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UNTIL VERY RECENTLY, I WAS NOT that much of a fan of Internet shopping. By "shopping", I mean shopping for clothing or jewelry. In the past, my excursions on the Internet have yielded mixed results.
There was the red tartan plaid vest I HAD TO HAVE from Lands' End which I saw at a preview event. I was in the midst of my tartan phase and ordered it as soon as it showed up as "available" on www.landsend.com
I wore it once and back it went - it was too thin.
Sometime before that, there was the attempt to buy a "simple" one-piece swimsuit online through www.jcrew.com
I thought I had that one covered as I'd ordered several styles in size 2 and 4 - just to be sure. THAT ended up with a trip to the bricks and mortar store at which point, I gave up and returned everything. Happily, I discovered SWANKINI's mix and match bathingsuits at that low point.
[Swankini got a post a few months back on TheFE] Maison Martin Margiela Melly Suede Platform Ankle Boots
Recently, like everyone else, I'm fascinated by glam sites such as www.giltgroupe.com and www.ideeli.com and now most recently, with www.tobi.com
I'm proud to have TOBI.COM as my advertiser. The other sites are great, but....
I'm not knocking them, and I've bought a few smaller things such as luxury candles and towels and been very happy but I didn't like the competitive aspect of having to preview GILT the night before and competing for items I liked when the clock strikes 12 noon and the auction goes off. I belong to both but the "Sale ends in 1 day" bugs me as I'm usually just too busy to schedule this kind of thing in. What got me TO SHOP on the Internet in the first place was the notion that I could do it whenever I wanted. Can't sleep at 2a.m? No prob - start window shopping on the laptop until you're feeling productive enough to actually do some work, or relaxed, just go back to bed.
tobi's new site is a shop WHEN YOU feel like it proposition. Yes, there are sales [love those!] but they're on for a while. The biggest draw of the newly redesigned site is that it's practically goof-proof. I fell in love with two items, really hard. The first is a red and white stripe "twist tie striped halter dress" from Maison Martin Margiela that's perfect for my trip to Mexico in April. By spending a minute checking it out, I can see how the dress looks from every conceivable angle and because they even tell you the model's measurements, I can imaging how it would look ON ME.
Leslie, the model, is wearing a size small, and they even provide her measurements. Like any good personal shopper [which this site comes close to being] Tobi tells you about the designer, and provides styling tips. Not sure which accessories would work? No problem. Tobi suggests Melly Suede Platform Ankle Boots in Grey by ROSEGOLD and a Leather Triangle Cocktail Ring by HOUSE OF HARLOW. Leather Triangle Cocktail Ring
Guess what? I clicked on those links and found that I LOVE House of Harlow and had always intended to investigate Nicole Ritchie's brand, but never got around to it. Tobi made it really easy and convenient. As some woman's bumper sticker read, "The New Busy is not the Old Busy", and as such convenience is key, critical really, when it comes to deciding between your many options.
In the end, I didn't find the stylish PJ's I'd hoped to locate on Tobi, but I DID find a missing item in my wardrobe AND it's on sale. The Matt Bernson "Gitanes Parisian Smoking Shoes" reduced from $154 to $92 are EXACTLY what I need to go with the vintage Rena Lange smoking suit I snagged for $35 at Deja Vu Consignment before Xmas. Matt Bernson Gitanes Parisian Smoking Shoes
My only fear - that I've waited too long and someone grabbed the last pair of size 8's when I was busy writing this post. Every fashionista has a story about "the one that got away". What's yours? I'd love to know! Share your story in the "comments" section of TheFE. **LAST, but not least, use my unique promo code "EXAM20" for 20% off orders to all you readers who order after reading this post!!
Text, Vivian Kelly
I LOVE THE BERKSHIRES - specifically that little pocket of the world that includes Stockbridge, Lakeville, Interlaaken, and now, Great Barrington.The Red Lion Inn, the piece de resistance at 30 Main Street in Stockbridge has been on my "LOVE!" list since I was seven years old, and my Papa took me swimming in the pool there. Since then, I've stayed at most of the buildings, including the O'Brien and Stevens Houses with two different husbands and in all four seasons at some point. My most recent trip was this past Martin Luther King weekend, where we stayed in the Main House, on the Third Floor, right across from the Library. What could be better? With plenty of time to explore, we walked the floors, checking out the display cases, and the Norman Rockwells on the walls, and looked for SIMON, the pampered "house cat". Simon is a celebrity at the Red Lion, you can even buy pictures of him in the Gift Shop downstairs. Another great thing, pet lovers, pets are actually welcome at this lovely 4-Star Establishment - gasp. Just remember, we're not in France, so they can't hang in the dining rooms and sit on your lap when you're downstairs in the Lion's Den enjoying the live music. That aside, it was amazing to step back in time and take the historic birdcage elevator up to the room and to wake-up and go down to breakfast without ever having to go outside. Of course, THe HUnt is always on, and this weekend was no exception.The score this time was next door, at Seven Arts, at 44 Main Street. We went in to kill 10 minutes and to warm-up and left 45 minutes later with 4 fabulous LIFE Magazines which I'm getting framed to display in the Home Office.There were tons of pop culture ones to pull from but the winners who went home with me: Jackie O, Jane Fonda, Ingrid Bergman, and an anonymous [but very glam] young couple living the gypsy life in Greece in the Seventies. I went a little overboard, but they had a deal going on, buy 3 get 1 free, so....Anyhow, the total only came to $37.08 for unforgettable images of 3 of my fave fashion icons.The other score was in Great Barrington, which is FAR more chic than the run-down town I remember from years past. If you're pressed for time, hit SOCo, have some of their famous ice cream and then a cup of Harney's chamomile tea to warm up and go right across the street to KAREN ALLEN Fiber Arts. I am most definitely NOT the "crunchy granola" type of girl you see in places like Park Slope, Brooklyn, so my galpal D., had to talk me into going in. D. has incredible personal style and I "die" every-time I visit her current living space, so anytime she tells me something is great, I go with it, because she's always right, whether it's about someplace in Nantucket, Ridgefield, or now, Great Barrington. We discovered colorful children's hats in the back, handmade by Karen's sister, Kathleen Crawford. I restrained myself, and bought only 1 of the 3 I liked, but like Arnold [Schwarzenneger] so famously said, "I'll be back."
Lodging and Shopping Info
The Red Lion Inn
30 Main Street
Stockbridge, MA 01262
(413) 298-5545
(413) 298-5130 Fax www.redlioninn.com
Seven Arts
44 Main Street
PO Box 520
Stockbridge, MA 01262
There's been so much hoopla about THE Royal Wedding slated for April 2011, that I'm "over it" before the actual event has actually taken place. On the bright side though, I'm thrilled that it's helped to bring additional interest to far more interesting Royal Fashion icons, such as the one I'm taking on today - Wallis Simpson, also known as The Duchess of Windsor. Like Kate Middleton, Wallis was another "commoner" who married way "above her station".
There are several books in my shopping cart at www.amazon.com including The Duchess of Windsor, the Secret Life, and the rather sinister-sounding The Darkness of Wallis Simpson, by Rose Tremain.
Here's a woman I want to know more about, and whatever I discover after reading these books, I still love the look!
An email from Wilmot Communications hit my inbox, telling me about Carolee's "Style Icon" Collection. It's right down my alley, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. With Julia Cushman from PWC's office, hooked me up with Carolee’s head designer Heather Williams who answered some of my most pressing questions about this Fashion Icon and helped to dissect her style. Better still, Heather chose two key pieces in the Carolee collection that answer the question I always have: “How do I get the look?”
Below, Heather shares her accessorizing know-how with TheFE.
The Fashion Examiner: Describe the Wallis Simpson look. After cruising the Internet briefly to refresh, it seems quite understated. I seem to remember that she was fond of pins....?
Heather Williams: The key to the Duchess' look is elegant simplicity. She wore the finest couture dresses, with a ladylike refinement that provided a simple and polished background for her exquisite jewelry. In fact, she was known to have dresses designed simply to show off a piece of jewelry. A woman today may not be able to afford the Duchess' designer dresses, but she has a wealth of well-tailored and refined silhouettes that are currently the trend in fashion.
TheFE: How important was jewelry to her look? What are the key pieces one must have to "do Wallis.”
Heather Williams: The Duchess' jewelry is legendary, and that's where she had a touch of flamboyance. She loved pins, particularly those with animal themes. Her colorful flamingo pin is perhaps her most famous piece, along with her beloved panther pin.
She often wore pearls as well, which of course are the hallmark of the ladylike look she embodied. All of these items are lovingly recreated in Carolee's Style Icons collection for today's Duchess-inspired woman to enjoy.
Most of the Duchess' jewelry had a story, as it was given to her by the Duke to mark special occasions in their life together. Her famous jeweled cross bracelet, which she wore on her wedding day, is perhaps the best example. Each cross is engraved with the date of a special event that symbolized the love and devotion she enjoyed from the Duke. Again, Carolee makes a beautiful re-creation of this bracelet for everyone to enjoy.
In short, any woman who wants to emulate the elegant look of the Duchess can easily do so by choosing well-tailored feminine looks in fashion, being extremely well groomed and polished and choosing lookalikes of the Duchess' own favorite jewelry from Carolee.
TheFE: Would you please put together 1 or even 2 Wallis looks and how to get them using Carolee?
Must-have Item #1: The Carolee Flamingo pin
Must-have Item #2: The Carolee Charm bracelet
Both give you a little bit of that Royal 'je ne sais quois' Wallis had in spades.
The flamingo pin is $75, the charm bracelet, $150. For more information, visit the website or call 1-800-227-6533 & Select Option 1.
Okay, I was happy with my 1st Annual FE Gift Guide, but I got my vicarious celebrity fix in when I checked-out Robert Verdi's 2010 Gift Guide. Robert is a television personality, celebrity stylist, and general go-to guy of good taste. He's also one of my most fabulous fashion acquaintances, whom I first met years ago at Mercedes Benz Miami Fashion Week Swim. At that time, he was the spokesperson for Sunglass Hut. Watching Robert working alternating pairs of Pradas, Guccis and Dolce frames gave me a whole new view on how a simple pair of sunnies could change your entire look. After that, I don't have any trouble understanding why women will happily drop upwards of $350 for a pair of Chanel or Prada frames.
Robert's one of the celebrity stylists who actually deserves the title. The names in his A-list orbit who he shares with us in his private Holiday gifting list video include: The Jolie-Pitts, Tina Fey, Robert Pattinson, Fergie, Beyonce, and more of that ilk. When you're dealing with that crowd, you'd BETTER have some pretty great ideas. These A-listers have EVERYTHING, but Robert's come-up with the just-right gets for each and every one of them.
Small surprise there. Robert's CV includes co-creating and hosting Full Frontal Fashion,co-hosting Surprise by Design, with co-host, Rebecca Cole, where they redesigned a room/exterior space at someone’s home on a $2,500 budget, in only one day. [The show became the Discovery Channel’s highest rated daytime show.] Add to that, his gigs hosting Fashion Police, and styling Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria Parker, as well as designing two of her Los Angeles, California homes. That's just the tip of the iceberg and if this has served to whet your appetite,visit www.luxelaboratory.com.
In the meantime, don't waste any more time and check-out Robert's entertaining video and find-out all about who's getting what. Robert's a great showman and in this video he bears a bit of a resemblance to Mike Meyers, one of my favorite comedians.
A few teasers: Koolaburra "Victoria boots"
for Fergie [love!], a cool Timex for Robert Pattinson [a great watch does NOT have to be expensive-o], and my personal favorite, a bottle of Perrier-Jouet champagne for William and "Kate the Commoner". It's a great bottle of bubbly with the added bonus of beautiful white flowers [painted on the bottle] that will never die on you. Cheers!
TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY This post is about my newly found respect for the Power of the Accessory and my ever-increasing admiration for fashion stylists, such as Amanda Ross, Mary Alice Stephenson, and Colette Malouf. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and one little accessory can create your entire look. The right well-chosen accessory has the magic to turn mere clothes into fashion. While this statement is hardly a news flash, it wasn’t until I worked with Colette Malouf that I really experienced the phenomenon of optimizing my look with only one key piece.
I’d RSVP’d to the Shiseido pop up store spring 2011 preview event organized by Kaplow PR many weeks ago to look at makeup, not accessories. Nonetheless, I spent the first half of my visit admiring Colette Malouf’s latest collection of mermaid inspired hair accessories. The colors were straight from the Technicolor palette of marine life in the Caribbean. As if that weren’t enough, I got the added bonus of a personal consultation with Colette, in which she got me to look at myself through a different set of eyes. This is something that a good stylist does – they look at you and suggest, not demand, that you try a few things – like a different hair part.
My hope walking into the event had been to continue the conversation that Lisa Johnson, my blogger guru of www.lisajohnsonfitness.com and I had started with Dick Page, backstage at United Bamboo. I’d looked forward to picking up where we’d left off about what lip and eye colors Dick was feeling for, as well as some off-topic sharing about exercise regimens and the joys of cooking.
Dick was not there, but meeting and working with Colette Malouf, another fashion star, and someone I’ve always wanted to meet was more than enough to make my initial disappointment disappear like a puff of smoke. I’d of course, heard of Colette – she’s a longtime member of the CFDA and one of the most prominent names in the accessories world. Colette, who New York Magazine crowned, “the Queen of Accessories”, started out as a hairstylist. In 1987 her fledgling business took off like a rocket after she introduced “The Malouf Pouf”. She elevated the humble ponytail holder into a must-have item that quickly became a staple in Kelly and Birkin bags all around the country. That one little accessory was responsible for helping fashionable women get through those tough in-between blowout days. By her second year, she reported $1million in revenues. Colette built on her success, combining her experience working as a hair stylist, and her artistic eye, turning boring every day hair into a woman’s best accessory.
My impromptu styling lesson with Colette sold me on the power of hair accessories. Having her practiced eye analyze my frustrating growing-in my not quite there yet bob and suggesting easy solutions, was a Christmas Gift that arrived early.
Colette’s part of that rare breed that possesses artistic genius as well as business sense.. As I settled into her chair, she told me that Shiseido had only asked her to have some of her clips and headbands on hand for their event so that attendees could have a look at them. Instead of just giving product, Colette decided that SHE herself – would do a PA and meet and greet the editors. As she played with my hair, all the while analyzing it, she reflected, “I’m a real person, there IS a Colette Malouf. People won’t know that though, if I don’t get out there. It’s important to be an extroverted [fill in the blank, designer, editor, writer].”
Colette – a Soho NYC native, has been eating and breathing fashion since was a child and has been in the fashion business for 23 years. She used to sneak into her Grandmother’s attic and spend hours among thirties, forties, and fifties iconic designer clothing and accessories treasures in there, such as Schiaparelli, Dior, Norell and Hattie Carnagie. “Jewel encrusted heels, crocodile purses white kid gloves, and black resin cigarette holders fascinated me for hours. It became an obsession and today I have managed to save a closet full of favorites. This is the foundation of my inspiration to create elegance in an artistic manner” says Colette. COLETTE’S STYLING 411: “I look at face shape, texture, cut, lifestyle. Then, I do the stylistic part, something that contrasts with your look.”
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In my case, she took in my working uniform - black Joan Jett tee, navy cashmere sweater, dark jeans, moccasins, square jaw, pale makeup-free face, and small 5’5”frame – and dropped the data into her artistic data bank/computer. What the creative computer spat out was the idea to try an extraordinary Mermaid meets Old Hollywood headpiece I never would have envisioned myself wearing.
Before adding the headpiece, Colette revealed that special something it takes to be a good stylist. She showed me one simple thing that had me [gasp!] loving my hair. The frustration I’d been feeling for weeks about my unruly hair dissolved after fifteen minutes with her. After playing with my hair for a minute or so she suggested something that broke me out of my comfort zone: changing my part.
Colette was the first hairstylist to tell me to part my hair from right to left. By the time I got out of her chair, she’d convinced me to celebrate, rather than curse the 3 cowlicks on that side. The reverse part lifted my forehead and showed my hairline, which she pronounced “pretty”. I thought we were done, but she decided it needed something more. She began to experiment with some of the headbands from her Mermaid inspired collection of silk and beaded bows and headbands.
After rejecting a delicate lace and pearl seed pearl headband that resembled sparkly sea coral, she selected a green silk organza “seaweed” headband. The band does double duty as a tiny hat that’s got a forties nuance. Insta-glamour. As I gazed at the gorgeous confection, she placed it on my head and adjusted the “leaves”. It was pure fashion, and I wanted it, but was it …. “too much”? Too Isabella Blow? When I wondered aloud about that, Colette skillfully dismissed the notion, encouraging me to be adventurous rather than making me feel foolish for asking the question. She suggested that I should maximize the piece by wearing it with all black. The silk shantung "bendaband", contrasted against the black, would pop, as a Harry Winston necklace does on a jeweler’s velvet pad. I mentally pictured my February Fashion Week uniform – black Prada combat boots, dark jeans, black cashmere pullover and skinny black wool Hilfiger coat. It’s comfortable, but when I’m backstage, surrounded by TV reporters decked-out in the latest “it” 5” Louboutins, I invariably wonder if I should have made more of an effort. Was I “fashionable”? The Duckies jokingly refer to the TV hosts as “the young curly haired girls with the mikes”, but nonetheless, I secretly envy their perfectly executed hair and makeup, expensive figure-hugging dress and heel combo. I’ve held-out, refusing to participate in the backstage dress-up wars. Number one, I can’t wear heels and number two, I’m not 22. What I want is to feel fashionable, not “dressed-up”. Dressing-up is for cute toddlers who want to look like Disney Princesses, or for those who are trying to play some kind of character. I’m a professional adult women and I want to look like myself, only better. I want that “easiness” that fashion personality, Abe Gurko spoke of this morning, when we chatted about his blog, www.imeanwhat.com and about what good fashion really is. He referenced the scene in “The Women”, [George Cukor’s stylish 1939 film], when they did the show and loves it because “it all seemed so effortless.” That effortless ease, that put together look is what I’m really “going for” when I get dressed, whether it’s for fashion week or for everyday. Why NOT wear something extravagant and fabulous, like Colette’s headpiece any day of the week if it can make me feel as elegant like an old-time Hollywood stars, Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell? The piece has the elegance of that era, but is not overly costume-y or retro. Once my hair hits my shoulders, I’ll invest in one of Colette’s chignon and figure 8 pieces that will transform my ordinary red-brown hair into the -chic French twist Grace Kelly and Kim Novak wore in their Hitchcock heroine performances. Colette demoed that look a few minutes later, transforming a Shiseido Exec in attendance; deftly twisting thick shoulder length into a French twist [no product!]. in less than two minutes flat, just like in her “Twist of the Wrist” YouTube video. The Exec and her friends were awestruck; with her new do, she really could pass for a Hitchcock heroine. For a tutorial on how to get this look, watch Colette’s YouTube video, “Twist of the Wrist”
Thanks to Colette’s styling advice, even with hair in the painful growing out stage, I will at long last feel fashionable while conducting backstage interviews. I’ll be wearing my fashion uniform of black tee, black slacks and black coat, as usual. This season though, I’m excited about my look. Although I’m only adding Colette’s green headpiece, that one special piece will make all the difference.
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.
A great fashion show is memorable because of the clothes, the hair, the makeup, the styling and the accessories. I’m dedicating this post to one of the supporting players who helped make the Naeem Khan s/s2011 show a memorable and fitting end to NYFW.
Like her husband, Naeem, Ranjana creates beautiful, high-end products, which are sold at top retailers Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Harrods. Around two years ago, Ranjana made a career change and shut down her Phoenix Hand Embroidery Company, which worked with some of fashion’s top houses including: Stella McCartney, Jean Paul Gaultier and Lanvin. Remember those tulle-covered pearls at Lanvin? If you never got one of those wonderful bib Lanvin necklaces, don’t despair, Ranjana RK for HSN black ribbon bib necklace at $229.90 qualifies as “fashion” for about one zero less at the end of the higher end version. Before you wrinkle your nose at the name “HSN [Home Shopping Network] have a good look first. Her lower-priced RK for HSN represents the “low” end of the equation – but it, unlike Rachel Zoe’s faux coyote vest for QVC, looks anything but down-market. On the "high" side of the spectrum is the Leather-trim bib with black lava rocks with marble and onyx stones in various shapes and sizes, available at Neiman's for $950. These two necklaces, and the crystal silk drop earrings exemplify how Ranjana has successfully straddled high-low accessorizing. And finally, at the very tip top of the high-end side are the unique pieces she collaborated on with Naeem for his latest collection. I got to see the ones that didn’t make it onto the runway and each and every one of them was a stunner.
