Design Matters - Design of the Day - Maria Lamanna

Design of the Day, Maria Lamanna, Lorraine

Maria Lamanna has outstanding instincts for proportion. Such a fundamentally critical skill and one that is so often overlooked by young talent. 

Design of the Day - Nicholas K Fall '13

Nicholas K, Fall 2013

It's amazing that a brand like Nicholas K exists in NYC fashion. Their approach & construction are far outside the mainstream.

Design of the Day - Trippen

Trippen Knight Mid-Calf

Trippen shoes have been on my, "they will be mine", list for years. Every season they add more, and so do I.

Design of the Day - Ruthie Davis

Ruthie Davis Theron Fall 2013

I don't just love Ruthie Davis because she's an American shoe designer. I don't just love her because she has a degree in English Lit. I don't just love her because she did a collaboration with John Bartlett who's a great person and one of my favorite people in fashion to talk to. I do love her for all of those things but, JUST LOOK AT THAT SHOE! Yeah that's why I love her.

Design of the Day - Alexandra Liss

Alexandra Liss "Season 3"

South African rapidly rising star Alex Liss is poised to become a star on a much larger stage. I'd keep a close on eye her... 

Design of the Day - Shaun Leane

Shaun Leane

Shaun Leane remains one of the boldest talents and sharpest visions in all of fine jewelry.

Design of the Day - Dareen Hakim Le Verona Bag Fall '13

Dareen Hakim, Le Verona in Ruby, Fall 2013

The perfect geometry of this stunning bag shows off Ms. Hakim's design instincts.

Design of the Day - Fury Fall '13

Fury Stella Boot

Dramatic & oh so versatile because it's two neutrals! What a great shoe for Fall. 

Design of the Day - Kathleen Kye Fall '13

Design of the Day Kye F/W 2013

 Rarely does honest street style translate into high fashion. Mostly because the designers have no actual connection to it other than thinking it's cool. But Kathleen Kye showed absolute mastery of it throughout her F/W 2013 Collection.

Designer of the Day - Phillipe Blond!

Happy Birthday Phillipe Blond!!!!

You are one of my heroes!

Design Of The Day - Paola Hernandez

Paola Hernandez Available Now

A new take on a D' Orsay pump. Cap toe stitching combined with a cage weave finished off with punk lacing and a thick heel. Very, very eye catching.

Design of the Day - Houghton Fall '13

Houghton Fall 2013

Katherine Polk is definitely a talent to watch. I don't feel she's  near her ultimate potential but I get the same excited tingling from her work as I did from Sally Lapointe and Jen Kao in their early days.

Design of the Day - Christopher Esber Fall '13

Christopher Esber Fall 2013

Australian wunderkind Christopher Esber has an instinctual talent for elevating the everyday.

Design of the Day - Linda Masquefa - Casaya Bag

Linda Masquefa 

Expensive, Extraordinary.

Design of the Day - Aperlai Fall '13

Aperlai Fall 2013

Alessandra Lanvin nails royal elegance.

Design of the Day - Brian Atwood Fall '13

Brian Atwood Fall 2013

The perfect shoe for a woman of mystery, or for a woman who wants to add a little :)

Design of the Day - Karolina Zmarlak Fall '13

Two from Karolina Zmarlak's Fall 2013

To celebrate Karolina's arrival as a Neiman Marcus Premier designer here's two from her sumptuous Fall Collection.

Design of the Day - Hannah Soukup - RISD '13

Hannah Soukoup RISD Thesis Collection 2013

Extraordinary draping and construction by the RISD standout graduate. 

Design of the Day - Celine - Boots Fall '13

Celine Fall 2013

The Elegant simple clean shaft of a riding boot connected to a high back pump lower with a bright brass lace plate. Simply lovely.

Design of the Day - Esteban Cortazar - Net - a - Porter Fall '13

Esteban Cortazar Net - a - Porter Fall 2013 

Since escaping from Ungaro Esteban Cortazar has been quietly producing lyrically beautiful designs exclusively for Net - A - Porter. Recently though he's dipped his toe back into classic retail. The more availability of work like this, the better!

Designs of the Day - Sarah Stevenson Fall '13

Designs of the Day, Sarah Stevenson Fall 2013

Floral fire from Canadian designer to watch, Sarah Stevenson.

Design of the Day - Lydia Courteille Spring '13

Lydia Courteille, Spring 2013

For those who don't know, I love rabbits. I was blessed to have a wonderful Dutch in my life for a few years. To see that one of the designers I admire most, Lydia Courteille did a collection of bunny jewelry was a special treat.

Design of the Day - Tatsuya Tamada - Bunka Graduation Collection 2013

Two from Tatsuya Tamada Bunka Graduation Collection 2013

Tatsuya Tamada achieves one of my favorite fashion effects,  spinning toughness from delicacy. 

Design of the Day - Abigail Stewart - Fall '13

Abigail Stewart Fall 2013

One of the aspects of Abigail Stewart's early work that makes me confident in her future is how much her designs change from season to season. The willingness to, find your path in public, is a hallmark of those that go on to do great things.

Design of the Day - Ask Alice - Fall '13

Ask Alice Fall 2013

Ran into this joyful & assertive shoe brand yesterday in the NOLITA neighborhood of NYC. I'll definitely be reaching out designer George Mang shortly to know and see more!

Design of the Day - Delpozo Fall '13

Delpozo Fall 2013

Creative Director Joseph Font's work is playful and bold.

Design of the Day - INAISCE- Fall '13

INAISCE Fall 2013 Menswear

Hands down one of the most interesting and intriguingly quiet labels in New York today.

Design of the Day - Cesare Paciotti Fall '13

Cesare Paciotti Fall 2013

And where thy footstep gleams especially in these beauties...

Mind the gap.

Fashion, and I suspect the world as a whole, has created or at least allowed to exist a deeply damaging situation. Talented people can't afford the help & support they need to grow and become powerful and influential offering solutions and enhancements to humanity. But mediocre thinkers and those content with the status quo who hunger for little have access to all of the help and capital they need. Is it any wonder we are stagnated, repeating the same mistakes over and over? Is it any wonder we look back more than we look forward?

We are denying ourselves full access to the resources and energy we need. We can change this simply by looking around our industry and identifying those who have the raw talent and drive to create change and being sure to mentor and support them. Invest in them if you must derive profit. Whatever you call it, it will make all our lives more enjoyable and brighter. YOU ARE YOUR BROTHERS KEEPER.

Design of the Day- Esther Boskaljon - Fall '13

Esther Boskaljon Fall 2013

Luxurious and innovative fabrics draped beautifully are all hallmark of this rising Dutch star.

Design Matters - Design of the Day - Somarta Fall '13

Somarta Fall 2013

Tamae Hirokawa is one of the most interesting designers in Japan today. Not surprising after training under Issey Miyake. 

Why how fashion works now is bad for fashion.

One of the most dangerous things that can happen to an industry that is based on creativity is when those with money looking to make more take over. People who make a lot of money generally know a lot about making money and precious little about anything else. The decisions that they make tend to be based on increasing profit in the short term and on no other factors. They also tend to want to work with their own. In fashion what has resulted is an industry of wealthy venture capitalists and corporations hiring other wealthy people who they think have good taste or style to be "designers". But they're not designers, they don't know charmeuse from chiffon and couldn't create a pattern if their lives depended on it. I was thinking lately about the young and already well to do designers that I've been running into over the past few years and how they differ from the older designers I know. The NYC designers who came up in the past tended to work their way up through the system and had struggles and lean times. By the time they began to break out they were well seasoned, they understood the fashion industry inside out and handled their business well. The post Project Runway generation of designers tends to be wealthy from the jump and I think they view their careers as a game because it doesn't matter if they fail. When failure has a lack of consequence it dulls the intensity and risk with which a person puts themselves into their creative output. They're never really, "all in."  

The younger fashion industry now feels like an upper class high school. It's all clicks, parties, and melodrama. But here's the problem from an industry history standpoint; sprinkled throughout the trust fund kids who are just copying what they think is cool are some designers who are legitimately talented. They may not in general have the construction chops and are more creative directors than actual designers but they have a strong point of view that may be capable of moving American fashion out of the doldrums it's currently in. But it's not going to happen unless they make one sacrifice that for them is particularly daunting. I think that solution for many of these well to do heads of infant brands is to let go of their egos and hire real young designers. Step back, become creative directors or at least take on a technical partner. There's a rich history in fashion of teams making legendary marks in fashion history. Learn to become a great teammate, it's a deeply rewarding and satisfying thing to be.

Design of the Day - Vika Gazinskaya Fall '13

Vika Gazinskaya Fall 2013

There is a defiant irreverence towards the traditions of fashion in her work backed up by serious design talent. My favorite of the Russian designers.