Paris-based design collective Wool and the Gang makes hand-knit clothing and accessories that are more street than granny—fingerless gloves and cropped vests—but that still bring focus back to the basics of handwork and craft. The design group recently opened their first store in New York's SoHo neighborhood, where they sell wooden needles, Peruvian yarn, and simple knitting patterns. This scarf kit, available in multiple colors, is the perfect holiday gift for aspiring artisans.
Marc Jacobs concluded the Women's Wear Daily apparel/retail CEO summit yesterday with musings on the nonexistent idea of American fashion, "reindeer games" of the CFDA, and the arbitrary thoughts that spark a collection.
Speaking about the evolution from his Eightees hard-edged Marc Jacobs collection in fall of 2009 to the frills of spring 2010, Jacobs said, "“I have a very short attention span and I lose interest in things quickly. I also think that what works — and maybe this is just an S&M relationship that I have with myself — but whatever I don’t like, or causes me pain, will usually end up yielding the best results. For me to embrace something that I find unappealing, it has to be the least like whatever I just did in order to sustain my interest for the next six months. But it’s really torturous."
On traveling back and forth from New York, where he works on the Marc Jacobs collection, to Paris for Louis Vuitton, Jacobs said he will always feel most at home in New York but feels blessed to be surrounded by the passion for fashion in Paris.
WWD attributed Jacobs' bicontinental status to the following quote dismissing the idea of American fashion, although we think it has more to do with him not wanting to subscribe to one specific design philosophy:
“Sometimes I get really adamant when I hear designers make blanket statements like ‘American fashion should be...’ It gets my rebellious hairs up or something. This whole idea of American fashion or Seventh Avenue fashion is nonsense. It’s archaic and old, and we don’t have to subscribe to those rules. We work out of a loft in SoHo and we show wherever we want. So if we want to show a dress made of 50 yards of taffeta, who says that has to be couture?"
And finally, it's no secret Jacobs isn't always happy with the results of the CFDA's award ceremonies, so why doe he continue to attend? For Anna, of course. "I only go to the CFDAs because if I don’t go, Anna Wintour calls up and says, ‘You have to go because you’re part of the American fashion industry, da da da da da,’ and you can’t say no to her."
[WWD]
>> Ridley Scott on Filming the Gucci Movie, Its Rumored Stars —Over the weekend, Ridley Scott confirmed that he hopes to wrap filming on the still untitled Gucci movie by early next Summer (for an early 2011 theater release). He added that despite rumors of Angelina Jolie and Leonardo DiCaprio starring, it's still too early for casting: first order is to “get the script absolutely right" — the current script is "kind of getting there." Scott's girlfriend, Giannina Facio, who shares producer duties on the film did emphasize the amount of research going into the biopic: “I went and met with all the Gucci members. We read memoirs.” [WWD]
The CFDA and Vogue magazine held the sixth CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund awards ceremony last night at Skylight Studios, where Sophie Theallet beat out Alabama Chanin’s Natalie Chanin, Esquivel Shoes’ George Esquivel, Gary Graham, House of Waris’ Waris Ahluwalia, Monique Pean, Ohne Titel’s Flora Gill and Alexa Adams, Patrik Ervell, Spurr’s Simon Spurr and Wayne’s Wayne Lee. Theallet took home the grand prize—$200,000 and a year of mentorship by an industry veteran. Runners-up, Monique Pean and Patrik Ervell will each receive $50,000 and a business mentor.
Cathy Horyn for one feels Theallet deserved the honor, writing this morning, "Her clothes are not flashy or arty; she’s not everybody’s darling. But if you appreciate hand-done details like pin-tucking, if you like a certain friendliness in clothes, and if you’re surprised and delighted by non-generic reds and blues, then you are surely on Sophie’s side."
Albertus Swanepoel, Irene Neuwirth, Philip Crangi, Michael and Nicole Colovos, Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Peter Som, Lisa Mayock, Sophie Buhai, and Thakoon Panichgul were among the former fashion fund-ers who came out for the big night; joining Nicole Kidman, Francisco Costa, Anna Wintour, Diane von Furstenberg, and keynote speaker Alber Elbaz.
New York 11/16/09 Getty, WireImage
Tiny tots jump around in Rodarte, Givenchi, and Miu Miu in the current issue of Purple magazine, shot by Ryan McGinley.
Ridley Scott is finally ready to make that Gucci family film. Although it is too early to determine the cast, Scott does have a script "kind of getting there."
Zero + Maria Cornejo is launching a capsule collection of menswear for spring.
Adriana Lima and husband Marko Jaric welcome baby girl Valentina Lima Jaric.
Notable quotes from the International Herald Tribune Techno Luxury conference happening now in Berlin.
Aloha Rag's owner Tatsugo Yoda has designed a collection of deconstructed jackets and tops to be sold exclusively at his boutiques.
Alber Elbaz will be decorated with the Grande Médaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris, given by the mayor to people who have made cultural impacts on the city of Paris.
Source: Ryan McGinley/Purple
>> Last night, with the help of keynote speaker Alber Elbaz, who doled out gems on the perils of success — "It's like a bottle of perfume. You smell it, you don't sniff it or drink it" — Alaia veteran and Michelle Obama favorite Sophie Theallet took home the 2009 Vogue/Fashion Fund prize of $200,000 and a year of mentoring. Fellow nominees Patrik Ervell and Monique Pean were named runners-up, and received $50,000 each plus a business mentor.
In her speech, Anna Wintour said that in addition to the US, Italy, and the UK — which just started a similar talent-nurturing program — she just met with the French minister of culture about mirroring the contest there. "And Brazil, India, Russia, and China aren't far behind."
Theallet Tweeted of her win: "my american dream comes true tonight thanks and much love to all of you!xox." Cathy Horyn, too, weighed in on the choice:
"The money and the mentoring will help Ms. Theallet because she needs to be able to offer more range in her collection, as well as expand her production options. She has such a distinctly feminine eye, and the skills, that I’ve often wondered why a big retailer doesn’t ask Ms. Theallet to design some blouses and summer dresses for them, using the store’s resources and manufacturing connections."
Videos of the nominees going through the competition and the awards ceremony last night can be seen here and here, respectively.
