5 posts tagged "Simon Collins"
Parsons: The New Class
“As a designer, I am blown away,” said Donna Karan last night, after making the rounds at “The First Eighteen,” a showcase of work by the inaugural group of 18 students (ages 24 to 31) in Parsons’ graduate MFA program in fashion design and society. “The sophistication, the understanding, the ability to hold a collection together, it is so telling,” she explained. Karan, a Parsons alumna, was joined at the school by co-host Joanna Coles, Simon Collins, the dean of the School of Fashion, Shelley Fox, the mastermind behind the MFA program, and designers Victoria Bartlett, Chris Benz, and Gabi Asfour of threeasfour, in toasting the student designs, all of which had been year-long projects.
The work by Beckett Fogg and Sinead Lawlor, in particular, garnered especially positive reactions from the crowd. Fogg’s monochromatic black and white womenswear pieces were clean-cut, but finished with luxe embossed leather touches. Lawlor went a completely different route, showing a range of bright blue, red, and yellow womenswear separates done in an explosive button print that was bold, yet equally wearable (pictured). There were also a handful of students that went for a more avant-garde aesthetic, showing conceptual designs that, according to Collins, “should be shown at the Met right now” (referring to the recently opened Schiaparelli/Prada exhibit currently on display at the museum). By the end of the night, it was no secret that Karan, who has been focused on her Urban Zen project in Haiti, had acquired some favorites and perhaps some plans for those students’ futures. “There are three that I really love,” she said. “I would like to get their hands in Haiti, you have no idea.”
“The First Eighteen” is on view daily at 1359 Broadway, New York, through May 23.
“They’re Different Than We Were When I Was In Design School”
Last night, Reed Krakoff turned his Madison Avenue boutique into a mini exhibition space for Parsons The New School for Design’s most promising seniors and invited fashion world VIPs like Phillip Lim, Saks’ Ron Frasch, and Theory’s Andrew Rosen to examine their creations. “We have a saying; it’s ‘We don’t mess around,’ ” Parsons dean Simon Collins said as he gave Krakoff a tour of the students’ designs. You couldn’t find a person in the crowd who would dispute it. The workmanship was topnotch and you could believably picture Theresa Matthias’ tweed and neoprene bonded dress or Angelica Casaverde’s silk twill parka on a department store floor. Lingering over a taupe shift hand-embroidered with purple and peach beads by Kathy Sow (above), Krakoff, who will be honored at Parsons’ Fashion Benefit later this month, said, “They’re different than we were when I was in design school. No one has said something obvious like, ‘It’s about the seventies.’ They’re more intellectual.” No word on whether he snapped up any of the students for his own design studios.
Glasto, By Way Of Herald Square
High/low collaborations have become as ubiquitous as celebrity “designed” lines. But Macy’s latest foray in the designer-meets-mass retailer sphere is left-field enough to get our attention. The department store approached the Italian-born, London-based talent Kinder Aggugini (left)—a growing presence in London, but still a relative unknown, internationally speaking—for a capsule collection. “I was 100 percent terrified of the idea at first,” Aggugini admitted at the line’s preview atop the Gramercy Park Hotel last night. “I went and did some research and there were some awful collaboration lines out there—all this polyester. But then I saw how Alber did it for H&M and thought, ‘That’s it. It’s not about creating something cheaper. It’s about creating a new product altogether.’ “
“I was inspired by these British girls who would go to rock ‘n’ roll gigs and Glastonbury in their mother’s old couture dresses that they’d cut into these short minis,” the designer explained. The Versace and Vivienne Westwood alum, who’s known for unconventional prints and tailored little jackets, set out to emphasize natural fibers, including silk chiffons, cottons, and merino wools. For the collection, he imported the spirit—and a few key prints, like his signature polka dots—from his main line. Standout pieces include a black silk chiffon romper ($88), a dip-dyed silk floral frock ($88), and a remarkably well-constructed linen military jacket with metallic tweed trim ($128). The range tops out at $300, with prices starting as low as $50.
Aggugini will have to wait until February 15 to see if the Brit style will translate to American shoppers; the collection will be in Macy’s stores and online for eight weeks before another, yet-to-be-announced designer capsule collection will roll out for the next two months. (Karl Lagerfeld’s buzzy collaboration is slated for September.) But early indicators are good: Preview guests Hilary Rhoda and Parsons’ Simon Collins gave their approval. As Collins pointed out, “The difference between designs from a London designer and what a woman in America might wear aren’t so great. Fashion’s all quite global these days.”
Derek Lam’s Plan B?
Friday evening isn’t a time you’d usually find students milling about their school auditorium—at least not of their own volition. But for a chat between Parsons dean of fashion Simon Collins, J.Crew’s Jenna Lyons, and Derek Lam, fashion design majors happily packed the house. The two Parsons alums met as freshman on the first day of school as the incoming class of 1990. “You were so chic the first day of school. I’ll never forget it, you were wearing this handmade leather jacket. It was so annoying!” Lyons said with a laugh. The leather jacket, Lam took the opportunity to inform her, was Comme des Garçons.
Lyons, who confessed that she was “not a very confident girl” growing up in L.A., found her own path in the big city. (She also got a taste of the wider world. “I never met a gay man until I moved to New York,” she revealed.) Lyons eventually landed an internship with Donna Karan on Seventh Avenue before finding her way to J.Crew. And Lam, also a West Coast transplant (he grew up in San Francisco), took off with a brief stint at Geoffrey Beene and then an extended tenure at Michael Kors. Though after 20 years, could another move be on the horizon? “I would love to go back to school,” Lam told us after the discussion. “I actually studied writing before I went to Parsons, so I’d go back for journalism. Maybe I’ll be a fashion writer!” Sounds good to us—send those pitches our way.
Hands-On Learning
For one night, at least, fashion did not compute. “The students, they’re on their computers now if they’re designing. But for this, they used their hands!” dean Simon Collins remarked happily at the LVMH/Parsons “The Art of Craftsmanship Revisited” presentation at Milk Studios last night. The two organizations tapped 23 student teams to design a unique look each, using techniques more often left for the old hands in Paris ateliers. The results, while sometimes uneven, were decidedly unconventional. A zany, clear “bubble” shrug made LVMH chairman Renaud Dutreil ask, “What is that made of?” And a gorgeous hand-knit, oversize sweater would have done the Mulleavy sisters proud.
“If the students are taught the skills, they can see fashion in a whole new way. We could have a whole new generation of designers who know craft,” Dutreil remarked. The Frenchman may be on to something. The handiwork drew quite the crowd—along with Parsons alum Veronica Webb and Fabiola Beracasa, Estelle (pictured) stopped by, but she was quick to deny any ambitions for a line of her own. “Oh, I’m not crafty. I like to see a thing here or there and I know what I like, but I’ll leave the work to the designers,” the singer said with laugh. “But hey, I am up for wearing something crafted!” Hear that, students?