Dreamy, ethereal and vaguely evocative of Antonioni’s The Passenger, Vanessa Bruno’s S/S10 video Le Bel Èté is director Stéphanie Di Gusto’s second installment of the designer’s “video poems”.

Starring Dossier issue three cover girl Lou Doillon, it takes viewers on an internal rollercoaster from melancholy to exuberance and on an external trip from an isolated room to sand dunes. The journey is expertly accompanied by a soundtrack that begins with So Post All ‘Em by YACHT, followed by a somber solo from the Canadian pianist Gonzales and ending with an effervescent melody that falls somewhere between the two.

And then there’s the clothing: Bruno’s signature feminine yet clean creations. Ankle-length skirts, fuchsia separates, billowing blouses and dresses, lace and crocheting, sandals, camisoles and a covetable plush jacket adorn Doillon as she captivates and charms in this role reminiscent of an eccentric ballerina.

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Above and Below: Looks from S/S10

Runway images courtesy of style.com.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from Prada announcing its S/S10 menswear campaign, essentially a nine-minute black-and-white film directed by the Chinese artist Yang Fudong. The video, which debuted today on Prada.com, was portrayed as “a timeless, dreamlike realm where anything is possible,” but what got me most excited were the company’s notes describing the concept behind the creation. See below:

The Original Idea/Inspiration:
1. “Spring” is beautiful, fuzzy, cozy and promising. As a Chinese saying goes, “The whole year’s work depends on a good start in spring…”
2. Black and white makes one feel distance, while distance makes one feel beauty …
English Title: < FIRST SPRING >
Chinese Title: ? ? ? ? , a short film
2010/35MM black and white film
Location: Shanghai

Images by Kate Sims

Rachel Antonoff, a petite New Yorker known for creating vintage-inspired wearable and feminine pieces, sat down with us before her ballet class and daily macrobiotic lunch to chat about her current collection, her love of Pippin and her unconventional entry into fashion design.

Pamela Castillo: Your collection for S/S10 is inspired by ballerinas. Can you tell me more about that?

Rachel Antonoff: In general, my clothing is very costume driven. That’s what drew me to fashion design in the first place: the whole element of dress-up, playing pretend, characters and all of that. Clothing has a very transformative power. You can be anything. Specifically, in the past year I’ve gotten really into ballet and went through that phase that I never went through as a child, where I think ballet is amazing…and subsequently kittens, which I do think is related.

Pamela: Kittens?

Rachel: Yeah. All of these interests that have popped up for me this year are things that people love when they are five through nine. It sort of got me thinking, like, ballerinas are the human versions of kittens: insanely graceful creatures—in sort of an inhuman way. And stickers, I’m really into…so many things I never realized are awesome. I started going to the Ballet, and I saw the Nutcracker. The amount of magic that happens in The Nutcracker is obscene, ridiculous! I got really inspired. Also, Sarah Sophie Flicker, who is a ballerina, is in my lookbook. We do a weekly ballet class at her house, which is where I am going after this. We just got really into ballet and ballerinas.

Pamela: So you never did ballet as a child?

Rachel: No, never. And our teacher is an ex-NYC ballerina. She’s exactly what I would picture the stereotypical ballet teacher [to be] if I were five. Her name is Miss Mary Helen, which is very beautiful, and she wears her hair in a bun. It’s really fun.

Pamela: So other than the Nutcracker, are there other plays or movies that inspired you in the dress-up aspect?

Rachel: My S/S10 presentation was supposed to look like different people rehearsing for a play. The fictional show we were putting on was called Magic To Do, which is from Pippin, my favorite musical. The first scene of Pippin is a song called Magic To Do, which is about a bunch of characters putting on a play. So that’s what it was about, a weird amalgam of Pippin meets ballet.

The whole set was an enchanted and disenchanted forest made of cardboard cutouts. You walked around and saw different scenes, like two ballerinas rehearsing on point, both from the NYC Ballet. Around the back was an acrobat walking a balance beam and another girl judging her with numbers. There was a whole musical section with a big cardboard cutout piano, and Diane Birch was pretending to play. We had a conductor and the star getting ready, putting her makeup on at a vanity. [She] was played by Alia Shawkat. There was definitely a lot of props. I really like the idea of doing something outside the box and themed. It was held in the stage of the Henry Street Playhouse. I later found out that my great-grandmother put on plays there as a teenager. And randomly enough, my grandmother gave out birth control there for free when she was young, which was really progressive for that time. My whole family is from the Lower East Side, back when it was Jewish settlements, and I guess the Henry Street Playhouse was a big place at the Lower East Side back then.

Pamela: So have you always wanted to be “part of the show” by being a fashion designer?

Rachel: No, not at all. I was never that into fashion. I never intended to do this. I really fell into it in such a backwards way. I had a line prior to this one with a partner [Alison Lewis], called Mooka Kinney. She was my roommate and we had this magical “Summer of Dresses”. We were really into vintage clothing at the time, specifically dresses, and every night we would put on a dress and go somewhere. We had all these ideas of dresses we wanted to have, and I had this neighbor in New Jersey who was the sewing mom in town, Ms. Marlene Sapoff. We went to her with our ideas and she made them. It was crazy exciting because it was great to see your ideas and dresses actually exist.

I had previously worked in fashion PR for Rebecca Taylor, so I emailed pictures to some editors I knew and then we had a meeting with Teen Vogue and they called Barneys on our behalf. It was like a dream: magical and terrifying. Before Barneys we had one store. We had three samples. We would wear them and parade around boutiques hoping someone would say “That’s cute”, and we’d say ‘We made it! We made it!’. We went parading around I Heart, and the owner Jill said, “I like that!” and placed an order for 16 dresses. It took Marlene from June to August to fill this order of 16 dresses. Then we got an order from Barneys for 300-something dresses! There was a solid year when I cried in public in Midtown every single day, because we just didn’t know what we were doing! I felt like a reality show….when they say, “Here’s a career of somebody else’s. You do it!” And [Allison] had a full-time job, so it was just crazy. It took about four years to stop feeling like a complete fraud, having no idea about what we were doing. Now I kinda know what I am doing.

Pamela: What other things have inspired you lately that you think will be incorporated into your next collection?

A look from S/S10

Rachel: It’s kind of private detective-themed. Nancy Drew, Hitchcock…I’ve been working on getting my private detective license. It will be keeping with the whole adventure theme and, again, it’s kind of a throwback to childhood. My brother and I used to pick people to spy on when we were kids. Pick strangers and follow them around for a while. I’m really irritated because I’ve had this idea since the summer, since before I was aware of Bored to Death, which now seems to be a thing, so I’m a little less excited about it.

Pamela: Yeah, and the new Sherlock Holmes movie is coming out…

Rachel: I know. Well, at least it’s not vampire-themed. I must have read about spying somewhere, something must have piqued my interest. Then I was thinking about it and found my old Nancy Drew books. Then I heard about Bored to Death and was like, ‘Huh?’… And then Band of Outsiders featured Jason Schwartzman in their lookbook. Still, there are so many different things that fall into the umbrella of that genre. So many different ways you can go with it, like Diane Keaton with Woody Allen, Grace Kelly and Nancy Drew. Manhattan Murder Mystery is one of my favorite movies. And who doesn’t like a trench coat?

Pamela: What other books do you like to read? What are some of your favorites?

Rachel: I love reading. We were just talking about The Lovely Bones movie because that’s one of my favorite books ever. It’s really, really sad. If you read it without crying you might want to go to the doctor. I’ve read it multiple times, and the last time I read it was on a plane—terrible idea. You should be in the privacy of your own home and you should have a box of tissues and dedicate an afternoon to being depressed. Mary Karr is my favorite writer of all time. And I really like memoirs. Sloane Croasley wrote one of my favorite books recently, I Was Told There’d Be Cake, which a collection of essays. Her book is amazing. And now HBO is developing [it] into a series.

Pamela: What do you like to do on your days off?

Rachel: I see a lot of movies. I really like to go to the movies alone. I like going random times, like noon, because there’s nobody there. That’s when I wanted to see The Lovely Bones. I saw The Family Stone by myself, and it was a good time to cry alone in the theater. I hang out with my boyfriend, my brother and my friend Nate every single night. That’s pretty much what I do every day. And I go to Souen every day.

S/S10

S/S10
]]> http://dossierjournal.com/style/fashion/dossier-in-conversation-with-rachel-antonoff/feed/ 0 http://dossierjournal.com/style/fashion/katie-gallagher/ http://dossierjournal.com/style/fashion/katie-gallagher/#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 19:12:55 +0000 Deanne Yee http://dossierjournal.com/style/?p=12637

Debuting with an all-black collection could be considered safe, or risky. The industry loves the somber shade, but color attracts attention. New York designer Katie Gallagher was hoping for the former, but planning for the latter when she launched her eponymous womenswear label in S/S10. “At RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), I did my thesis collection in all black,” she explains from her small, efficient Chinatown studio. “Everyone I asked would say that it’s really scary to do that because people always want to see color, but I didn’t really care.” The result was skillfully tailored pieces—like leather and silk jackets and dresses—with romantic volume and involved details, such as ruffles and silver chains.

The designer, who interned for threeASFOUR and Anna Sui, and cites Comme des Garcons as her current inspiration, wraps the body in layers so that there are no side seams, a technique which she says will carry over into pieces for F/W10. For the next collection, consisting of eighteen pieces, Gallagher says she also plans to play with color. “This is my original inspiration,” she says, gesturing to a wall pinned with black and white sketches of quirky Lolita-esque Gothic girls wearing light, layered looks and a small painting dotted with creams and greys. “I usually start with drawings and then I do paintings for color. Instead of all black, this time I’m doing some whites, creams, greys, green and black…but mainly black again.”

Since the launch, buyers from boutiques such as I.T in Hong Kong and EVA New York, and editors from Vogue Italia, Interview and more have come calling. As it turn out, designing was the easy part. Gallagher, who produces the clothing herself out of her studio, noted, “For the debut, my boyfriend and I did everything ourselves; he was handling press and invites and I was making all the clothes. Coming up with money to produce all the clothes and the business side of it…design school doesn’t really teach you anything about it. I guess they don’t expect anyone to start doing their own thing right away. They expect you to work for Ralph Lauren or something and end there, I guess…”

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…wearing Etre.

Images by Hatnim Lee.

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Alexis Mabill. Image by Patrick Demarchelier; The bow tie: Mabille’s signature.

It all began with a boy and a bow tie. Calling upon an impressive pedigree designing for the houses of Yves Saint Laurent and Dior, Lyon-born Chambre Syndicate de la Haute Couture graduate Alexis Mabille created his own ready-to-wear line and Treizeor: a creative and novel approach to branding and building a fashion kingdom based on the bow tie. Within the span of four years, Mabille has evolved the singular accessory beyond its traditional confines, transforming it into womenswear and menswear labels, and accessory and couture lines that reflect his mastery of diaphanous fabrics, lace edging, broderie anglaise and color. Beyond his impressive skill set, the 30-year-old designer’s bon vivant attitude inevitably influences each collection with fantastical whimsy and boundless creativity, imbuing the serious world of French fashion with an endearing fun-filled frivolity.

Sarah Sulzberger Perpich: You have become famous for your playful bow ties. What are your first memories of them?

Alexis Mabille: A long time ago when I was a child, my grandfather wore them. He was a doctor, a very elegant man. Later, my dolls and teddy bears wore bow ties.

Sarah: What do you love about them? How many do you own?

Alexis: [It’s] a very romantic accessory, which was for a long time a masculine detail and step-by-step became a more feminine piece. I don’t know [how many I own]. So many. I’ve worn a lot of them, but attached as a brooch along my collar.

Sarah: Did you like fashion as a child?

Alexis: Yes, I loved it. Since my childhood, I’ve really wanted to design clothes. I followed my passion and have never stopped since I was nine years old.

Sarah: Who were the most influential people in your life as far as steering you towards fashion and style?

Alexis: My mother, who is fun and elegant—and very classic in the same time, and my uncle and his wife, who were a painter and interior designer. I was with them every week to draw and paint, and later my friend Katell Lebourhis. I met her at Dior. She was Mr. Arnault’s dark eminence and worked before with Diana Vreeland at the [Metropolitan Museum of Art] Costume Institute. All of them inspired me a lot.

Sarah: What makes your clothing unique? What’s an Alexis Mabille trademark?

Alexis: I think that it is a mix of the education I got in a very conservative family from Lyon, where I learned the elegance of simplicity, and my taste for colors, materials, fabrics, and even humor and happiness, which is so important in clothes that are to be worn as a coup de coeur….Fantasy, color, playfulness, delicacy, humor and classicalness.

Sarah: Do you have a good sense of humor?

Alexis: I think so. It depends on the moment, as everyone’s [does]. I’m not a comic, but I love twisted situations.

Sarah: How did the womenswear and menswear collection relate to each other as well as to the couture?

Alexis: Both mens and womenswear are the same way to think and to express my personality. That is just my spirit: to share with everyone my desire for details and creativity, and to make clothes that are to be worn. Couture is the same; the only difference is the craftsmanship.

Sarah: What thoughts first crossed your mind when you learned of your opportunity to show a couture collection?

Alexis: I was a coincidence and a strong desire to not present in a conventional way. A few months before, I made some dresses that I showed in a Palais Royal window. After that, some of couture clients came and later I had the opportunity—after discussions with the [couture] federation—to be accepted in the official calendar and to present my ready-to-wear. It is great visibility: to put at the forefront the refinement of my work and the traditional way to sew these delicate clothes.

Sarah: Is the process of couture much different from ready-to-wear?

Alexis: No. Creatively, no. Afterward, in terms of the product you show, yes, it is different than doing a ready-to-wear show. I can’t put a pair of jeans in a couture show even if I have them in my collection for boutiques. I present the more evening part during the show to express a couture silhouette, but at the end in the showroom, you have the cotton version of a long crepe dress or another declination for day. So when I do it—except the way to present and the price—there is no difference for me. I love to play with the ambiguity of showing a couture look that is real and in boutiques later.

Sarah: When you approach a new season what do you think of first?

Alexis: I design a lot of sketches and edit, step-by-step, a coherent idea of the season. Later, the material comes and changes, or reinforces the idea of the collection.

Sarah: If you curated an exhibition, which designers would you put in it?

Alexis: Oh that’s a complicated…a lot. I love a lot of pieces of so many different people from all over the world.

Sarah: Where would you most want to be displayed?

Alexis: I’d love [to be] in the MOMA or Whitney Museum, to have a radical idea of contrast between fashion, volume and color in a very modern and contemporary place.

Sarah: Do you have a hobby aside from designing?

Alexis: Yes, I collect things like mirrors, ceramics and dishes. I love to go out and doing flea markets. I love to make dinners at home and working on a very fantastic table dressing…

Sarah: Out of everything you do, which aspect gives you the most pleasure?

Alexis: I love the very intimate moment when I create my first looks, which will be a sort of introduction of the idea of the season and later, turning around to build a sort of story or way of life.

Sarah: What were your direct influences or references for S/S10?

Alexis:Home wear, bed shirts finished in delicate lace and cotton embroidery or broidery anglaise. I really wanted to express this very special moment when you sleep and you have good or bad dreams—sometimes you are happy and fresh, and later sexy, thinking to decadent things and later, a more dramatic situation expressed by fluffy pajama pieces with hoods in Moroccan crepe.

Sarah: If you could dress anyone in the world, who would it be?

Alexis: The queen of England and Louise Bourgeois.

Looks from Siki Im S/S10

For his S/S10 menswear debut, designer Siki Im dared to venture beyond traditional hemlines and silhouettes with darkly hued tailored tunics, shorts, pants and even skirts of varying lengths. Entitled Black Beat White Wonder, the Karl Lagerfeld and Helmut Lang alum’s collection was inspired by the primitive mood of Lord of the Flies. Here, Im shares with Dossier the inspirations and aesthetic behind his intriguing new label.

Deanne Yee: You started out in architecture then moved into fashion. What about fashion attracted you?

Siki Im: People think that architecture is purely about buildings. In my opinion, it is more about the void and the intangible, viz. socio-economic, political, anthropological and spiritual spaces. The same goes with fashion. But since fashion has this very immediate and instantaneous notion, it is sometimes more gratifying than seeing the fruits of a five-year-long architecture project. And I think fashion is more emotional than architecture.

Deanne: You were born and raised in Germany and previously worked for German designers. Do you find that reflected in your designs? How has your move to New York influenced your work?

Siki: Yes, I was born in Germany, but I grew up in a very multicultural environment. There was also a lot of Confucius in me as well as other sub-cultural elements growing up. So my identity embraces all fully, and with great content. Hence, I feel my vocation is to express my identity in forms and shapes of fabric—or other materials. New York City is very much included in this process and perhaps this city is the physical manifestation of all above mentioned aspects of my life.

Deanne: In three words, describe the Siki Im aesthetic.

Siki: Confidence. Peaceful. Dynamic.

Looks from Sykes S/S10

The wind whipped as I ducked into the warm lobby at the Soho Grand Hotel. It was hard to imagine on this miserable day that only a few floors up, a number of London’s up-and-coming designers were showing off their spring collections. Rubbing my gloved hands together, I was escorted to the penthouse level to see what the CFE (Center for Fashion Enterprise) had brought to town.

The day melted away as I entered the top-floor suite, which had been set up as a showroom, giving each label its own space. I did a quick sweep of the room and was instantly drawn to the delicate flowing fabrics and soft colors of Sykes, the label founded by Joanna Sykes, formerly a designer for Alberta Ferretti and Armani. This is only Sykes’ fourth season, but it is easy to see why she has been successful. “The philosophy is not about a theme; the clothes are for wearing,” she tells me.

The designer finds her inspiration in a feeling or a specific mood, which she says is important when designing separates. “This collection is called Intimacy. I had just fallen in love,” Sykes explains. “It is a bit voyeuristic, with a bit of anonymity. I am building something slowly with quiet clothes that don’t have that initial wow factor, but there is something special about the cuts. The appreciation is in the fabrication and finish”

My favorite pieces include a pair of expertly cut black leggings with a 1/4-inch sheer panel running up the back of each leg. This concept was also applied to tailored super skinny trousers, which are paired with a matching blazer. The soft peachy silk skirt with horizontal diaphanous inserts is soft and sexy in an understated way. Overall, the collection is not only timeless but also versatile, an aspect that was demonstrated during Sykes’ presentation at London Fashion Week when 81-year-old Daphne Selfe modeled a pair of metallic trousers.

As far as London designers go, this one is not caught up with being “wacky,” and it seems to be working quite well. Sykes sums it up best, stating, “Whether you are an artist or a designer, you need to be true to yourself”.

Sykes can be found at Elizabeth Charles in New York and L.A., Harvey Nichols and Matches in London, and more.

Looks from S/S10. Top center: Designer Mandy Coon by Hanuk.

Mandy Coon may be best known for her turntable talent, but she has always been a fashion designer at heart, a fact that her debut S/S10 collection makes eminently clear. Experimenting with asymmetry, sharp lines and transformative versatility, Coon’s succinct looks are a reflection of her own eccentric aesthetic. Her lanky frame, translucent skin, crystal eyes and signature half-black, half-blonde pixie-meets-Satan haircut are all manifested in the collection’s black and neutral palette, tapered pants and angular dresses and jumpsuits—many of which can be reversed or split into separates by way of smartly placed zippers. Meanwhile, tight ruffles on chiffon looks, a pair of distressed buttery-suede pants and a flowing tiger-print dress reflect the designer’s softer side.
Dossier sat down with Coon in her Chrystie Street studio to discuss this break-out collection, design evolution and what the designer plans to wow us with next.

Katharine Zarrella: You were originally, and are still, a DJ. How did you go from spinning beats to starting your own line?

Mandy Coon: Well, the thing I’ve seen everywhere in the press is “DJ-turned-Designer”. I, actually, have been in fashion for ten years in different forms, and I’ve only been DJ-ing for a few years. It’s like a hobby and I love it, but it’s very funny that everyone’s like, ‘The DJ!’ I guess that’s the part of me that was out there more than anything else.

Katharine: Well then, let’s set the record straight: How did your career in fashion begin and how has it evolved?

Mandy: I always loved fashion. I grew up in Texas and then I was a model for a while. That really brought out my love of fashion and creativity, and I wanted to be on the other side of it and have more control.

Katharine: Was it easy to transition from one side to the other?

Mandy: No. I don’t think that transition is easy. I started [modeling] late and I went to college for computer science before I started, so it wasn’t like I’ve been a model since I was 13. But the whole time I knew that this was what I wanted to do, and it took me going back to school at FIT for me to feel like I could actually do it.

Katharine: Why did you feel that spring was the right time for your designing debut?

Mandy: I think it was because I went to school and I started interning with Camilla Staerk. Then I started working with her, and last season she knew that I was launching the line and that I wanted to keep it kind of small, and one day she came up to me and said, “This is the contact for the fashion calendar. You’re going to call her and get a date because you’re going to have a presentation next season.” So then I freaked out and said, ‘No I’m not! You’re crazy! I’m not doing that!’ Eventually I came around to it and realized this was the next logical step. So that’s how it started; she pushed me a little bit.

Katharine: After Camilla gave you that little nudge, how did the collection start to evolve?

Mandy: I feel like a lot of these pieces I had been thinking about for years, especially the kind of multi-functional versatility of things. I’ve wanted someone else to make it. So I guess my starting point was that this [concept] had been building up for years and years. I already had ideas and themes that I knew I wanted to work with.

Katharine: What were these ideas and themes, specifically?

Mandy: There’s a lot of versatility, volume, geometric shapes. That’s something that I think is just a general theme for me, and actually some of these pictures [on my inspiration board] were taken through kaleidoscopes. That was one of my first inspirations for it as well. Those were my main inspirations.

Katharine: The collection starts with these very sharp, geometric looks and then becomes softer, ruffled and more feminine. Why did you make that choice?

Mandy: I really wanted to make this evolution. It starts out with these black geometric shapes: simple. Then you start to deconstruct and you get these ruffles, but they’re kind of tight ruffles in the beginning and they start to fall apart until you get to the last dress with its big trailing train.

Katharine: Can we chat about these suede pants?

Mandy: This [suede] is actually meant to be used on the other side. At the leather place that I always go to, they think I’m crazy because I’m turning it around and using the back. The more messed up it is, the more I want it! I love the places where it’s worn to the suede. I just think it’s really amazing!

Katharine: How did the tiger print come about?

Mandy: I was going to do at least one of my own prints, but then I found [the tiger print] at one of my fabric agents and I was just like, ‘This is it! It’s exactly what I want. It’s exactly what I’m seeing and just promise me no one else is using it!’ It was perfect.

Katharine: You’re clearly very comfortable in your own skin. How does this translate into your collection?

Mandy: I think it takes a certain level of confidence to wear these clothes. I don’t think that they’re hard clothes to wear, but I think it’s on the—I hate this word—but edgier side of wearable. I think there’s a confidence. I like to play with this masculine/feminine duality.

Katharine: What were your trials and tribulations with this first collection?

Mandy: I have to admit that, so far, I haven’t had many—only because I had been working for Camilla Staerk for awhile and you learn a lot: what to do, what not to do, etc. But so far, so good; no major disasters. Knock on wood. I really wanted to keep this very focused, so I didn’t have the situation where you make so many pieces and you have to cut them. I cut maybe two pieces.

Katharine: Did you have someone come in and style the collection?

Mandy: Yes, my friend Natasha Royt styled it. We have a great working relationship. We just went to Paris—both of us—and stayed together, and on the way back on the plane, we made friends with the stewardess and the steward and they kept bringing us bottles after bottles of those little bottles of wine. We got so drunk. I had a book full of our drunken sketches. We basically have a whole book and have already pretty much planned out the themes and details [for the next collection] in sprawling notes and sketches.

Katharine: Can you give us a glimpse of what it might look like—other than airplane sketches?

Mandy: Again, I’m really playing with this versatility a lot, but in different ways. But I don’t want to give it away!

Katharine: So are you more of a sculpture or a sketcher in the studio?

Mandy: You know, in the beginning it was just in my head. I’m not great with sketching…I’m not that kind of artist. But Tasha [Royt] gave me really good advice. She said, ‘The best thing I can tell you is just sketch, sketch, sketch, sketch. Make hundreds of sketches, and it will be clear which ones you feel the most strongly about, which are the strongest and which ones work.” That was some of the best advice that I got. So it’s a lot about sketching and sometimes it’s about, ‘Now I have this idea for something and I just need to try it,’ but a lot of it starts out as sketching.

Katharine: What inspires you, not only in your designs but also in your other creative endeavors?

Mandy: I think it really depends on what it is and the moment. I’d love to be one of those people that can say, ‘I have one inspiration for each collection and I base an entire collection off that one movie or that one book or that one artist.’ But I’m definitely not that person. I’m someone who takes from a lot of different inspirations and ends up with this hodgepodge of things. I don’t know that there’s a general every time thing, but these photographs—they’re from this series by Deborah Turbeville’s—are always is on my board. Always, always, always.

Katharine: You’ve been quoted as saying that you design clothes that you want to wear. Were you one of your inspirations for this collection?

Mandy: For me to believe in it, I have to want to wear it. That works for me because I know how I want it to fit. I know the details. It’s not this imaginary woman; it’s me. I know what I want and the features I want [the collection] to have. But, I mean, I don’t want to have a little army of me coming out!

Katharine: On an unrelated, or perhaps, related note, people can’t stop talking about your hair. What’s the story there?

Mandy: I don’t know. It’s ever evolving. My hair grows really fast, so I can do whatever I want. I really like change, so I embrace that evolution. There are times when I think about going blond again, but I also feel like the dark is more fitting.

Katharine: It definitely suits you.

Mandy: It’s my darker alter ego.

Backstage at the Ashish S/S10 show

At the London firm Village Press’ recent press day, among renowned labels like Kenzo, Clergerie and Fillipa K, young designer Ashish’s sequined, studded S/S10 pieces caught my eye. Ironic and exhibiting an artful eye for color, Ashish’s interpretation and execution of the Balmain and Wang staples evolved them from self-conscious to sharp, sometimes literally.

Taking inspiration from a beach holiday, the collection exudes the fun and exuberance of an exotic escape. Vivid blue hues contrast with tougher black, and the unexpected appearance of piercing shoulder studs recalls a rock star’s party-fueled paradise. The designer’s use of tropical flower prints, parrots and peace signs reiterates a jestful vibe, which is emphasized by the addition of several tongue-in-cheek sayings. Reminiscent of Henry Holland’s message tees, they read, “Life is a beach” “Same old chic” and “Italians do it better”. A black visor and sequined fanny-pack serve as accessories for this high-fashion take on the quintessential tourist uniform. Other particular favorites include an acid-wash denim jacket complete with studded sleeves, a sequined parrot halter dress with black fringing and beads and a bevy of the tapered, cropped and tie-dyed trousers.

Images courtesy of dazeddigital.