from Ar Avatars by Hop on the Spiral and Reed+Rader

We love the fashion story Ar Avatars, the newest collaboration between photography duo Reed+Rader and Hop on the Spiral’s Ryan Dye. Move over Inez & Vinoodh. Thanks to hair auteur Saya Hughes, who created the tresses for this project, for bringing it to our attention!

Tags: Ar Avatars, GIF, Hop on the Spiral, POP, Reed+Rader, Ryan Dye, Saya Hughes.

Sept. 18, 2009

Friday night, a fashionable crowd packed into the Hiding Gallery in Brooklyn to view “Selenite”, a presentation of emerging designers, Ann Yee and Pipertree Leather. With video art displayed in the lofty art space, the crowd enjoyed an evening capped with a runway show, while later, models mingling amongst the crowd, decked out in spring ‘10 designer wares by Ann Yee and jewelry by Pipertree Leather.

The twelve look presentation offered an adorable collection of ultra feminine, too-cool-for school fashion looks complemented with earth-like, leather & stone crafted jewelry. The organically feminine feeling was conveyed through such looks as the soft layered drapings of silk georgette and charmeuse in varying pastel shades, the petal like folds of silk shorts, and the ruffled edges of a billowing cape like sleeve on a silk romper. The soft pastel palette, contrasted with a neutral pale grey and a shot of magenta invited the viewer further into this feminine romp.

Favorites included the orange creamsicle silk dress with detachable back draping for the wearer to decide on dramatic effect, the pocket details on nearly every piece, and the cotton shirt dress with lapels that extended to the hem, with pleat stitches hidden in the racerback detail.

The jewelry, not to be outdone by the clothing, was modern with an old soul. The designer of Pipertree Leather, Alexandra Lauro, handcrafts each piece with earth-laden objects, such as stones, shells, lanyard, & leather to create objects reminiscent of talismans of old and that special piece of jewelry made as a child.

Favorites included a mollusk shell ring with various crystal-like stones jutting out from the surface of the shell and a necklace of flattened rocks, hinged by what seemed to be rope like leather surrounding each piece and the wearer’s neck.

Photos courtesy of Ann Yee

Tags: Ann Yee, Pipertree Leather, runway show, spring 2010.

Tom Scott, whose Fall 2009 presentation took place in a garment district storefront transformed into a mannequin-filled drycleaning studio, took a step further in his exploration of fashion presentation as conceptual installation for his Spring/Summer 2010 collection last Thursday.

Inspired by “’some of the old-fashioned things you can find in your grandmother’s house,’” Scott upped the Fashion Week ante by moving the location of his most recent presentation out of the garment district altogether, and into Room 710 at the historic Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan’s contemporary gallery center. The hybridization of art-fair theatrics with clothing design resulted in a environment with charms hard to resist.

In a fully-furnished apartment redolent with the spirit of mid-century domesticity (complete with pink tiled tub, overstuffed couch and an array of milky glass plates filled with sweets on the sideboard), models dressed in Scott’s collection played the roles of glamorous residents in the household vignettes staged in each room. The attention-grabbing detail, beautiful light and authentic tone of the presentation almost overshadowed the understated beauty of the clothes themselves.

Taking cues from the nudes of photographers Melanie Bonajo and Georges Tony Scott, the designer showed knit separates and dresses and in muted flesh and pastel palettes that draped on or exposed on the body in unexpected ways. Notable pieces included a jersey drape-back curtain dress and sheer drape pants.

Visit Tom Scott

All photos by The Totam

Tags: 2010 fashion week, Chelsea Hotel, knits, Spring Summer 2010, Tom Scott.

Karen Walker tote bags given to the front rows at the show

This past Saturday was a rainy one but that didn’t stop the fashionistas from attending the Karen Walker show for New York fashion week. But underneath all those umbrellas, lucky show-goers managed to snag Karen Walker totes filled with fashion swag!!

Walker is a designer hailing from New Zealand with a definite knack for casual luxury. Her spring 2010 collection was inspired by the British television series ‘The Prisoner’ which aired in the 1960’s, and took place on a mysterious Edwardian seaside village, a prison for retired spies cached as a holiday resort. The dichotomy of an island vacation versus an island in captivity lends itself perfectly into Walker’s work. Her designs appear effortless yet put-together, masculine yet feminine, adorable yet fierce. In this way, it is clear that one of Walker’s many gifts is her ability to balance design. If there is a proper way to layer three different patterns and prints in one outfit, it is walking down her runway.

Her runway was filled with chic and playful designs. I loved the bold use of stripes and their emphasis on a loosely-fitted top or bottom. Paired with a frill or ruffle, the overbearing stripe suddenly becomes chic. The belted dress with cascading layers at the hip is forgiving to any silhouette and brings with it an air of casual elegance.

Tiered dresses, ruffled shoulders, and bubble-shaped jumpers added young coyness and youthful vibrancy to the palette. I love how the light, short, and airy dresses were anchored down with a pop of color from practical boat shoes or a dark, unbashful sock.

Walker’s command of jacket design is astounding. She showcased more than a dozen different varieties of outerwear on the runway - all made of various materials, cuts, and designs. Some tailored, some ruffled ponchos, some trenches, some capes - each jacket had a fundamental statement.

Karen Walker greets the crowd.

The show was a wonderful medley of shapes, lengths, and colors that seamlessly flowed together. To make such incongruity effortlessly harmonize on the runway is a feat that should not be taken lightly. With her stunning spring 2010 collection, Walker has managed to appeal a yacht-full of different personalities and tastes under one label.

Visit Karen Walker

Tags: Karen Walker, Runway, seaside, Spring/Summer 2010 Fashion Week.

Vena Cava’s Spring 2010 presentation at Milk Studios was equal parts traditional runway show, presentation and happening as models came down the catwalk, then arranged themselves on steel workladders accompanied live by Brooklyn experimental indie duo The Fiery Furnaces.

The looks centered around clean silhouettes in acid wash prints in shades of grey, black and dark brown punched up with details like nylon mesh, laser cutouts and safety-pin trim.

Some of our favorite designs included an orange cupra jersey asymmetrical minidress with a black mesh strap inset, and a sleeveless, halter duster with a rolled collar worn over washed navy leather jeans. The duster’s print was inspired by Ndebele house paintings in South Africa.

Designers Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai cited the character of Maude Lebowski as an inspiration, reflected in the styling of their models (and in Mayock’s hair!) who sported matte purple lips, Robert Clergerie shoes, black sunglasses and mystery-woman visor hats.

Clockwise from top left: Patrick Robinson, The Fiery Furnaces, Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski (photo: Merrick Morton), Lisa Mayock of Vena Cava

Visit: Vena Cava

All photos by The Totam except where credited.

Tags: 2010 Spring Fashion Week, Milk Studios, Vena Cava.

Organic's spring 2010 presentation

The dark recesses of the famed midtown steakhouse Keens hosted Organic’s spring 2010 presentation earlier today. The collection is designed by John Patrick and in just a handful of seasons, Patrick has created a label that has a strong voice as well as a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nomination under its belt.

Straight out of a scene from Louis Malle’s Pretty Baby, Organic’s troop of models lolled and lounged on a stage area and nearby leather banquettes while Shalom Harlow stood nearby at the century old bar in a crisp cotton suit. The girls were mesmerizing, with lush pin-curled hair (courtesy of hairstylist Odile Gilbert), matte red lips (by Gucci Westman) and holding stares (their own). The atmosphere as well as the clothes was highly addictive. Cotton seersucker was abundant and appeared as a casual blazer with rolled up sleeves (an Organic staple) and as a shawl-collared jacket complete with matching shorts. A Laura Ashley lilac floral print graced a 1940’s day dress silhouette finished with shoulder pads. Heavier fabrics were offset by a gorgeous sheer camp shirt in a washed silk chiffon cut splendidly with fuller sleeves. Sumptuous and sustainable, Patrick’s line goes entirely beyond the notion of the organic cotton t-shirt, producing a full collection of beautiful clothing that just happens to be good for the Earth as well.

Shalom Harlow at the bar

All images by the Totam

Visit Organic by John Patrick

Tags: 2010 fashion week, John Patrick, Organic, organic clothing.

Two looks from Kate Spade's new clothing line

“She packed her tote and hit the road,” the Joan Didion-esque caption reads next to one of the looks from Kate Spade’s new clothing collection. The wool A-line marigold shift worn under a boxy short sleeve jacket is part of a fashion time machine that is firmly parked in 1962, the year Kate Spade herself was born. Polka dots, sequins and scalloped lace are also abundant, adorning classic shapes which are paired with unexpected colors (lilac for fall?). Ironically for a brand which heralded the minimalist accessories movement in the early 90’s with boxy black nylon handbags, Kate Spade has evolved into one of the few labels that does color and print very precisely.

The Madeleine Dot Ruffle Placket Dress

Over the years the brand has slowly introduced a scattering of tops, dresses and coats to complement their wildly popular handbags and shoes, though this is definitely the largest and most thought out clothing collection so far. The looks are all very office appropriate, that is if people still dressed this way to go to work. The culture of contemporary work attire has somehow allowed for things like flip-flops to make their way into the office and Kate Spade is notably addressing this issue one ladylike trench coat at a time. A standout piece is the Bisous Stella Chubbie, a plush faux-fur jacket with a removable collar and three-quarter length sleeves.

Zooey Deschanel seems to be their unofficial muse (note the model’s bangs, blue eyes and quirky vintage style). Though avoid the literal vintage over-saturation and stick to one piece at a time. The look book’s suggestions are paired with dark denim, crisp white shirts, a smattering of costume jewelry (Kate Spade as well) and above all a sense of humor.

The Bisous Stella Chubbie

The Embellished Gail Dress worn under the Bisous Michelle Jacket

The Debora Peacoat worn over the Dot Maggie Top

Kate Spade clothing is available at Kate Spade.

Tags: 1960s, accessories, color, costume jewelry, faux-fur, Joan Didion, kate spade, minimalism, print, vintage-inspired, Zooey Deschanel.

The Totam never expected to discover San Francisco-based jeweler Alix Blüh’s workshop and gallery, Modern Relics, tucked away on a sleepy residential street in the heart of the Richmond district, but after spending a recent afternoon hearing the stories behind her wares, we’re delighted that the secret is out.

Located in a former jewelry school, Modern Relics’ high-ceilinged, spare loft houses Blüh’s studio upstairs and the showroom below, partly camouflaged by a whimsical, curtained window display. It took the better part of a year to transform the space to reflect the artist’s exacting standards, with walls paneled in recycled fence timbers, stenciled floors, turn-of-the-century glass display cases, old-fashioned bare-bulb lighting and a vitrine constructed from a cast-iron sewing machine pedestal. The resulting effect is at once ornate and austere, a curio parlor of fanciful oddities balanced by the weathered utilitarianism of a schooner-captain’s quarters.

Alix Blüh, named for family friend Alexander Calder, was formally trained as a painter at the University of Massachusetts and at Oxford, where she developed her passion for collecting and dealing in antiques in London flea markets. Raised among avant-garde artists in rural New England, Blüh creates sublime pieces of wearable sculpture inspired by the forms found in nature and historical objects of remembrance.

Alix Blüh jewelry

Using a meticulous wax carving technique, Blüh’s pieces are hand-wrought in precious metals, with a signature rough hewn texture. Lacy, carved coral and honeycomb forms are studded with pinhead-sized jewels. The artist’s variants on the cross, anchor and heart- symbols of faith, hope and charity that many sailors and their wives wore in Victorian times- have a medieval touch to them, and figure prominently in her latest collection. Blüh hopes her jewelry will function as personal talismans for the wearer:

“I have always been so moved by the stories found in nature, in time worn objects, in mourning jewelry and religious reliquaries…I want to create heirloom pieces that are not about fad and fashion but art and timelessness.”

Blüh’s reverence for beautiful mementos with sentimental value extends to her own collection of daguerreotypes, tintypes, mirrors and books, found throughout Modern Relics. She has been quietly showcasing a mix of handpicked antiques, reproductions, her own jewelry, and the work of like-minded creatives in her tiny atelier for the past year or so.

Clockwise from top left: Suga necklace on antique handmirror, Swallow thorns, tooth and jackalope, Swallow painted glass with 22K gold backing, reproduction scrimshaws

We love that Blüh views Modern Relics as a platform for more than just her own work; Blüh feels such kinship to the work of Brooklyn-based artist Ria Charisse, whose Swallow line of cast-metal creatures, woodland letters, and paintings of whales on glass layered w/ 22K gold leaf, that over half the space has been given over to Charisse’s creations. Swallow’s pairs of bird feet and pewter tooth are Totam favorites. An additional case features the dainty jewelry of Blüh’s assistant, Soojo “Suga” Rocereto.

Modern Relics is located at 771 Cabrillo Avenue between 8th and 9th Avenues in San Francisco. Gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday 12-7pm. Contact (415) 422-0477 or relics@alixbluh.com

Alix Blüh will also be exhibiting jewelry at the NY International Gift Fair this August- look for her at the Jacob K. Javits Center, Booth 535.

(All photos by Aileen Tat except where noted)

Tags: accessories, Alix Bluh, antiques, artist, jewelry, Modern Relics, reliquaries, Ria Charisse, San Francisco, sculptor, Suga Rocereto, Swallow, Victorian.

Stella McCartney's Cloud Dress / image courtesy of Netaporter.com | Disney's Up / image courtesy of Disney Pixar

Inspiration has been known to come from the sky at times. Though lately it seems to come directly from the sky: clouds in particular. Disney’s Up took charmed viewers into the clouds, a film floating among the stratosphere. Now it seems Stella McCartney has also been uplifted by the fluffy droplets - an exclusive collection for Net-a-Porter features a printed silk jersey with a Sir Peter Blake cloud print. Among the collection, a draped sleeve dress, silk shirt and even sky-high espadrilles all feature the animated design.

Cloud and airplane necklace, image courtesy of Minor Planet via Etsy

Perpetuating daydreaming and faraway travel, clouds are an instant mood brightener. A polymer clay necklace from Etsy swirled into curlicue clouds has a tiny airplane charm attached and is aptly titled “Leaving.” What could be more uplifting than a delightful trip into the clouds?

Tags: clouds, Disney, Sir Peter Blake, Stella McCartney, travel, Up.

The X-Girl catalog, winter of 1996

So few celebrity fashion lines are actually cool and wearable and the list of tacky brands thought up by famous folk (or their money-minded managers) could fill a small phone book. Do we really want to wear Lindsey Lohan designed leggings? Probably not. A high-waisted skirt thought up by Chloë Sevigny? Perhaps. A pre-cursor to these many lines was X-Girl, Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth’s casual streetwear line which was launched in 1994 (when Lindsay Lohan was eight). Gordon and her partner Daisy Von Furth were asked by their friends at XLarge to start a sister line and X-Girl was born. It was the summer of 1997 when I first visited the X-Girl store in NYC (later that year the label would be sold and moved to Japan) and one of my first boutique experiences. The store was a small whitewashed room on Lafayette Street across from the old XLarge store. By far the best part of visiting the boutique were the die-cut X-Girl stickers that were doled out for free with the Tron-inspired logo in a heap of shiny colors. I spent my two weeks in New York that summer snapping up every possible color each time I walked by the store.

Surprisingly the designs were very basic and wearable: slim-fitting boatneck tees, crewneck sweaters, cotton minis, all in two or three solid colors every season and most discreetly branded with the X-Girl logo patch. A gray raglan-sleeved mini dress could have been picked up at Uniqlo yesterday. It was the t-shirts though that were the main draw. Mike Mills, the graphic artist and filmmaker (director of Thumbsucker) designed many of the t-shirts and posters for sale every season. Silkscreened with a slew of cool monotone graphics (cameras, the Earth, birds) and always a punchy phrase, the tees were hard to come by and always sold out. A memorable graphic featured a crudely drawn horse smoking a cigar with “Good Luck” imprinted below.

Two of Mike Mills' X-Girl graphics

The aesthetic of X-Girl was influenced by skateboarding, the mod sixties, and downtown New York in the era of Larry Clark’s Kids. The then unknown Chloë Sevigny also served as a model for the first X-Girl catalog. Even the name was brilliant, with ‘girl’ having so many connotations at the time - X-Girl may have had a slight reference towards the Riot Grrrl movement but ultimately referred to a more cleaned up grrrl and with the coolest letter ‘x’ all but summing up the entire feeling of the brand with one letter. Gordon sold her shares to a Japanese company in 1997 and the brand shuttered in the US until a store briefly opened on the same patch of Lafayette Street but with none of its former élan. Fans of X-Girl can see Gordon’s designing talents once again with Mirror/Dash, a line which she has designed exclusively with Urban Outfitters. Elements of X-Girl can be found in a zip front mini-dress and a simple rolled cuff tee, though overall, fans of X-Girl will just have to relish the pieces they already own and watch the fashion show that started it all in 1994.

Tags: celebrity fashion lines, Chloe Sevigny, Daisy Von Furth, Kids, Kim Gordon, Larry Clark, Mike Mills, Mirror/Dash, New York, Sonic Youth, Urban Outfitters, X-Girl, XLarge.