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February 7, 2008 11:26 am
Vena Cava designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock are putting their feelings down on paper for Fall. Instead of a show, they’re putting together a limited-edition book to present their maharaja/eighties-inspired collection. “While showing during fashion week is really fun,” Buhai says, “sometimes it can get so distracting that you lose sight of the fact that you’re making clothes and you’re making them to sell to people. The idea of really concentrating on the clothing and doing something that’s more low-key and more about the concept of the clothes seems more relevant to us this season.” We got a sneak preview from the duo, who took some time out from putting the finishing touches on their maiden publishing effort to e-mail us about the project, their inspirations—and just who’s on their mailing list.
Why a book?
We’re always trying to push the envelope with different ways of presenting the collection. We’ve been really into the presentation-style format, and we’ve done it four times now. Since we draw so much of our inspiration from graphic design, we thought that doing a printed book or magazine to represent our work and to get the inspiration of the collection across would be a nice way to show the clothes this season. Because editors and stylists are being so bombarded with shows, we also thought that they would appreciate this and have something to refer back to.
What inspired the collection?
We traveled to India last summer to work with a factory there, and then traveled around Rajasthan. There’s a castle every ten feet! There are these unbelievable oil portraits of these royal families from the turn of the century. The men dressed in a mix of English-style clothing, like really tailored jackets, over beautiful draped classical Indian garments. The mix of those two styles was just so new-looking to our eyes. That’s where it started…that and a totally different direction. We always like to have a contradiction or have two angles so that nothing comes across as too costume-y or too referential. So we went to the library and looked at Paris Vogue from 1981. The silhouette and the graphic design for the collection are really inspired by the year 1981 and fashion during that year, which is also when we were both born. It was the heyday of some really, really great designers like Valentino and Giorgio Armani, Sonia Rykiel, and it’s when Lagerfeld was at Chloé. There were great androgynous designs done at that time.
Who are you working with on the book?
A new firm called Parisi, founded by two girls who are friends and customers. They wear the clothes and they understand the Vena Cava lifestyle and brand. We all live in Brooklyn, have similar friends, and have a very specific aesthetic. One is into fonts and technology and is inspired by minimal seventies graphic direction, and the other one is more of an art director who has worked with A.P.C. and Bumble and Bumble. It’s a good fit.
How many books are you mailing out?
We’re sending out 50 books on February 20. They’ll be packaged the way that things are sent in India; instead of using cardboard, which is too expensive, they package things in fabric, so we’ll be wrapping the books in fabric that’s sealed in a plastic bag. The feeling of the book is going to be reminiscent of an early Interview magazine. It’s large-format and will have that same paper quality and similar graphic design.
Who’s on your mailing list?
In addition to editors, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Arden Wohl, Michelle Williams, Devendra Banhart…
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