Always innovative, always Braccialini

Carla Braccialini started her handbag company in Florence, Italy with her husband Roberto in 1954. She is the epitome of a self taught designer and craftswoman and therein lies one of the taproots of her success. I was fortunate to interview Ms. Braccialini after her presentation announcing a charitable initiative between Braccialini, Parsons the New School for Design, and the wonderful charity Bottomless Closet. Braccialini is spearheading a program where Braccialini customers donate their gently used handbags to Bottomless Closet, with a story about how the bag was a part of their life. Those stories will in turn be passed on to Parsons handbag design students to inspire the creation of their own bags. The two winners bags will be featured by Braccialini as limited edition bags for their S/S 2011 collection.

One of the first things I asked Ms. Braccialini was how she translates her obvious joy, passion and creativity in to the creation of her stunning handbags and accessories. “It’s from the emotion of everyday life that I select my concepts.” She cautioned, however, that she always selects designs that she knows from her vast experience will be practical and “sellable”. She wants her bags to be enjoyed by women not only for their style but for their functionality. This theme of a handbag being a central and indispensable part of a woman’s life matters a great deal to Ms. Braccialini and she touched on it repeatedly throughout my time with her.

Season after season Braccialini’s loyal customers and the fashion media await the unveiling of that season’s “Temi” or theme bag. The beginnings of this glamorous tradition were anything but, “One day in the ’70s when I was returning home from work a thief stole my handbag in the piazza. It was then that I realized that my whole life was in that bag. For the next season I designed a bag that showed my conception of a beautiful, comfortable home. It was a huge sensation for Braccialini and it was followed by an anticipation of what I would do in the next season to top it.” Some designers might eventually grow to resent the fact that they had been pigeon holed into creating a specific piece season after season, or at the very least begin to run out of ideas after 30 plus years. Carla Braccialini embraced the challenge and like her experience with the thief turned it into an opportunity, “I like the challenge, and the pressure has made me a better artist, it has sharpened my talent.”

Carla Braccialini is a passionate woman and passionate artists tend to embrace risk. To her risk is creating her unique bags without compromise and risk disappointing the market. “I minimize risk, I confront the risk of dilution by considering the design over, and over, and over again until I am is sure that it is precisely a Braccialini bag.” Carla’s son Lorenzo Braccialini, who serves as the company’s communication director, also added in during the interview that Braccialini bags contain “codes”, meaning specific techniques or recognizable patterns and styles that their customers respond to and appreciate.

Another area Ms. Braccialini is passionate about is her company’s relationship with the environment. Braccialini’s new headquarters is being constructed as a super environmentally conscious building with many features that will maximize efficiency, sustainability and integrate the environment itself into the construction. Ms. Braccialini told me that Braccialini’s commitment to being environmentally mindful comes from her and is a direct representation of the way she has felt all her life. “It is a part of me, since I was little I have always felt this way.”

All of Ms. Braccialini’s three sons Massimo, Lorenzo and Riccardo work with her at Braccialini. With a woman of such tremendous character and personal strength one might for a moment consider that her children felt forced into working for their famous mother. In fact Ms. Braccialini went out of her way to ensure that her children knew that they could do whatever they wanted in their lives, “I only had one requirement for my sons, whatever you do, you have to be the best.” After being an admirer of Braccialini and having now met Carla and one of her sons, it is apparent that Braccialini are, and will continue to be amongst the best.

Shop Braccialini handbags at Amazon.com.

Interview with Hillary Flowers

Some people you meet in your lifetime make you wonder if they have managed to cut a deal with the Universe for a few extra hours in their particular day? They accomplish so much and are effective in so many endeavors that it seems that they have discovered some secret. Hillary Flowers makes you wonder these things. Fashion designer, singer, store owner, event planner & promoter, and brain surgeon…okay I fibbed on the last one but you get my point. Hillary owns and operates her Lower East Side boutique that showcases emerging design talent during many of those hours. Her space features her own designs, as well as fashion and accessories from other aspiring designers. “I take great joy in offering designers an opportunity to test the market, to find out what works and what doesn’t work.”

Hillary is a fascinating combination of altruistic and shrewd. She takes great joy in the fact that she has a growing reputation in New York City but you never get the sense that for her it is about ego. A case in point, she loves it when designers move on from her store to bigger and better things. “I consider myself a teacher, mentor and guide.” “Why wouldn’t I be proud of some one I helped success?” Hillary gauges designers quickly when the come to try to rent space in her store “I look for people who possess certain qualities, you have to be a risk taker and have persistence.” For Hillary Flowers it is often times more about the spirit of the designer than the look of the collection.

Hillary is a talented designer in her own right and her designs are the #1 seller in her store. But she gets so much joy from helping launch new talent into the N.Y.C scene that she rarely speaks of her own work. Hillary is a non-stop marketer and a powerful ally for the new talent that lines her small but vibrant Clinton Street shop. If you really want to see what’s the newest of the new then her store at 40 Clinton Street is a must stop. And don’t be surprised if you see her blond locks up on stage at a club where you are spending your evening. Quite frankly with all of Hillary’s talents I wouldn’t be surprised to see her driving the Q train on my way back to Brooklyn one of these nights.

Fashion Fights Cancer

Earning power = real power. Power is often thought of as a negative word but it’s not it is a neutral, or in other words it’s all what you do with it. Fashion makes money, so therefore fashion has power, this coming Tuesday night at the Audi Forum on Park Avenue in New York City, Fashion Fights Cancer puts the power of healing on the runway. This five year old marriage of charity and designers raises money in honor of the memory of Cindi Solomon and this year’s proceeds go exclusively to the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. This exemplary event is the creation of Hope Meredith Ham who lost her mother to cancer and has beautifully turned her grief and loss into this powerhouse for good. Tickets are $35 and are available through the website. I will be there with my friend photographer Markus Lokvist covering the event for What’s Haute and I hope to see you there.

Fashion Fights Cancer flyer

Interview with Camilla Skovgaard

What does it take for a designer to move beyond convention, and more importantly, to get everyone else to follow them? Convention is a tricky word, especially when it comes to shoes, for in shoes a great deal of the design potential is lost because…people have to walk in them. I learned during my interview with white-hot rising shoe design star Camilla Skovgaard that accepting that a great portion of shoe design is what you do after you satisfy the demands of the foot and the physics of simply walking.

One look at Camilla Skovgaard’s footwear and you know she’s not satisfied with creating normal pumps and peep toes. The unusual combination of coming from a background in Arabic couture and being as naturally experimental as any shoe designer I’ve ever met, meshes to create designs that are stunningly unique but unquestionably “work”. Skovgaard does not let the very demanding reality of shoe design hold her back. In fact I became convinced, as we spoke underneath the Bryant Park tents, that she seems to gain energy from the challenge. “Every idea is compromised” explained Skovgaard. “This leather is not available or this mold is not yet possible.” Yet Skovgaard shepherds each of her creations through the harsh process so she is satisfied with not only the look of her shoes but the fit and finish as well.

Camilla Skovgaard’s unique designs, her unmatched determination and her boundless energy all combine with constant creativity to create a designer who is really a force to be around. “I am always designing, I don’t have moments of inspiration, it sort of just keeps happening.” It is this constant energy and unfettered drive that has allowed her to master other elements of her business as well. “I am now an expert at international shipping, I can tell you anything you want to know”, she said with her typically lustrous smile. Skovgaard describes her aesthetic as intellectually sexy and you would have to agree looking at her magnificent Fall/Winter collection which was featured in last week’s Matthew Williamson show.

The last topic we touched on during my time with Camilla was the first thing on everyone’s mind these days, the economy. Despite a few concerns about vendor payments she expressed that her biggest concern was where and how you spend your revenue. “In this economy, you have to be so careful. I’m really trying to feel my way through the decision.” She certainly has momentum and said that the buyer interest had been very strong during her time in New York. Based on the passionate and focused young woman I met it would take a herculean challenge to derail the Danish dynamo.

Click to shop Camilla Skovgaard shoes.

Jordi Scott - Fall 2009 Fashion Week

Here we are in the blender. Many of the downtown up and coming designers and the clients that wear them are consistently combining the rebellious looks of the past as a way of striking out at the homogeneity that was constricting fashion. What happens when designers like Jordi Scott and Starr Rinaldi of Jordi Scott get a hold of the uniforms of rebels past is they become style terrorists and use design to attack the numbing fog of blandness that is commercial fashion. As with many designers who have been marginalized and denied exposure, for Fall/Winter ‘09 there was a strong sense that they are now bathing in the blood pouring from the the collapse of the marketplace that was built by the very same “commercialistas” that rejected them.

For Fall/Winter ‘09, the deviant duo of Scott and Rinaldi served up their classic mix of 70s and 80s punk and pop art but with a stronger cohesiveness and a more mature sense of who they are as designers. The collection was still raw and in your face with all of the great punk swagger and oozing sexiness that is their hallmark. But this time gazing through their looking glass though the message felt stronger and the clothes were somehow more substantial and less pop. The show opened with a video encouraging all of us to dance and party. And at a Jordi Scott show it felt fitting to swill and sway while the economic crisis and the cultural carnage it is spewing cast a pall over the city. Then the models stomped and slammed their way down the runway wearing clothes that were sexy and bold. Distressed leggings and faux leather mixed with chain prints and glittering fabrics. Electric colors screamed from underneath black blouses. P.V.C trim adorned shirts and skirts and in one creative touch mimicked electrical tape. Many pieces were perfect for all the bad boys and nasty girls but none more so than the skintight pants and jackets that just sent a ripple of sex through out the crowd. Overall the show was a great step forward for this talented and fierce design team that is just on the edge of being the next big must have for the dangerous, dirty, and fabulous.

Ports 1961 - Fall 2009 Fashion Week

Applause is due to Tia Cibani of Ports 1961 for shifting her inspirational focus to a climate that is far, far away from both her home and the home of her last Fall/Winter collection. The choice of India was a risk as far as fabrics and cuts. I really liked the softness of the color palette and the materials looked very soft and luxurious. Being luxurious these days is akin to a mortal sin as well, so hats off to Tia for that choice as well. Some of the dresses were lovely and feminine, but overall far too many of the pieces looked as if the cuts had just missed the mark in terms of fit. I am unsure if it was struggles with the material or simply appearance caused by ill-planned use of volume. I do want to stress though that I feel that there was a strong evolution taking place in Tia Cibani’s personal aesthetic. Also again let me say that the pieces that I did like, I enjoyed a great deal. I am still excited to watch this young talent as she grows and matures and continues to master her craft.

Rebecca Taylor - Fall 2009 Fashion Week

In this strangest of seasons where everyone felt the pressure to reinvent themselves, and a great variety of reactions to that pressure have been on display. The designers who have been the most interesting to watch have been designers who have a fairly traditional, and therefore commercially acceptable, aesthetic. They didn’t need to change for cash but they still had to not appear insensitive. Everyone under the Bryant Park circus this season seemed to change at least a little, simply because they knew that everything else had changed…a lot. So it was with Rebecca Taylor, she used large amounts of knitwear for the first time and also tried some changes in shape and structure. The collection had some very nice pieces and she smartly did not abandon her clientèle, providing plenty of airy florals and quirky combinations. I did have a problem with how some of her cuts handled high volume at the shoulders and down through the midsection. Usually designers balance a lot of upper positive space with tightly sculptured negative space or an equal volume of material somewhere else. This keeps the garment form appearing top heavy or puffy. Taylor’s pieces did not accomplish this and as a result some of them looked inflated and odd. Breaking new ground is tough, especially when your stitching hand is forced by elements outside of your control. All in all I can’t fault Taylor to much as she really had no choice but to change something, anything or appear as if she was the last girl dancing alone at a party.

No One Else is MoMoFalana

The single most effective thing in standing out from others is how you dress. It is entirely possible to attract the attention of dozens of people by simply walking into the room wearing the right thing. The woman who commits to having a style that truly expresses herself without fear will have a huge advantage in getting noticed. In a city as vast and varied as New York it’s very difficult to be unique…oh wait actually it’s not; just go to the corner of Avenue A and East 3rd Street.

MoMoFalana has occupied that address for 9 years. They have been carried by Henri Bendel’s & Barney’s and adorned the lovely shoulders of Sarah Jessica Parker in an episode of Sex and the City. Most recently they have caught the eye of Nicole Richie and will be featured in ad campaign for her new perfume. The designs of MoMo Falana’s dynamic duo of Maureen Roberts and Mike Lublin are so stunning because that was priority one, from day one. “We didn’t want any attachment to an established aesthetic”, said Roberts.

Lublin and Roberts are incredibly accomplished dye craftspeople. Their saturated colors and vivid designs are carefully planned out and painstakingly executed. Gorgeous long silhouette dresses that fit and envelop a woman are another hallmark and goal of these dynamic designers. “I encourage women to stop dressing like everyone else, to dress like they have always imagined.” Another testament to their skill is that although each MoMoFalana design is one of a kind, they are the best in the business at matching colors so they can give you the same look that you coveted on your friend!

To wear a MoMoFalana dress is to be unforgettable, their designs create impact. They do all of their own alterations so a flattering fit is a guarantee. Unique, bold and beautiful - all in colors so rich, you could get drunk on them. If you are in NYC be sure to head to the corner of Avenue A and East 3rd Street, where MoMoFalana has cornered the market on stunning.

Photos by Vered Koshlano

Anya Ponorovskaya, Designs Befitting…You

“I have so many different sides, I can never see being just one thing.” That quote is a great starting point in understanding Anya Ponorovskaya one of New York’s fastest rising fashion stars. In her short 5 years as a designer she has opened three stores and is eyeing her fourth. Anya’s designs are, in her own words, “feminine, powerful, and elegant with a little hint of sexy.” The hallmark of all of her clothing is her great talent for creating fitted and shapely designs. Anya bases much of her design aesthetic on balancing negative and positive space. When she visualizes her designs she sees the garments in three dimensions which gives her an advantage in creating fashions that utilize different elements to balance each other. For example, volume in the shoulders and bust is beautifully balanced by a tighter area that hugs the midsection. The genius of Ponorovskaya’s designs is that she always maintains comfort and never compromises movement. Even where her clothes fit and slim the female form they are still comfortable. “My fashions sell in all sizes”, says Ponorovskaya. This is due to the fact that they perform her intended effect regardless of their size.

“I don’t get inspired”, says Ponorovskaya. Her non-traditional approach results in a very open creative process. She works each season in a wide variety of shapes and materials. On the surface this seems to create the lack of a signature “look” but it is in her incredible attention to the effect that her designs have on a woman’s body that the unifying theme in her collections emerges. Every one of fashion’s traditional shapes that she creates is transformed into something that is unmistakably hers. “My fashions sell in all sizes”, says Ponorovskaya, this is due to the fact that they perform her intended effect regardless of their size.

The rare approach that Anya has and the peerless aesthetic that springs from it has now found its way to into her newest venture, shoes. Inspired by the rising tide of artisanal shoes coming from South America, Anya launched her own high quality shoe line this summer. Her shoes are of the highest quality leathers and are designed to be comfortable as well as bewitchingly stylish. If you are in Manhattan please stop by her stores at 167 & 253 Elizabeth Street, or in Brooklyn at 380 Atlantic Avenue. Or check her out on-line, http://www.anyaponorovskaya.com.

Photography by Sander Martijn

Debut is Downtown’s Rising Store for Rising Stars

Tucked in on the smallest section of Mulberry Street in downtown New York City, Debut feels more like a high end art gallery than a traditional retail store, which is exactly how it should seem to be an expression of owner Lisa Weiss’ vision. Weiss believes that fashion is art, so she is showcasing the emerging design talent that fills her store with a beautiful, warm and bright space. Weiss believes that, “designers learn only by doing”. She feels it is essential for designers just starting out to have an environment that allows them to take risks as they express and explore their design aesthetic. The store hosts 2 seasons of designers per year, and for each season Weiss scouts U.S and international designers who are looking to break into the NYC market and who’s clothes are, “high quality, original, flirty, and fun”.

On my visit to her store she featured many brilliant talents in both clothes and accessories for Fall/Winter. Australian, Michael Angel, and Canada’s Arthur Mendonca, were amongst my favorites. Debut allows these designers and others such as Bokyung Cha, Berube, and TwoOliveTree to gain familiarity with the retail process and learn how to successfully meet the challenges of ready to wear fashion that trip up many up and coming designers. Debut features designers who show a flair for creativity and fresh construction in the shapes of their garments. Debut is committed to creating a great opportunity for emerging designers to be exposed to not only New York’s smartest shoppers but to learn the reality of retail. Visit Debut online or be charmed in person, at 298 Mulberry Street.

Photos by Sander-Martijn

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