Trend story written for Composure Magazine, read the full story here! Purchase the print issue here!
Tag: fashion blogger
Layout Design – Kamryn Dame
Single page layout design featuring jewelry by NYC designer Nazy of Kamryn Dame.
Audrey Magazine – VFW Designers
Vancouver Fashion Week Features Indie Asian Designers – Min A. Lee
After sharing with you a bit about Vancouver Fashion Week’s founder Jamal Abdourahman last week, we picked out a few emerging and independent Asian designers featured during Vancouver Fashion Week’s most recent fall 2015 event. From gothic influences to feminine day dresses, there’s something to inspire and impress any fashion enthusiast. Get to know a little about each designer below and keep an eye out for them as they continue to build their lines for the coming seasons.
Thinking back on her time spent in Europe, designer Theresa Chen created clean, tailored pieces with elegant shapes. She refers to her line as “simplicity chic” as she continues to produce clothes that fashion bloggers are picking up on very quickly and falling in love with. Take a peek at some of her fall collection, and you’ll see why we expect to hear her name come up more often in the near future.
Grandi’s Atelier isn’t about fast fashion, it’s about creating beautifully tailored custom garments for individuals. Designer Grandy takes her analytical nature and translates it into creating quality pieces fitted perfectly to the wearer. Even on the runway, her fall 2015 collection looked cut for each individual model versus a mass production meant to fit a general body type.
JY Kim tackles both menswear and womenswear together on the runway. Keeping to a dark, wintry palette, designs varied between fitted shirts and jackets and flowing skirts. A minimal theme was kept throughout the entire collection, creating simple silhouettes that would be easy to work into your fall street styles. – See more designers and imagery at: http://audreymagazine.com/vancouver-fashion-week-features-indie-asian-designers/
Images And JY KIM Feature Image Courtesy Of Audreymagazine.com Via VFW & Designers
Fashion Writing – Deola + Clan
Article For Magazine Done Last Year
A Fashion Week Debut Full Of Luxurious Textiles, Plus A Mix Of Bright Hues & Playful Youthfulness – Min A. Lee
Deola Sagoe and Clan (which is made up of Sagoe’s daughters Teni, Tiwa an Aba) successfully presented their New York Fashion Week debut collections full of color, youth and luxurious textiles. Looking at the designs of Sagoe one can see how she draws upon Nigeria in a lovely mix tradition and current aesthetics in the fashion world. Her line is filled of body conscious cuts with conversation-starting details from cut-out patterns to an iridescent sheen for shifting colors and then adding in echoes of Nigerian fabric patterns, all brought beautifully onto the main stages of New York. We can see why Deola Sagoe is gaining world-wide notoriety and praise.
As we watched the models glide towards us, we could feel the bold presence in her designs—they truly speak for themselves. This line is not meant to be taken lightly, but worn for that occasion you want to stand out. Even in the neutral looks there are features that instantly pop out at viewers. We hope to see more of Sagoe at the coming fashion week industry events and anticipate her future collections.
CLAN
CLAN interests us with their take on clothing collection availability. While nearly all designers offer two main collections, one for fall/winter and one for spring/summer, CLAN decided to create truly timeless designs in the sense that “these pieces will be available all year round in chosen variations and upon personal requests,” explained Teni Sagoe.
While viewing the debut, we felt an immediate sense of playful, youth with a bit of urban wear appeal. Amping up the paints with open-mesh appeal, draping and mixed-media was a fresh take for the on-going trend. One of our favorites was a phonetic spelling for laid back (laid-back) splashed across a silky top.
A perfect descriptor for parts of the CLAN collection with its easy-to-wear designs and casual coolness. There’s even a comfort appeal to the more complicated designs we appreciate. When it comes to fashion, we are always on the hunt for compelling designs with functionality.
Fashion Writing – Costello Tagliapietra
Article Written For A Review Of Costello Tagliapietra’s S/S2015 Collection
Exploring The Lovely Oceanic Blues Of Fashion House Favorite: Costello Tagliapietra – Min A. Lee
Viewing each style from Costello Tagliapietra’s spring and summer 2015 collection is transitioning down through the layers of the ocean. Beginning with the sometimes tumultuous clouds and winds that can create such beautiful stormy hues that slice through an otherwise golden palette. How fitting the fabrics picked by the designers move like the wind and water and sometimes appear like a stormy horizon on some. A perfect mix of emotion and grace for those who are a bit more on the serious side of wardrobe preferences because not everyone is into frills and flounces.
Just as the water turns into a crystal, clear blue, as does the flow of the collection to longer lengths of the hue while keeping water-like properties that move around the body in seamless waves. Despite the form fitting cuts that emphasize natural waistlines, comfort is definitely key. These aren’t garments that you’ll constantly be adjusting and pulling on to keep its shape. There’s something completely natural about the way they fall even in standing positions.
As the ocean becomes deeper and darker with tinges of green to black, the level of mystery arises. There’s almost a more quiet quality to the depths that aren’t pushed about by winds and the moon’s gravitational tug-of-war. In the darkness you have to look closely to see the subtle details, the same goes for the design duo’s work. At first glance the dresses seem simple, but look closer and one can see beautiful pleating to create small cascades, silky textures with gauzy overlays, contrast piping and lining for added contour and emphasis, and our favorite—their signature plaids but with an open weave. Dark and mysterious? Yes, definitely…then mix it with the strong force of attraction these looks imbue and you are set for date night.
The gradient of hues in the collection complement every skin tone and hair color, which isn’t easy to come by because it can be difficult matching warm and cool to the right color—you don’t have to worry, they’re expansive line offers the ability to create looks depending on the wearer’s desire. These are clothes meant to make any woman feel stunning. Even the more sportier option with its silky bomber jacket and body conscious skirt still initiates a striking aura that is found in every collection produced thus far. If you are looking for pieces to refresh your wardrobe for next spring put Costello Tagliapietra high on your wish list, they’re definitely up there on ours.
Fashion Writing – Teddy Stratford Shirts & Audrey Magazine
Article written for Audrey Magazine, read the full piece here.
Normally, National Public Radio (NPR) is considered at the forefront of distributing news and cultural programming, not as a media outlet for fashion. But one podcast is beginning to change how the global fashion industry is viewed. Rather than a constant stream of modern trends and red carpet celebrity drama, which at times feels more like a reality television show, NPR host Jacki Lyden was given the task of presenting the topic in a way that will appeal to listeners.
Regarding her new production, she explained, “We have to do it as anthropology—and more like a salon of the air. That’s where public radio audiences would come in—in the amazing cultural context of fashion, and as business, diversity, history, entertainment and social commentary.” Hence, The Seams: Clothing Is Our Common Thread: In Every Stitch, A Story was born, and from its recent beginnings Lyden has used the world as a palette and shared stories that force us to think about fashion as a complex, yet engaging academic conversation instead of an image roll of pretty outfits.
Lyden’s first episode on theseams.org pulled us into the streets of Bangkok with entrepreneur Bryan Davis, who credits his extreme fascination with the police attire of the city as an influential obsession that would lead him on a successful kickstarter campaign for a patented dress shirt.
“I was reading about the police department, so I was particularly tuned into the police, and I noticed the police had these awesome uniforms, these really close fitting, sharp uniforms,” Davis states during the recording.
During a traffic stop, Davis found an opportune moment to question the officer where the uniform was from.
Luckily, instead of a ticket, he received an address for a local tailor, “My friend and I walk in to the tailor’s…she’s got to translate. But what’s interesting in Bangkok is that the police all get their uniforms completely custom made. This tailor was measuring me up asking, ‘Do you want cuffs on these pants,’ and all this stuff and then he got to a point where my friend couldn’t translate she didn’t know the word apparently for zipper…I want a zipper I’ve never seen that before!”
Taking inspiration from the uniform, Davis enlisted the partnership of master tailor Carl Goldberg and launched the company Teddy Stratford. Using campaign money, the “Zip Fit Shirt” was released featuring a zipper hidden under a faux button placket to create a slim, stream-lined look. In order to maintain the high quality that can be easily lost with mass production, all shirts are hand made in New York City with a retail price of approximately $185.
This experience shows us how every piece of clothing we have carries with it some anthropological and/or sociological aspect. Clothing isn’t only just a reflection of individualism, but part of a giant industry that battles financial and ethical concerns along the way, which is what Lyden’s series for NPR hopes to address to a growing consumership. As the podcast advances, we aim to share with you more compelling features, and if you are interested in listening in, visit theseams.org to check out the latest aired episodes. – See more at: http://audreymagazine.com/how-the-police-of-bangkok-inspired-a-new-york-city-dress-shirt-company/#sthash.GYQQbp54.dpuf
Fashion Article – Iikonee
Fashion Article Written For Feature Brand – Iikonee
For those of us living metropolitan lives, caught in the constant daily movements between coffee and career, Iikonee lets us slow down and learn an appreciation for simplicity. Clothing becomes a reflection of our lives, and there is beautiful classicism to be found within the line’s Spring & Summer 2015 looks. Vivid white offset by classic navy and black make up the entire architecturally inspired collection, but with comfort and ease. Spring usually entails overcrowded patterns and bright, summery palettes, but Iikonee keeps to traditional minimalist expectations.
- Most minimalist designs tend to veer away from girly flirtation, but there is still a perfect dose of feminine appeal with curve flattering shapes and shorter lengths. While on trend with the midi-skirt and contemporary boxy cuts for their available tops, the ability to wear these pieces over several years is not lost, especially as fads come back just as much as they disperse. If you’re seeking out a revamp for your career wardrobe and want to move away from the usual suiting options, Iikonee should be at the top of your list.
SXSW Fashion Story – Composure Magazine
Fashion Story & Page Design for Composure Magazine – Full Article Available HERE at composuremagazine.com
Fashion Writing Audrey Magazine – Fall 2016
3 Fashion Trends To Consider From The Pre-Fall 2016 Collection Shows – Read The Full Article Along With Some Of My Favorite Looks At Audreymag.com
Photos From Audrey Magazine & Designers/Brands
Public School – Audrey Magazine
Public School: The Perfect NYC Street Style – Min A. Lee
Public School is how I remember and still think about New York City fashion—minimal and monochromatic. Most would associate the darker end of the spectrum for fall and winter, but New Yorkers find a way to make it work throughout the entire year. With a closet full of black, I’m always on the hunt for design houses that take my favorite color and translate it into wearable garments regardless of temperature. Fairly new and with a sophisticated nod to urban and street trends, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne have finally made their introduction into womenswear.
While in its sophomore year of New York Fashion Week, Public School already has accumulated menswear awards and continues to do so. They’ve shown talent and drive for surviving in the industry since their 2010 induction into the CFDA’s Fashion Incubator development program, and still keep all clothing production within New York City. With so much praise to their names, I was curious to see how the pair would tackle the other gender, and was delighted to see that they are definitely on their way to dominating the interchangeable world of sportswear. While some feel their designs are more quiet than expected for spring and summer 2015, Chow and Osborne have a long and limitless future ahead of them.
Take a look at a few of the designs below from Sunday’s packed-house show. It was a sea of artsy prints, geometrics, oversized fits, boxy styles and my favorite, a monochromatic palette with splashes of blue for creating additional visual interest. I’m more impressed with Chow and Osborne producing flattering and classic cuts while keeping some urban edge, making their opening womenswear collection engaging to both the career woman and the streetstyle lover. With such a strong start, the fall and winter 2016 line will be highly anticipated, and I am positive we will see another round of solid design work. – See more at: http://audreymagazine.com/public-school-the-perfect-nyc-streetstyle/#sthash.t2mmcexP.dpuf
Images Courtesy Of Audrey Magazine Via Guillame Roujas and Nowfashion.com
Min A. Lee 