & Aya Rosen
hair styling by Hitomi Mura
make-up by Isabel Ruiz
model is Theresa from Ford Women
designer Ashley Lloyd
The interplay between life and death, decay and rebirth, are common elements in the world of art. It is rare, however, for a fashion designer to be able to illustrate these tensions in their work simply as a matter of practicality. Ashley Lloyd, a young milliner based in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, balances the grotesque and the beautiful on a razor’s edge. She utilizes a variety of remains and relics that includes skulls, horns, insects and deconstructed birds, among other artifacts.
“They affect me, or hold some power over me in some way, shape, or form. I’m drawn to them, whether the attachment stems from fear, nostalgia, or beauty.”
Drawing on inspiration from her childhood in Jacksonville, Florida, where she accompanied her father on hunting and fishing trips, as well as from visits to Italian reliquaries in Florence, Ms. Lloyd makes hats that recall the Renaissance interest in the macabre but also involve the wildlife and naturalism of rural America.
“I love items with a history – remnants of a life once had.”
Viewing the works firsthand, one gains an appreciation of the craftsmanship; each feather, beetle, or bone is delicately and exactingly placed, yet the disorder of nature is still maintained, as though the materials had chosen their own positioning. It is obvious that the creator knows when to step back from a piece and let it stand alone, without fussing over the details.
“Hats hold a unique power and ability to transform their wearers. I love the way hats inform garments and vice versa, and as a result I find a tremendous amount of creative satisfaction in collaborating with fashion designers.”
The pieces may not be instantly accessible by mainstream clientele, but fashion-forward individuals such as Lady Gaga have already been contacting Ms. Lloyd to commission pieces to be paired with the likes of Valentino. This long tradition, wherein two masters in complementary fields are able to reinforce and set off each others’ designs in breathtaking combinations, is likely to be a strong part of Ms. Lloyd’s future.
Agatha Ruiz De La Prada is Spain’s most important living fashion designer. The Spanish people, and in fact the Spanish government, treat her as a national treasure. Her career began in the post-Franco glow of the La Movida cultural moment of the early 1980s and her revolutionary beginnings are fitting for a fashion designer who creates such radical designs. Her clothing is incandescent and filled with whimsy and joy, but to hear her speak is to know that she is a serious artist and a true champion of self-expression.
videography by Stephen Bodi and Daphnee Fortunate
produced by Adrianna Favero and Charles Beckwith
hosted by Seth Friedermann
Agatha Ruiz De La Prada is Spain’s most important living fashion designer. The Spanish people, and in fact the Spanish government, treat her as a national treasure. Her career began in the post-Franco glow of the La Movida cultural moment of the early 1980s and her revolutionary beginnings are fitting for a fashion designer who creates such radical designs. Her clothing is incandescent and filled with whimsy and joy, but to hear her speak is to know that she is a serious artist and a true champion of self-expression.
This is the second episode in the Dream To Seam interview series.
Ned and Aya Rosen recently had the opportunity to work with stylist Vava Marevicheff-Ignatenko. Here is their editorial, featuring garments and accessories by… Ashley Lloyd Millinery, Avant Garde Jewelry, Blank Silk, The Blonds, Circa Sixty Three, CHRISHABANA, Danika, Erik Bergrin, Free Lance, Jac Langheim, Laruicci, L’Autre Chose, Leonid Gurevich, Norman Ambrose, Rynshu, Tarvydas, Triviàl New York, and Victoria’s Secret
photography by Ned and Aya Rosen
styling by Vava Marevicheff-Ignatenko
makeup by Agata Helena using MAC
hair styling by Seiji Uehara @ Ennis
stylist assistant Ashley Roberts
hair assistant Sofiya Pylo
model is Laticia Lamb from One Model Management
