TheFE's Bids for Academy Award Dressing, Makeup, Hair and Grooming

Hi Fellow Fashionistas -

I'm in the midst of moving over to WordPress.
Today's post on what I'd like to see at today's Oscars, www.thefashionexaminer.wordpress.com

See you there!

The Duckie Brown fall 2011 Show: Ruminating Backstage With the Duckies

Text, Vivian Kelly

"Is this a 'men's collection" or a "women's collection?"
UGH.
Like Steven Cox, 1/2 of the Duckie Brown label, I find the question rather, well... dated. Perhaps a better word would be, "anachronistic"".
Back in the early Eighties, we had Grace Jones and Brigitte Nielsen. They looked FAN-TAS-TIC. They made the point that you could be masculine AND feminine - all at once. Both sported looks such as white "wife beaters" and "men's" black tuxes in now-iconic photographs. They helped spout the notion of "androgyny" which photographic legend, Helmut Newton, helped to make fashionable.
Another famous example is Bianca Jagger, back in her Studio 54 Days. Her most famous outfit was a white PANTsuit. In the Seventies though, it was considered "daring" to wear pants to work.

Then-Vogue Editor, Grace Mirabella, was considered to be "daring" to propose this as "a work option". As I later learned, as one of her Assistants, in the early Nineties, Miss Mirabella meant what she said. I cannot recall a SINGLe day she did not walk into the office in slacks. Her favorites were: Geoffrey Beene, Calvin, and Bill Blass, not necessarily in that order.

Even in the mid-Eighties, when I was going on my first job interviews, I wore SKIRTS - no question. Pants, were not really an option.
The whole topic seems ridiculous in retrospect. Just a year earlier, I'd gone on a road-trip to UVA [The University of Virginia] for a weekend of party hopping. The scene I lived out that weekend was straight out of Tommy Hilfigger's tailgate glossy ads. What's interesting is that when you inspect it closely, "preppy style" can ALSO, like "East Village Punk", look quite uni-sexual. We college co-eds were from a dozen or so different colleges and universities but we all looked like the frat boys whose parties we attended.
The uniform: Lacoste shirt [untucked], Levi jeans [unwashed and stiff] and Sperry Top or Docksiders. Sounds limiting? Not really, when you consider how many different colors the Gator shirt was available in.
Okay, I made-up that word, "unisexual". At the end of the day though, most of us are looking for clothes that we, as people, can just wear.
SOME "PEOPLE'S FAVORITES"
-The "wife beater tank
-Converse "Chuck Taylors"
-A really WELL CUT pair of trousers - Duckie Brown! Oftentimes, they will be black.
- Levi's original 501's. You need to break them in, it just takes time. Be patient.
-A Woolrich red and black buffalo plaid jacket
-Docksiders, the originals.

So, why can’t a man wear women’s clothes and vice-versa? Duckie designers Steven Cox and Daniel Silver ponder the question in our pre-show interview, here.

Mark Indelicato aka “Justin Suarez” of Ugly Betty was backstage at Duckie Brown

Text, Vivian Kelly

Mark Indelicato aka “Justin Suarez” of Ugly Betty was backstage at Duckie Brown, gamely posing for the photogs and video crews who pounced on him once they realized who the slight extravagantly dressed boy was.

Mr. Indelicato is a perfect example of someone [man or woman – does it even matter?] who “does his own thing”. He looked great, but what he was wearing would have looked just as good on a woman, the right woman, one who is secure in her own style.

This is pretty much the point. Why can’t a man wear women’s clothes and vice-versa? Duckie designers Steven Cox and Daniel Silver ponder the question in our pre-show interview, which will run next week.

In the meantime, here’s a short clip of Mark Indelicato talking about his personal style and his thoughts on Duckie Brown.

The Nautica fall 2011 Presentation

TEXT, Vivian Kelly

Interview with Menswear Editor, Mark Behnke of www.fashiontribes.com

When it comes to mens’ fashion, Fashion has always suffered with being labeled “elitist”, “not for the regular guy” or “too edgy”, and even “scary”.

Normally, during NYFW, I’m drawn to just such “directional” collections such as Duckie Brown’s [a big favorite], Andrew Buckler, and Siki Im.

This season, though, I decided it was time to be more “democratic” and see just what bigger consumer brands such as Nautica were proposing men wear in 2011.

As I walked the crowded show space with Mark at the Lincoln Center Library, I was reminded of a long-ago Christmas in the early nineties.

I’d just returned from Neiman Marcus and with a pair of Gucci horse bit loafers for my conservatively minded first husband.  While in the thrill of the luxe buy, I’d reasoned to myself that they were “traditional” and that he’d approve.

I Was Wrong. Sad, but not really understanding WHY he wasn’t thrilled to receive them, I returned them on Boxing Day.

His explanation: He loved his Top Siders, always would and did not want to be “fashionable”.

My EX is one of legions of affluent guys who “want to look nice” but are not interested in clothes that would make them “stick-out” on the golf range, on a sail, sporting events, or Friday night poker night with the boys.

Nautica is a great choice for men of this ilk.
#1: It's no hassle- just go to Macy’s and you’re out in less than 20 minutes and back pursuing your leisure time activities.
#2L  Fit – nothing skintight here that requires you to be a gym rat in order to fit into the more avant-garde brands. Asparagus silhouette not required.

3.     #3: Traditional designs and themes. As Mark points out in our video, there’s a nautical theme that appeals to the traditional guy, and “safe” neutral colors.

None of the above is true if you happen to be a liberated metro-sexual type such as  Mark, whose morning grooming lotions and potions rival the most “high-maintenance” woman’s. And that’s great! It’s probably “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” that’s responsible for “regular guys” to start thinking in a more “directional” fashion and to consider fashion lines such as Duckie Brown, Buckler and Siki Im.

*The pre-show interview with the Duckies goes live here next week!

NYFW - fall 2011: Impressions, So Far...the Weekend Report

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

It's Saturday night, and "I'm feeling alright" and prepping for round #2 which will kick-off Monday when I get to meet Woolrich's new designer.

So far, I've sat something like half a dozen shows, the incredible Douglas Hannant - Piguet launch party at  the impossibly elegant French Embassy Uptown, dropped in at a few presentations and have eaten more tuna wraps at the Moonstruck Diner than I want to for the next six months, usually at the ill-advised hour of 11p.m. or so. Lucky for me,  my metabolism wakes-up about that time.

Taking it back to NYFW, what wowed me was the quilted Chanel case for the Coco Chanel books at the Assouline Plaza boutique, Duckie Brown's shrunken white suit, a very interesting arty architectural jacket in gray and cream, an emerald green velvet skirt at Nicholas K, handsome models who could body double for Rob Pattinson, the much improved AOL Media Lounge in the Media Pitt spearheaded by the fabulous Tara Shashaty, in the Lincoln Center Tent.

Thanks to Tara (who was photographed and whom you'll see non-stop in any yellow cab you hop into], I got "a clue" about which eyebrow tool I should use. After the make-over, I bum-rushed the MAC Cosmetics store in Grand Central Station, and bought "brun", to fill-in my frankly icky, over-plucked brows.

 This enlightenment took place in the posh  www.stylelist.com
trailer across the street from the Tents. A few hours later, I fell in love - with a black wool and duchesse satin long dress at the Academy of Art University Show.

The next day. I hauled everyone from TheFE team out of their Madison Ave. temporary home to go and see the Libertine Collection. I had "a feeling". Happily for me, the Libertine collection was A-mazing - no "ifs, and or buts".

Offering a bit of pop culture and comic relief was the UNbelievable madness ANTM's "Miss J's" presence at the AAU show caused. I wasn't around when the Beatles debuted, but honestly, the stampede of female tweens and teens who rushed Jay was...."beyond".

Jay's presence will certainly rank in the top three moments of paparazzi frenzy-dom for the fall2011 NYFW.
Enjoy the show!

Casting Call! Duckie Brown Casts for their fall 2011 Show

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

So what’s a real live model casting like? Like one for a big NYFW show such as Duckie Brown?

It’s been a while since I attended a big show casting, the last one was one I did somewhere around 2000 for Searle, when said brand was trying to become a player at NYFW.

I wondered if model casting would be tremendously different so many years later. I got to find out when Daniel and Steven invited me to sit –in on a day of their 2-day casting.

It’s not. The casting Director, Claire, took polaroids of the models who had been invited in [@ 80 on day 1 of 2 daysworth]. The model was asked to walk down and back as if they were on the runway. If that went well, they were asked to try on an oufit. It’s a process, yes, but a lot of it is intuitive.

I asked Daniel the “What are you looking for?” question.

In response, he  stated, “We’re looking to cast whomever makes the look look best.”

Simon made it to the point where he walked twice, was asked his shoe size and to try a few outfits on.

At the end out of day 1, the Duckies had around 15 candidates. Said Steven, “We’ve got about 15 we like so far, the trouble is to sew them in together so that they all work together for the show.”

Shortly after my post-lunch arrival, Grant Woolhead, the stylist walked in and conferred with the rest of the group. Grant is Fashion Director of Out Mag, and this is the sixth season he’s working with the Duckies, helping them to cast their show.

As Steven pointed-out, not only does the model have to “work” individually, he has to fit in with the group. There are levels upon levels of casting hurdles to jump before a model makes the final edit and is one of the lucky few to walk the show.

Then there’s the walk, Daniel – “You have to have a mission. You have to work on it. Walk like you’re going to go cash-in a 15 million dollar check.” Simon left, vowing to practice his walk all night.” Shaking his dark head of hair out of his face he said, “Yeah, this is for me. I’m doing it for me.”

Let the NYFW Previews Begin!

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

The shows are less than a week away and the previews are pouring in. Flattering, yes, and definitely a tad overwhelming when it comes to the planning part of the operation that's called "NYFW".
When Daniel Silver, 1/2 of Duckie Brown and I walked down the endless stairs from Studio 385 he got me thinking [really] about which designers REALLY ARE my favorites.
"You must have some favorites" he stated. 
"Well yes, Duckie Brown, obviously, I laughed." 
Daniel's question got me thinking on my way back to my car in the ChinaTown lot. Yes, I love Duckie Brown, but what else did I really care about?
The shows I look forward to seeing are the "smaller" and more "avant-garde" ones, even though they take place in New York, not Paris. As they're in New York, they should thus be "commercial". I'm sure my faves sell some clothes as they're still around and not road kill on the path of "used to be" designers. What makes the ones that most intrigue me stand out is the element of surprise.
I've got a few preview shots of some of these shows, and in some cases just a hard copy invite to share.
On the list
Duckie Brown
Buckler
Number Lab [new to me, but I loved the invite, so I'm curious]
Toni Francesc
Jeremy Scott
Academy of Art University [there's always a minimum of one "wow" student showing at this
Douglas Hannant

Number Lab pulled together a bunch of words that made me want to go and see for myself:  

"Taking FLIGHT // ALPINE SKI-JUMPING
Colorado AIR FORCE ACADEMY // ELEVATION
CHIAROSCURO // Zaha Hadid’s BERGISEL Structure
ENDURANCE // NORDIC SKY // ALTITUDE"

Douglas Hannant is having an event held in his honor by Geoffrey Bradfield to celebrate the launch of Douglas Hannant De Robert Piguet.

Jeremy Scott? You just never know what he has in store. I've been a fan since his long-ago "Walk Like An Egyptian" collection.

ANDREW BUCKLER's theme for fall 2011 is "anonymous art" and the idea that "the urban arts and artists [use] the streets as a medium to communicate messages. Anonymous art fuels discussion as the artist questions the conventions of art."

Spaniard Toni Toni Francesc has as his pre-show teaser: 

Phoenix: "Immortality and Renewal"

The image of a chic woman dressed in a drapey white blouse and sporting a Fedora and bright red lips doesn't necessarily remind me of a phoenix, but that's an outfit I'd like to wear, and that's a great starting point.

Duracell is using people power to illuminate the 2011 numerals in Times Square on New Year's Eve.

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

Today, I verbalized what’s been running through my mind for a while now. I was at the Duckies’ downtown studio, gabbing before lunch with Daniel as Steven continued to sketch and color-in designs for the spring 2012 collection? The Duckies [and their shows] are all about the unexpected and that’s FUN. Turning to Daniel, I got up the nerve to just say it. “ It’s bratty, but I don’t want to write about things unless they’re fun.” To my relief, Daniel smiled and replied, “look at we do”.

Bingo. That sense of fun and play comes-through in their designs and in every show of theirs I can remember.
This brings me to events. My literary agent, Laura Wood of Fine Print Lit mused over cocktails at the Algonquin, “ You could go to an event every day in NYC if you work in the fashion business and live here, and drink and eat for free, at least five days a week.”

We laughed, because after a point, an event is no longer an “event” if they’re in such high supply. "Shouldn't there be a vetting system?" as Steven posited for shows [and events] for that matter?
Driving home, I remembered my friend Jono Waks’ event – one of those I missed because I was out of town. It was silly but it sounded like silly fun, something I’d want to go see unlike yet another store opening. The “this” was a kooky eco-socialite-fashion -kitsch event that I kind of wished I’d managed to get over to in person.


Like the good publicist he is, Jono laid it all out in journalistic format: Who, What, When, Where, Why format. LOVE. If only all publicists would do this.
Here’s the scoop of a silly event that made me giggle and put me in the “Holiday spirit”.
Event Title: GREEN (ENERGY) IS THE COLOUR OF THE SEASON! 


WHEN: Thursday, December 9, 2010 



WHERE: The Duracell Mobile Smart Power Lab will pop-up @ Gansevoort Plaza, Meatpacking District, NYC. 





WHO: 

The Meat Packing District & Duracell bring the fashion community together to promote re-chargeable energy as a fashionable alternative.



DONATING THEIR ENERGY: 

Carson Kressley, (Fashionista) 
Robert Verdi, (Fashionista) 
Tinsley Mortimer, (Fashionista) 
Charlotte Ronson (Designer) 
Joey Wolffer (Stylist/ The StyleLiner), 
Jussara Lee (Designer) 
Mazdack Rassi (Milk Studios), 
Jean Pigozzi (Owner, LimoLand store), 
Eric Goldstein (Owner, The Jean Shop) 
Charles Nolan (Designer) 



WHAT: 

Duracell is using people power to illuminate the 2011 numerals in Times Square on New Year's Eve. New Yorkers and tourists alike have the chance to literally help power the 2011 numerals by visiting one of two Duracell Smart Power Lab locations, hopping aboard a Power Rover and pedaling. With each push of the pedal, human energy is captured, converted into usable power, and then routed and stored at Duracell Battery Centers. The journey ends at One Times Square. The stored power will light up the 2011 numerals as the New Year's Eve Ball drops and the clock strikes midnight. 


The “WHAT” is an update to a question I always idly wondered about while watching the ball drop, year after year. 'Just how much electricity did it take to get that disco ball fired up and going?'
After a little research, I happened on a write-up in www.thedailygreen.com.
As of January 1, 2008, in honor of its 100th birthday, the ball got with the times and became more energy efficient. The newer better ball was lit with close to 10,000 LED bulbs (light-emitting diode) the most energy efficient bulb on the market. According to The Los Angeles Times, “The ball used only as much energy as about 10 toasters.” Enough with the past. That was good, but this is better as in it’s even greener.

HOW [it works]:

The Duracell Power Rovers utilize rotary generator technology. As consumers pedal, energy is captured inside the power rover. The amount of energy captured is determined by the power and speed of the cycling. 

Duracell's capture and storage system saves the energy generated while pedaling and converts it to stored power as it travels from the Duracell Smart Power Lab to the Duracell Battery Centers.

The stored power will light up the 2011 numerals as the New Year's Eve Ball drops and the clock strikes 12.

WHY [it matters] DURACELL is part of the Procter & Gamble Company [NYSE:PG], and it’s heartening to see that a big gun like this is getting behind the Green movement.


While I won’t be in T.S. this year, I’ll definitely be watching, on the huge flat screen TV at my gal pal, Pamme’s house, wearing a vintage Scaazi-ish creation I’m dashing over to scoop up at McGeorgie’s, in Newtown, CT this weekend – if it’s still there.

(Photo/Stuart Ramson)courtesy of Jono Productions

Image of invitations, from www.wallpaper.com

EXCLUSIVE! Coffee and Tea With the Duckies, and a Very Big Surprise – Meet… Mrs. Brown

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY

The highlight of the week of November first was a late afternoon visit to the Duckie Brown studio, on West 13th Street. I had been invited for a studio visit, and looked forward to revisiting the Fashion V Clothes argument, now that the dust from NY Fashion Wk s/s2011 had settled. Not only did I get to spend some quality time, but I also got an exclusive.

The minute I walked into the studio/apartment [they lived there for years before moving to Brooklyn], I felt the Downtown meets Brit vibe, that air of “cool”
that umpteen stylists and designers strive to create. Few get it right and their efforts to be “original” [“Preppie with a Twist”] usually fail. The Duckies however, fall into the category of fashion iconoclasts. They’re in a league with Grace Coddington, Alber Elbaz, Kate Moss and Stella Tennant. All of them constantly surprise you because you never know just how they’ll style themselves or their collections. One thing they all share- whatever they come up with is always interesting.

Over the years, sitting in the audience, watching Duckie Brown shows, I’d find myself wondering how that really slim fitted coat would look on me. I usually have trouble paying 100% attention at a men’s show, as I won’t ever be wearing those clothes. Duckie though is different. I could actually envision donning the dropped crotch trousers, little caps and sharply tailored coats. I was happy when they started the Florsheim collaboration, especially when they announced they’d be doing women’s shoes and I looked forward to treating myself to a pair. I’d always envied the sharp oxfords Wall Streeters such as the mythical “Gordon Gekko” wore on “Wall Street”.
Clothes, though, really? Going into women’s usually signals a stab at going for “the world of”. Daniel and Steven just don’t strike me as the sort to crave world domination, so I never really seriously entertained the hope that one day, there would be Duckie for us women.

Daniel casually threw-out the bomb in the first few minutes of our chat and said that The Duckies are going to break into women’s wear. What?? Yes, that’s right. Women’s. The line is called “Mrs. Brown”.
Thinking more about it, going over to women’s makes a lot of sense. Everyone knows that the big money is in women’s wear and there have been some designers who have successfully bridged the gap and made the transition from menswear to women’s’ wear.
Ralph Lauren, the undisputed king of branding, whom we discussed later in our chat, created a “world of” that though redundant, [some old stand-bys: “Safari”, “Prairie]continues to strike a chord with consumers world-wide. Ralph made a humble start, when he managed to sell a few of his ties to Bloomingdales’ and later opened a necktie store using his “Polo” label in 1967. He started women’s three years later and really got in the public’s radar screen when he was hired to make the costumes for “The Great Gatsby” in 1974.
The late great Alexander McQueen, began his career apprenticing on Savile Row, for Anderson and Shepherd and then Gieves and Hawkes. While there, he learned the art of tailoring which would become a key part of the celebrated McQueen design DNA.

Pretty little dresses such as the ones Rebecca Taylor and Nanette Lepore make are a staple of the New York runways, and yes they sell to the cute twenty-something crowd. A McQueen suit though, is in a whole different league; it’s a masterpiece of tailoring and technical skills. Most women’s wear designers just don’t possess that level of talent. The McQueens of the world are few and far between. I felt privileged to be sitting on a leather sofa with two guys in his league when it comes to tailoring, and imagination.
Steven, like Lee McQueen, is a crack tailor in addition to be being a visionary designer. His problem, he supposes, is that he is not “a show-off” like the suavely handsome Tom Ford. In typical British self-effacing style, Steven recounted how devastated he was after attending a pattern making class at FIT.

Steven: It’s about feeling that you’re good enough. Years ago, I went to FIT and came back to the studio and cried and told Daniel, “They were so good”.
I didn’t think I could do anything as good as I thought they would. When I went back with my thing, it was amazing to see how good mine was and how shit theirs was.

Steven held up the blazer for us to inspect.
It was a reproduction of the one he’d whipped up for that long ago class.

Why do this arduous tailoring exercise again?
“Because I needed to know that I could,” Steven said, holding up the piece, smiling.

From there, we dove into the subject of “putting yourself out there” and “show-offs”.
Tom Ford, Steven declared, “is a huge show-off”. Steven and I are obsessed with Ford, his public persona and his stab at trying to make fashion exclusive again and his jump-back into women’s.

After leaving Gucci, Tom started over, founding Tom Ford International in 2005 with longtime collaborator, Domenico De Sole. The latter runs the business end of the brand as he did while he and Tom were at Gucci. In the preface written by W/WWD Editor, Bridget Foley, in the 2004 coffee table book, Tom Ford: Ten Years, Tom stated that he did not want to do women’s again, was burnt out, wanted to go into film. Of course, no one really believed him, and everyone was certain there would be another women’s collection. When he started his Tom Ford label by launching with menswear, I was…disappointed. Maybe, he really had had his fill with all of those Gucci collections, and that was really it.
In retrospect, it was yet another brilliant marketing move by Tom and De Sole.
When he finally did debut Tom Ford women during s/s2011 NY Fashion Week, the show people generated a hailstorm of controversy. His decision to do an old-fashioned fifties-style salon show, in which he narrated the looks to a select audience of 70 caused many fashionistas angst, miffed as they were at not even getting to see an image [forget seeing the actual clothes] of this VIP room show.

Steven, in an oracle-like fashion, had said only two days earlier, that he wished that fashion would go back to being more exclusive.
He’d argued animatedly with Daniel, who feels that fashion should be democratic and stated, “I disagree, call me a snob, but fashion should be aspirational. There’s sportswear, and there’s fashion. Think back to those shows at Dior, in the fifties. Entry was limited only to the select few, and there was a sense of ceremony to the whole thing, versus what we have now - which is this.
Although they applauded Tom for his risky show, Steven feels that it was just going back in time, not moving things forward. “How though,” Daniel mused out loud, “do you make a fashion show new and interesting? What hasn’t been done and is unexpected?”
Daniel shouldn’t worry about this as he manages to surprise us every season, whether it’s by putting on the infamous “back to silence” show that kicked-off with a cacophony of sound and abruptly cut into utter silence, or the latest show that used a full half of the space intended for seating to the models rather than to fill them with show goers.

Daniel says that they do ham it up a bit while taking their victory lap post show, they do it “because it’s expected”.
“How strange it would be” says Steven, if we just stood at the foot of the runway and didn’t smile? That’s not us, we have a sense of humor and that’s just taking yourself too seriously.”
Unlike Tom Ford, [at least his public persona], the Duckies are not big show-offs, haven’t even written a press release about Mrs. Brown. “ I guess we should do a press release to WWD about Mrs. Brown” laughed Steven.

The decision to do women’s started when Milwaukee-based Florsheims offered the Duckies a deal to design men’s shoes for them. It was a marriage between David and Goliath. Florsheim’s is a giant brand that’s been around since the late nineteenth century. After some financial difficulties, the Weyco Group acquired it in 2002, with the idea of putting it back on track. Weyco’s Chairman and CEO Thomas W. Florsheim, happens to be the grandson of Florsheim’s founder. Weyco is upscaling the brand’s profile, thanks in part to its collaboration with the Duckies. This deal has given “the Budweiser of men’s shoes” designer edge. On the flip side, it’s put money in the Duckies’ pockets so they can keep doing what they love – designing cutting edge fashion in limited quantities.
The Duckie-Florsheim deal continues to expand. Women’s shoes and socks are coming soon. Socks will retail for around $25 and the shoes top out in the $300’s. All of this was the result of Daniel’s knack for recognizing the right product placement.

TheFE: You do your own PR, that’s one of Daniel’s big roles, right?

Steven: Daniel is as good as KCD.
KCD did not get us a cartoon of me pinning a kid’s trousers in the New Yorker www.newyorker.com that ran in the “Talk” section of the April 6, 2007 issue.

Daniel: It was the most advantageous piece because Lizzie Widdicombe, who wrote the article, mentioned the Florsheims Robert William Asch wore with our suit to the prom. They saw it, and they called. That was one of the top five editorials we’ve ever had.


Ms. Widdicombe’s piece features a sketch of Steven tailoring a high school boy in Duckie Brown for his prom. The teen, Robert William Asch,
had written the Duckies an email titled, “A Not So Ridiculous Proposition”, asking them to dress him for his prom. When it was all over, Steven decided to gift Asch the $3,800 outfit and happened to accessorize it with a pair of black Florsheims.

TheFE: Now that things are growing, with Mrs. Brown and Florsheim women’s will you be taking on a power PR firm?

Steven: If we had a very specific goal in mind, but Daniel really does it all.
He produces the show. He’s got a background in television and a flair for production and the drama of presentation.


Daniel: I like to do it. We say “no” More often than not. We lend out to stylists we know or like. You have to make the effort. I love it when Deborah Watson comes in. She’s highly edited, she picks four pieces, and you get four fantastic pages.
There are less than 5 images in 10 years that I love, that Florsheim cartoon was one of them.
I’ll do it [the PR] for as long as I can. I can still answer my own phone so I just do. We show at the tent because that press pit is jamming.
All press is good press. If you believe the good stuff you have to believe the bad stuff.

Steven: Tim [Blanks] said to us after our last show, “Now you’ve hit the ceiling, you have to go to Paris”, but we’re New York designers, this is where we live.

TheFE: So your end-goal for Duckie Brown is…

Steven: We want to go forward, to work with new shapes, and see how they break the rules. We question why things are the way they are.

Daniel: You have to pay attention, look for good collaborations; we like to do collaborations that enrich us. At the end of the day it’s about the work. I’d rather have someone do a diffusion line – let’s call it “Just Duckie”. They set up all of the infrastructure and we design it. We’re different than many designers in that we don’t have that sense that ‘it’s not enough’.

Duckie Brown is the sun, and everything emanates from there. We just want to sustain what we have, to see what happens to the body when you make a shift. It’s about doing something that is interesting and indulging our curiosity. It’s not intellectual, as in Hussein Chalaian intellectual. I like being conclusive, not exclusive. What we do is fashion that’s from our gut.

DUCKIE BROWN s/s2011: Fashion Vs. Clothes, Post #1

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY


My interview with Daniel Silver and Steven Cox got me thinking about an issue that is terribly important to the fashion community – fashion vs. clothes.
How then, does one make the distinction? I decided to base the rest of this fashion week asking designers what THEY think.
First-up: Duckie Brown's Daniel Silver and Steven Cox.

Although Daniel and Silver work together brilliantly to produce season after season of clothes that continue to inspire us AND SELL, they are divided on this issue.

Blame it on the Fashion Calendar.
The two designers disagreed over the question I posed pre-show backstage. Waving the thick sheaf of pages at them I volleyed a barrage of questions at Daniel, “Why is the FC so crowded? Is it good or bad? Who are you hoping will buy your designs in this time of economic turmoil?”
Although I directed the query at Daniel, Steven was listening and also jumped into what resulted in a lively conversation on this topic.

DANIEL: What we’re seeing here [pointing to the FC] is the democratization of fashion. It’s become a media circus. There’s a tidal wave of bloggers and designers; everyone can do it and everyone has a chance, it's very democratic.

STEVEN: I disagree, call me a snob, but fashion should be aspirational. There’s sportswear, and there’s fashion. Think back to those shows at Dior, in the fifties. Entry was limited only to the select few, and there was a sense of ceremony to the whole thing, versus what we have now - which is this. And, by the way, that’s the most interesting question we’ve been asked this morning.

One thing they both agree on is that they [Duckie Brown] make fashion, not sportswear and they do NOT like to be compared to multi-billion dollar sportswear khakis that knock-out uninspired khakis season after season.
Does this though, mean that by taking the road less travelled, that they won’t make any money?

Says Daniel, “When people ask me how we’re doing, I tell them, ‘Well, we’ll still here, and we’re still in business’.”

As far as knowing who their customer is, they’re crystal clear on that point. As my former editor, Jim Zebora, now the Regional Business Editor for Hearst, posited, the Asian Market is hungry for and appreciates fashion.
Continues Daniel, “The Japanese have saved us. Going back to the question regarding the overly crowded show schedule, what’s interesting is to know who on that list will still be here in nine years.”

As Daniel and Steven promised, we came to see fashion, and fashion is what we saw. Presentation is part of the packaging that makes it fashion not just a bunch of clothes buyers are deciding they will or won’t buy.
Upon entering the show venue, I was confounded by the empty bleachers that made up an entire half of the show venue. A FULL ONE HALF of the venue was occupied by empty bleachers, replacing seats and leaving many fashion hopefuls outside in the standing line having to content themselves with watching this remarkable show on the HD Screens in the lobby.
The models walked down the runway and then went and posed on the bleachers. This blatant “waste” of space was as effective a device as when fashion companies buy ad space in hyper expensive glossies and then use one of the pages as pure white space. IT’s a colossal gesture and an effective one.
In the case of the Duckie Brown show, it was particularly jolting as only 15 minutes earlier, Daniel had told me that they’ve “never had the flood of requests [they] were inundated with this season.”
That aside, it was the best of both worlds, a runway show and presentation wrapped into one. The clothes are for the man who wants to be on the razor’s edge of what’s cool. That translated to easy dove gray long shorts, blousy tops, linen tunics and some ikat print pieces and a flash of color as in a bright green pant. Gant, Tommy or Nautica, it’s not.