If it’s hard to generalize about what’s selling, what can sellers of craft bank on? For one thing, the need for a carefully crafted, dynamic online presence – be it a shop, website, Twitter account, or Facebook page. Whether sellers are actually selling online, they need to be marketing online.
Please take some time to watch this video and get to know a new fashion collective on the block. It gives us such joy to see fashion incubators and collectives popping up across the country. Why leave the community you love for New York or L.A., when all the resources you need are right at your fingertips? Detroit Fashion Collective and others (see below) hope you will stay put and create your fashion vision from your home locale. They also intend to help in a big way. These organizations are creating a new model, ultimately one that benefits both the designer where they are — be it Detroit, Seattle, Portland, Chicago — as well as the entire community around it. We are thankful to see this happening, the future is bright darlings, just make sure you are looking –and shopping– in the right places. If you know of a fashion incubator near you, please comment and let us know! Happy Friday, stay smashing, and spread the word.
In the “Healing Sutras” I use contemporary embroidery on antique fabric as a canvas to explore the common threads that bind countless generations of women. Wounds – both physical and psychological – are given life using delicate, meditative stitches. Traditionally thought of as “woman’s work”, sewing is a time consuming and contemplative process, each thoughtfully considered stitch becoming integral to the whole.
The image at bottom is blurry – yes, and so are the memories of Iceland Fashion Week a few years ago when we first learned of Brazilian independent designer Helen Rodel. Her inspiration and vision, however, is crystal clear. Thanks to Not Just A Label you can be transported right into her studio and drink that inspiration up via this video below. This one is not to be missed darlings, grab your favorite beverage and take the time to watch.
Please take some time to read this interview, and get to know independent designer Rhonda Puccini and her line Misilejust a bit better.We hope this peek into her world, and into the daily life an independent designer makes you pause, be inspired, and always want to know the designer who made the clothes you are wearing. We want you to buy a garment she envisioned – then created – and rock it like the song that was playing while she sewed the garment together. We have a feeling that would make her one happy darling…
Misile is an independent label designed and manufactured in New York, U.S. We do not mass produce any of our garments. The concept behind the label was to mix high end quality with street wear style.
Rhonda Puccini, Misile
Darlings: How did you get into fashion, and when did you start your own line: Misile? Rhonda: I studied art and design in college and first started working in luxury men’s wear at Hickey Freeman in upstate New York. I spent almost 5 years as their assistant designer. They manufactured all of their suits in house as well as Burberry and Lagerfeld. Although menswear doesn’t excite me one bit, it was a great opportunity to learn high end garment construction and hand finishing techniques. My appreciation for quality American made garments grew and ultimately the concept for Misile was born. I registered the company in NY back in 2003 but didn’t really do anything. It wasn’t until around 2006 that I started to get regular orders coming in. At that point I’d say Misile was a business.
Darlings: Who or what inspires you and your work? Rhonda: I have a legit obsession with music. I spend way too much money on iTunes. But music is a huge inspiration to me. I also have a record player and tons of albums in the studio. Sometimes you can actually determine exactly what I’m listening to by a theme that season. Last season I was obsessed with making disco dresses because I was in love with Miami horror’s new album which is very 70’s disco. I’m not a big fan of getting tons of fashion mags. I think if you are constantly scouring through fashion mags you run the risk of using other people’s inspiration and ideas as your own. My best ideas come to me late at night usually while I’m staring at fabric with a great album on.
Darlings: Who is your customer? How do you market yourself? Rhonda: My customer is confident. She wants to stand out in a crowd, but still be comfortable. The label is high end, everyday wearable, city chic.
Darlings: What does your average day entail, and what is your favorite part? Rhonda: My days are pretty crazy. I cut, sew, press, inspect garments, make and grade patterns, and hand finish our higher end pieces. I make trips to the post office every day. I return phone calls and e-mails for at least an hour every day. I research new boutiques, send out look books, line sheets and press kits. There’s really no end to all the tasks I need to do. I love what I do though. If I didn’t there would be no way I could willingly work the hours I do. But in all honesty, if it were up to me, I would just make new samples all day. I love draping and pattern making. But there’s a ton more that goes into a fashion business than just making new pieces.
Darlings: If your studio walls could talk, what would they say? Rhonda: Turn down that music!!!!!!
Darlings: Do you have any current fashion obsessions? Rhonda: I have a pair of Marc by Marc Jacobs high-waisted jeans that I practically live in, along with anything mustard yellow. As far as accessories I think Coco & Breezy has the best sunglasses right now. Very reminiscent of the early 90s. … And shopping for old disco dresses.
Darlings: To this point what is the most important lesson you have learned that helps you maintain your business and collection? Rhonda: As far as maintaining my business I have had to learn to put my business first. It feels at times that I am either sleeping or working. This is primarily due to the fact that I AM always sleeping or working. When you run a small design company you have to learn that luck only helps the ‘lucky’ people. The rest of us need to make things happen ourselves. If that means working from 8am to 2:30 am to get orders out, you just learn to do it. As far as the collections themselves, I am always learning and challenging myself as a designer. I go from loving my collection to hating it after about 3 weeks. I think this is in my nature as a designer to be bored quickly. But I also believe this is why my line is ever evolving. Every season I find myself doing something new and making a better collection than the season prior. For S/S 2012 we phased out most of the casual jersey cotton and incorporated more luxe fabrics like various silks. The line resembles nothing of our past lines and I hope this growth will continue for each season. I think this will keep Misile fresh and our customers coming back.
Darlings: Does your community feel like a supportive locale for emerging designers? Rhonda: New York City is by far one of the best cities for supporting emerging designers. I am originally from Upstate New York, and unfortunately they are not. My line isn’t carried in a single store Upstate. Yet I get orders from places as far as the U.K. and Sydney. I have also lived right outside of Austin and Miami and both cities were very supportive of fresh talent. But to any talented artists that aren’t getting local support, I’d recommend using the best resource a small start up company has…..the internet!
Darlings: Do you have any events/projects that you are getting ready for in the near future? Rhonda: This year has been off to a good start for us. We are experiencing a ton of changes in 2011. We signed a lease and are in the process of moving our production to Brooklyn. This will save me a great deal of travel time (and my sanity) every month. Misile was also just signed onto a 2 year contract with Spring UP, a multi-line showroom in Milan. We will be their first American label. They will start our selling campaign in London on August 4th and in Milan on September 9th. I’m hoping this will be the start of a much needed growth for the company.
Misile Haute Couture Collection
We also just began offering a Haute Couture Collection along with our regular Ready To Wear collection. Our Haute Couture Collection is entirely ‘made to measure’. Clients contact me directly and we can fill those styles based on their specific measurements at no extra cost. A/W 2011 was the first season of this addition. It’s actually where Misile came from back during my start up. I used to do mostly ‘real’ Couture. I know that term gets abused these days. I supported a designer in New York with all of the technical aspects, fitting her clients, making the patterns and constructing the garments. I found that around 2006 I was so busy with RTW that Couture was phased out. This Haute Couture project will allow me to have a collection that meets somewhere in the middle and give clients a more personal shopping experience. Prices in this collection range from $385.00 for silk palazzo pants to 2400.00 for our floor length silk and feather gown.
Have you ever thought about the legacy fashion is leaving behind? Have you ever looked at pictures of garments from the past and wondered who the wearer was? I have. I do it all the time. When I get fixated on each tiny detail of a garment, the details start to reveal the secrets of the wearer. I imagine the conversations that swirled around seams and wish each little stitch would speak so I could hear what the sewer had to say while methodically sewing the garment. Click through the below links to see how the artists currently featured at Portland Museum of Art create a storyline through garments. Let your imagination run wild. What cast of characters plays out in your wardrobe, or designers… in your collections?
Inherent in the structure of a garment is the story of its purpose, time, and place. ‘Refashioned‘, on view May 21 through July 31, 2011, at the Portland Museum of Art, examines these stories in the work of three contemporary artists. Lauren Gillette, Anne Lemanski, and Angelika Werth use the configuration of an article of clothing or hairstyle as an armature for historical narrative. Their work begins with the desire to communicate details of a life revealed in the conventions of outward appearance. In sculptural jackets, hairstyles, and dresses, the artists reconstruct identities, reuse materials, and reinvent historical personas. Refashioned is the third in a series of exhibitions called Circa that explores compelling aspects of contemporary art in the state of Maine and beyond.
NYC darlings, head to the Textile Arts Center (TAC) this Friday night for an Earth Day open house. Abigail Doan and TAC invite you to join them and explore ideas on sustainable fashion, design, and our shared environment. There will be giveaways and goodies, so get there early! For the full details head over the the TAC website, and be sure to RSVP if you can make it: rsvp@textileartscenter.com. While you are at it, surf around the TAC blog for more inspiration like this Paris street mending project below…ooh lala, we love it!
Hello from San Miguel de Allende (SMA) darlings! I arrived here last Saturday evening; my lovely arrival hosts orientated me to this beautiful place with vino, tacos, Sunday brunch and a tour. (Thank you P&M…) After a siesta on Sunday they shipped me off around the corner to Fabrica La Aurora. Delirious from travel and the afternoon sun I didn’t think about investigating where I was headed, I simply nodded yes and strolled out the door. I took the shortcut down a dirt path, found the building, walked in and read this sign:
I enjoyed my first afternoon in SMA strolling the hallways, galleries, and courtyards of this beautiful art and design center housed in a historic textile factory. It was a quiet Sunday there and not everything was open, the space felt hauntingly beautiful. I had never seen any of the enormous, beautiful machines anywhere before, and indeed they are very much like ghosts now.
Wooden presses used to stamp unbleached muslin
As a working factory, La Aurora was equipped with cylinders, spindles, and looms to process the bales of raw cotton that arrived to the plant from the cotton-producing areas of La Laguna in the center part of Mexico and from the states of Sinaloa and Sonora. The process of cleaning, ginning, carding, and spinning the raw fiber into a yarn or thread was all done on the premises. (read more history…)
I wished that I could go back in time and see those machines in action, or that this factory never had to halt it’s work which was so integral to the community here. These wishes were tempered by the studios, galleries, and boutiques breathing new life into the space…
I am feeling right at home here in San Miguel. At home my mantle is covered with heart-shaped rocks I have been collecting for years, some found, some gifts. Since SMA is considered the heart of Mexico (as it is where Mexico first gained it’s independence from Spain) there are hearts everywhere, in every shop … some have entire walls covered with hearts by many different artists (no photos allowed). It’s so darling to be here surrounded by all of these independent hearts, just like all of you.
The first Friday of each month equals First Friday Art Walk in Portland, Maine. Picture streets packed with happy art walkers feasting their eyes on creativity spilling out of every nook and cranny. Darling Dina Varano has a sketchbook on view in The Sketchbook Project, which has landed there for another stop on it’s tour at Space Gallery. If I had a magic carpet I would swoop in and scoop up TrishDarling, we’d jump off at Otto Pizza to fuel our wandering, and then pop into some of these stops below. See the full listing of events here.
“Found” explores the lives of things after they’ve been discarded and rediscovered–the cast off, the first attempt, repurposed fabric, lost images–put together, these disparate elements unify each other and create a language of desire and acquisition. Featuring vintage Japanese indigo textiles, mid-century studio pottery, vintage snapshots.
