For me, the most interesting part of each new season is not the new clothing being peddled and proposed, but rather the little tricks I take away from designers’ runways: tricks that enable me to turn my existing pieces into new items and garner a whole new wardrobe at no extra cost.
This fall is an exceptionally ‘fertile’ season for that sort of thing, thanks in large part to designers like Miuccia Prada (ah, I can always count on her) and Junya Watanabe. Case in point: with just the width of leather (it doesn’t even have to be a belt) or a piece of grosgrain ribbon, you can fashion a Prada or Miu Miu ‘like’ jacket or coat. This is perfect if you have an ill fitting (too small to button or too large and unseemly) item that you were going to either throw away or take to the tailor for an expensive overhaul. Just use the ‘belt’ to tie at the hip, the waistline, or higher (empire style) and you can create your own ‘made to order’ garment.
And thanks to designers like Miuccia this season, there won’t be any such thing as sleeves that could be deemed ‘too short’. Whereas this may have posed a problem in the past, sleeves that are a tad too short are the PERFECT excuse to show off your wardrobe of gloves. (You do have gloves, don’t you???)
Now, what about those ‘sad’ looking threadbare, worn out, tattered coats or jackets that have been sitting in your closets? After you realize that one of the most editorialized and sought after collections for fall/winter 2003 was Junya Watanabe’s in Paris- which featured deconstructed Chanel inspired pieces boasting hanging threads and jagged unfinished edges- on purpose! (like the one that was photographed in Ruth La Ferla’s article in the Fashion section of today’s New York Times) perhaps you’ll rethink that bag you had set aside for donation to Goodwill. Just take them out, dust them off, and wear with confidence. I promise you’ll be the envy of all your fashion forward friends.
Posted by Marilyn Kirschner
Who are some of NY’s top designers turning to for their music inspiration?
The world of fashion and specially “music styling” for fashion designers is a tough one to break into…..so how did the French/Iranian duo behind Labtonic manage to rack up such an impressive list of clients in NY and Europe in less than a year? Clients that include Louis Vuitton, DKNY, Vivienne Tam, Daryl K, Issey Miyake, Peter Som, Dolce & Gabanna etc. One of their more high profile projects was creating the “soundscape” that Louis Vuitton used to launch the Spring 03 collection designed by Takashi Murakami in over 40 countries. They also DJed at the NY launch party at the Marianne Boesky Gallery. This NY Fashion Week you will hear Labtonic on the runway shows of Daryl K, Vivienne Tam and Peter Som to name a few.
The team behind Labtonic has a diverse background. Laurent Vacher is a Parisien who started DJing on French radio in the 80’s at the age of 15 and took much of his inspiration from listening to Bernard Lenoir’s radio shows. Nima Abbasi is an “enlightened ex-corporate” type who grew up in London but has also lived and worked in 4 other countries over the past 7 years.
The Labtonic team are working on a number of projects for the coming year. The most interesting for them is a potential collaboration with a world famous interior designer who approached Labtonic to work with him to design the “soundscape” that complements his creations…ranging from 3 hotels in Europe to a restaurant here in NYC.
For now you can contact Labtonic by sending an email to info@labtonic.com.
