DOCUMENT
New kids on the block
Tipped to become the design luminaries of the next generation
What success factors determine who will be the next Marc Jacobs or Anna Sui? Sofi’s Mode picks the hottest new names on the New York fashion scene – and reveals the newcomers’ secret recipes for success.
By Anna Blom
Breaking through as a designer in the vibrant world fashion capital of New York is the fondest dream of many young designers. The potential is here: the city is the base of 900 fashion labels and its Fashion Weeks attract 200,000 fashion addicts twice a year. But the competition is brutal and those who make it are few. So what does it take to become the next big fashion star? Sofi’s Mode asked Gaby Basora, member of the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) and the creator of New York-based hit label Tucker by Gaby Basora.
‘The more I learn about other designers I admire, the more I understand that persistence and commitment are characteristics they all share. The labour pains of running a fashion company demand that,’ she says.
As for Gaby, she runs her own boutique in trendy Soho on Manhattan, but her colour-drenched fashions are now also sold by 300 retailers worldwide.
Gaby Basora is a living example that a climb to the top of the design world does not always have to begin with a full-on collection. In her case, it all started with a single blouse. Originally a stylist, she began designing clothes for friends and celebrities like Lauryn Hill. The orders soon began drizzling, then pouring, in and when the much-hyped New York department store Barneys picked up her flirty, feminine pieces, her success was no longer in question. Her sheer silk blouses and signature prints were soon seen on every other hip fashionista in town. The rest, as they say, is history.
Even though the competition has become even fiercer since the launch of the Tucker label, much due to the state of the global economy and financial ups and downs, increasing numbers are trying their wings on the New York fashion scene. And here are the hottest names at the moment – brought to you by Sofi’s Mode.
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Gaby Basora started designing clothes while she was working as a stylist.
Photo: Alexey Yurenev
New York label Tucker by Gaby Basora is known for its animal, floral and abstract prints. Here are two looks from the 2013 Pre-Fall Collection.
Photo: Alexey Yurenev
Adam Lippes
Tailored and elegant
Adam Lippes is known as the former creative director of Oscar de la Renta and the designer behind the Adam label. Following a year-long sabbatical from the vicissitudes of fashion, he is back under a new name – and in a big way. He made his über-stylish comeback on the New York catwalk this February with a deft mix of sporty casuals and dressed-to-the-nines looks. It did not take long before the trendsetting shopping site Net-à- Porter and department stores like Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue were snapping up his collection.
And so, what is Lippes’ recipe for success? Simple, tailored garments that simply ooze everyday elegance à la Alexander Wang, but in a new, more stylish package. Two covetable examples: the slim white column dress, floor-length and slit to the thigh and the razor-sharp suit with a silky pussybow blouse in crisp white.
In his quest to achieve the right cut for the tailored pieces, Adam Lippes has brought in a tailor who usually works with menswear. ‘They know how to make a jacket,’ the designer told Style.com.
We couldn’t agree more. Take a tip from us and look ahead and check out the designer’s resort collection for 2014. Could Adam Lippes be a new male answer to Céline’s Phoebe Philo? We are quivering in anticipation.
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Two well-dressed looks from the latest collection, Pre-Spring 2014. In addition to his own collections, Adam Lippes has also designed uniforms for hotel staff at the trendy Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles and the Standard Spa in Miami Beach.
Photo: Courtesy Adam Lippes
Adam Lippes after his show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, September 2009.
Photo: AP
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‘After studying art at university, I felt that fragrance actually worked much better than images for the kind of art I want to make – distilling memories in a unique way, in layers,’ says Anne McClain to Sofi’s Mode.
Photo: Lianna Tarantin
Anne Serrano-McClain/MCMC Fragrances
Fragrance creation – an art form
Anne Serrano-McClain, founder of perfume label MCMC Fragrances, has been blending her own unique, unisex fragrances inspired by nature since 2009. For each fragrance, she begins with a mix of carefully selected natural and synthetic ingredients that she produces in her studio in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Her interest in creating perfumes was sparked after a course in which she realised that perfume could be created in a personal way, just like any other art. She was particularly interested in connecting fragrance to memories. We all have our individual scent memories, she believes, like the smell of dew-drenched grass or the scent of Grandma’s lilacs in the country. Serrano-McClain has made a successful business out of these memories.
Can a perfume enhance your personality?
‘I think so, absolutely. We use clothes to reflect who we are and in the same way, I believe a fragrance wardrobe can help affect how you feel every day by wearing different perfumes that evoke different moods and milieux,’ says Anne Serrano-McClain to Sofi’s Mode.
She also makes a point of giving back to nature, her source of inspiration – a portion of revenues from sales of her ‘Garden’ fragrance are donated to a farming community north of New York.
This autumn, MCMC Fragrances will be releasing the men’s fragrance ‘Dude No. 1 All-Natural Cologne,’ the follow-up to the megahit ‘Dude No. 1 Beard Oil.’ A spicy fragrance mix of ingredients like sandalwood and vetiver (a kind of grass) accentuated by ginger, pink peppercorn oil and Moroccan rose.
Photo: Claire Benoist
Tabitha Simmons
On her way to becoming a new Louboutin
Things have been hectic lately for the multi-talented Tabitha Simmons. Since launching her shoe line in 2009, the British ex-model, stylist and Vogue staffer has made her mark as one of the most innovative designers on the international shoe fashion scene. Already counted among her loyal fans are Kate Middleton, Diane Kruger, Sienna Miller and Gwyneth Paltrow, to drop only a few names – the star-studded list is a long one. Known for her hand-made-in-Italy, feminine silhouettes, the award-winning beauty is responsible for breathing new life into sexy heels and good-looking, colourful flats. And she does it while remaining true to her British heart. Simmons’s design style can be summed up as ‘military meets Victorian influences,’ playfully mixed with elements of humour.
Tabitha Simmons made an entrance this spring on the New York catwalk with glitzy stilettos and cool, pointy- toed boots in autumnal colours. Her round-toed tartan patchwork shoes are another must-have in the collection. We see a new, female Christian Louboutin in our crystal ball.
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Shoe designer Tabitha Simmons in heels of her own design.
Photo: All Over Press
If you live in the States, you can click your way to a pair of ‘Bailey Flesh Crystal’ shoes by Tabitha Simmons at shop.tabithasimmons.com for about SEK 9,500.
This May, Tabitha Simmons released a limited edition collection in partnership with the J. Crew apparel chain.
Louise Amstrup
Popular Dane
Sweden has already conquered New York. BLK DNM, Acne, Rodebjer and Efva Attling are just a few of the Swedish designer names Manhattanites have taken to their hearts. They have been joined by our Danish neighbours, now that Danish fashion designer Louise Amstrup is establishing Scandinavia even more firmly on the American fashion map. With an autumn line filled with prints, neon brights and metallic accents in a playful and feminine put-together look, Amstrup showed her clothes in New York for the first time under her own name when she participated in the young talent search at Made Fashion Week.
The designer and New York already have a crush on each other.
‘From the moment I set foot in New York, I was bowled over by how motivated, open-minded, outspoken and business-oriented people are in the fashion industry. This is reflected in their style and how they use fashion as a vehicle for personal expression, something the Louise Amstrup girl can really relate to,’ Amstrup relates to Sofi’s Mode.
Why do you think American women are so interested in Scandinavian fashion?
‘I think Scandinavian designers in general are very good at striking a balance between creating something that is modern and fashion-forward, but still wearable. Even though it sounds like a cliché, it’s all about creating strong garments that don’t outshine the person. Clothes should enhance, never overshadow, a person.’
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Louise Amstrup is happy in the fashion city of New York, where she was lucky enough to show her autumn line.
Photo: All Over Press
According to Louise Amstrup, the print dress is the core of the autumn concept. ‘The print captures the story and the shape makes it wearable and timeless,’ she says.
Photo: Felix Cooper
Another key piece in the autumn collection, according to Louise Amstrup: the fuzzy pullover.
Photo: Felix Cooper
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Nolan Bellavance won the Made for Peroni Young Designer Award, which meant that he and Ava Hama were given the opportunity to show their collection.
Denim, leather and luxurious silk
Nolan Bellavance and Ava Hama have been inseparable since the day they met at the Parsons New School of Design in New York. Bellavance, who grew up on a farm in Canada, and Ava Hama, born and reared on Manhattan, are now trying their wings together outside the schoolroom as well. They debuted on the New York catwalk this February with a feminine and fiercely cut collection that featured elements of denim, leather and luxurious silk.
For a newcomer, a ticket to the catwalk is a yearned-for – and expensive – story. The pair gained the opportunity to step on the show floor by virtue of hard work, talent and perhaps a bit of luck. When 26-year- old Nolan Bellavance won a design award last autumn, he also secured a spot at MADE Fashion Week, a New York-based platform for new design talents. The award included a cash contribution of $25,000 that made it possible to produce the debut collection.
This autumn, we are dreaming of the design duo’s deep black silk and satin parka, calf-length jeans and the flippy, knee-length leather dress with a drawstring waist. And we hope the buyers at the international fashion houses intend to keep the couple’s production on a roll!
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