13 posts tagged "Parsons"
Top of the Class: Inside Parsons’ PH² Exhibition
If you’ve been following our coverage of the Parsons/Kering competition, you’re well aware that college graduation is nigh. But it’s not just Parsons’ BFA students who are presenting their final collections. Tomorrow, the second graduating class from the school’s MFA Fashion Design and Society program will unveil their wares at PH², an exhibition whose opening will be cohosted by Diane von Furstenberg. Yesterday, professor Shelley Fox and the best of the eighteen graduates gave Style.com a first look at their progressive work. “What impressed me was their persistence not to give up, to experiment, and to push themselves in a way they didn’t know they were capable of,” said Fox of the graduates, who will reveal their complete lineups during a show at New York fashion week in September. This year, Fox put a particular emphasis on pushing the students to create their own fabrics. “That’s one way you can really define yourself and set yourself apart from other designers,” she said.
Several of the grads took this to the extreme, like knitwear designer Hannah Jenkinson (above, left). Hailing from the UK, the 29-year-old pulled inspiration from the minimal clothes of the Amish, Mennonites, and nuns, as well as athletic wear. “But really,” she notes, “the collection was driven by technique and process; by [exploring] the boundaries of what makes something knitwear.” Take, for instance, her transparent jumper, in which she trapped strands of white yarn between two layers of fusing material. Other looks were crafted from rubber or repurposed vintage pieces. Chunky laces—like the ones seen on her sheer track pants or feminine skirts, were painstakingly hand-embroidered. “Some of [the pieces] took eight days.”
Melitta Baumeister, a 27-year-old German designer, took a new-wave approach to fabrication (above, right). She would finish a fabric garment, make a mold, and then recast it in silicone or foam. The result was classic clothing—like a white oxford shirt, a bomber, or a lace dress—reinvented in what felt like rubber. The collection, she explained, has to do with “controlling the uncontrollable, materializing liquid, and preserving a moment of movement in the garment.” The digital age affected her designs as well. “Now, with things like Instagram, capturing an image of a moment or a memory is almost more important than the memory itself.” Continue Reading “Top of the Class: Inside Parsons’ PH² Exhibition” »
Galliano to…Parsons?
Ever since John Galliano’s unexpected stint at Oscar de la Renta’s studio last January (well, ever since he departed Dior, actually), we’ve been sufficiently curious about his next move. And yesterday night, it was revealed: Via an e-mail to its students, Parsons announced that the couturier will teach a three-day-long master class to a select group of the institution’s BFA candidates. Dubbed “Show Me Emotion,” the course will focus on the influence of emotions on design—a subject, we’d imagine, that Mr. Galliano knows a little something about.
Fashion Criticism: No Respect!
“It’s considered something that’s for and about women…I think all of those things kind of conspired to keep fashion from being given the same kind of respect.” So says Robin Givhan—famously the only fashion critic ever to win the Pulitzer Prize for her efforts—during a panel discussion this week on the place of fashion criticism. Givhan was joined by The New York Times‘ Guy Trebay and W‘s Stefano Tonchi on the panel, hosted by Fashion Projects, a magazine from Parsons professor Francesca Granata that covers the industry from a critic’s perspective. Agree or disagree? In the yea column: Trebay was careful to make the distinction that he’s an “urban ethnographer,” not a fashion critic. Hmm. In the nay column: Well, the whole thing was covered by the Columbia Journalism Review.
Sophie Gimbel: Made to Measure for America
The couture shows will start in Paris on Monday. But next Tuesday, Parsons will bring the (vintage) haute stuff to New York with its latest exhibition, Sophie Gimbel: Fashioning American Couture. Curated by Beth Dincuff, the show explores the legacy of the late Mrs. Gimbel, a mid-century fashion fixture who designed for, ran, and oversaw the buying for Saks Fifth Avenue’s Salon Moderne—an elite shop within Saks that introduced American clients to couturiers like Chanel, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Mainbocher—from 1929 until it closed in 1969. Mrs. Gimbel (who was married to Adam Gimbel, the former president of Saks and the grandson of its founder) smartly showed her made-to-measure gowns during the Salon Moderne’s afternoon fashion shows, alongside looks by her French counterparts. Her clients were icons like Greta Garbo, Édith Piaf, actress Claudette Colbert, and the Duchess of Windsor. She even made Lady Bird Johnson’s suit for her husband’s 1965 inauguration. With that in mind, one has to wonder why most of us aren’t well acquainted with Mrs. Gimbel’s work. “I think that the idea of American made-to-measure, or American couture, has been overshadowed by American sportswear, which is obviously something we do very well,” says Dincuff.
Known for her ultra-feminine designs (think big big skirts, lots of tulle, and demure, romantic silhouettes), Gimbel hit her stride in the forties (a savvy businesswoman, she launched her ready-to-wear range in 1943). When journalists couldn’t travel to Paris during WWII, she was featured in Vogue‘s first September American fashion issue. She championed the sporty American body that was fashionable at the time, and rebelled against Dior’s post-war New Look. “She didn’t like the extremeness of it,” explains Dincuff. “She felt it was impractical.” Rather, she preferred that sartorial extravagances be beautiful and functional, like ornate buttons or luxe cardigans draped over strapless ball gowns. Continue Reading “Sophie Gimbel: Made to Measure for America” »
On Our Radar: Richard Braqo
There’s always been a stigma around Geminis—followers of astrology believe those born under the sign are moody, puzzling, and have dueling personalities. But 25-year-old Ghana-born, London-based shoe designer Richard Braqo (a Gemini himself) makes “the twins” work in his favor. Braqo (née Richard Kwame Brako) launched his line of severe, feminine shoes for Spring ’13. A Parsons graduate, he describes his buttery suede, lush velvet, and buffed nubuck heels and over-the-knee boots as “classic with a twist. They’re sexy, demure, and a little bit aggressive.” Case in point: his curvaceous booties embellished with sharp golden scales, or his pointy needle-heeled pumps pierced with a pearl-capped hat pin—pearl because it’s his birthstone. “The last collection was inspired by celestial DNA,” he says, noting that duality was a key element in his Spring wares. For instance, he fused a skinny stiletto with a menswear brogue to create strong velvet heels in rich colors like “vino” and “sapphire.”
With a background in womenswear, Braqo approaches his shoes (all of which are made in Italy) like he would a garment, often wrapping materials over unexpected metal accessories. (His Spring Coralle pumps feature an ankle bangle). The geometry of a woman’s legs is also a point of fascination for Braqo—one that he explored in his moody, ink-blot-inspired Spring film, which debuts below. The young designer, whose luxe kicks range from about $890 to $1,600, will show his second collection during London Fashion Week this February. He’s promising crocodile accents and diamanté details.
Richard Braqo is available at The Box Boutique and Wolf & Badger in London.