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style wars

Mo

Independent Fashion Community: Denver

by Mo on June 25, 2010

Fashion slows down in Denver tonight. The Fabric Lab and the Denver Art Museum (DAM), as part of their First Friday Untitled series, present a local fashion throwdown! Why? To slow down the process. Stop, think, and appreciate how fashion happens, and where your clothes come from. We dig it. Read more teasers about the night ahead here on the DAM blog (yes, that was fun to write) where they chat with designer Tricia Hoke. Our favorite excerpt from that conversation below. Happy Friday darlings!

stylewars_2_4x6

The theme of this month’s Untitled is Sloth. We’re focusing on slowing down and appreciating some of the awesome things in life – food, art, music and fashion. What do you think are some things most people don’t take the time to notice or appreciate about fashion?
Fashion is something that people do not slow down and appreciate anymore.  Just think about the process of a garment….
You start with a fiber… it is then spun and twisted into a yarn, then it is either woven or knit into a fabric. The fabric is then dyed or printed, and sold and bought. The garment is then designed, pattern drafted, fit, made (custom or manufactured), sold and bought again, merchandised, packed, shipped, etc., and all of this before even reaching an end user!
The amount of people it takes to get one style of “Levi’s” on to your butt is too many to count, Ha ha. It takes painstaking hours for a large company to get even a simple style out the door, they just happen to make 150 thousand as compared to one or two. Compare that to custom clothing, and the hours are not much different… except they make it up in volume where a custom garment will be more expensive because there is usually just one.
Slow fashion (a lot like slow food) does not have to be hand sewn, a machine is fine… It is more about the process of ordering a piece custom made locally, making something yourself. Even re-making something from your own closet could be considered slow fashion.  It is a new term, and it is a term that many fashion industry people are starting to come to grips with as the consumer becomes more and more concerned with the sustainability, the originality and the quality of their purchases.

Read the full post here… Slow Fashion and Stylewars ll

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trish

Style Wars, Emerging Designers Step Up & Battle Live.

by trish on October 26, 2009

I don’t know about you but for me this looks like an amazing event to show off some good old-fashioned, fashion fun. Creativity just for creatives sake … well, and some pretty great prizes. 40 designers in 5 cities will compete, do you think you have what it takes? I bet you do. You know how sometimes I have delicious little thoughts that are sometimes quite devious? Well, I’m having one right now. I think it would be fun to see DVF, Isaac Mizrahi, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein or any major branded designer join the ring and get down and funky competing with an independent/emerging designer. This format definitely levels the creative playing field. No matter though, it is all crazy good fun.

YouTube Preview Image

DESIGNERS: STEP UP. BATTLE LIVE. WIN MAD PRIZES– INCLUDING A FEATURE IN SURFACE MAGAZINE!

FUSING THE INTENSITY of a rap battle with the glamour of high fashion, House of Diehl’s STYLE BATTLING™ is a fresh new fashion competition that pits designers head-to-head to cut, slash, twist and tape, creating fashion LIVE in 5-minute knock-out rounds.

Can you make fashion from recycled clothing and household objects? Can you cook a look faster than Pat Field on PCP? Then, this is the competition for you.

Each show is DESIGN OR DIE as the crowd and a panel of celebrity judges decide who stays in the game, and who bites the dust. The battle selection committee includes designer Claw Money, celebrity stylist Rebecca Weinberg, model Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann, producer Dallas Austin, Surface magazine’s Amy Prince, and more.

Think you have what it takes? Sign up HERE

Don’t miss Style Wars live on tour this Fall!

stylewarstourLO

More information, rsvp, and tickets HERE and Style Wars!

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Mo

Welcome to #32: Independent Fashion Emerges

by Mo on October 8, 2009

What’s Going On


Happy Fall! Back to school, nose to the grindstone…you know the drill. Or, do you? Ever need a little help throwing an outfit together, need a second opinion, or more? The newly launched site, Fashism, can help. Get feedback on your look, rate others, and this week maybe even win a gift certificate to Smashing Darling, or two! Click here to learn more about the contest – ending October 11th. Don’t miss the bonus round!

What’s New

We kicked off Fall with a little video and fashion fun (?) in Iceland for their fashion, let’s say, frenzy. Check it out here; more Darling videos coming soon.
In New England there is a chill to the air, and nightfall comes a little sooner than we are ready for. Shop the site for some new hats, scarves, and coats to keep you warm.
In fact Rachel Park has marked down her entire scarf collection, all on sale from $5-$20!
If you are reading this from a warmer climate – not to fear. Tank tops, cool dresses, and beachy accoutrements are available on Smashing Darling all year long – love it!
Coming Soon

Philadelphia Fashion Week makes it’s debut this weekend! If you are nearby go have some fun, learn more here. Sharing the same weekend but a different coastline, Portland Fashion Week kicked off yesterday with a focus on eco-friendly and independent designers. Sigh, if only we could be everywhere! Fill us in of you are there…


Other great events coming up – all over:
- San Francisco Fashion Feud
– House of Diehl, Style Wars, Nov 4-21
Smashing Kudos and tidbits

Darling Michabella Creations had some jewels come down the runway at Boston Fashion Week -congrats!…and more congrats to Darling Evil Kitty who was just selected as a finalist for the St. Louis fashion week’s Project Design…Splendicity continues to send out the love to Darling independent designers: Krelwear, Organic Revolution, and Tilley Jewels…check out Lara Miller’s NYFW video from the Green Shows…and go meet Darling Dina Varano this weekend at the RISD Alumni and student art sale.

Become a Darling Fan on Facebook for more Emerging Fashion event updates!

cheers ~ the Darlings

Sign up for the the Darling newsletter here.

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Mo

Post Fashion Week Inspirations

by Mo on September 25, 2009

Just a quick note from Mo(darling)! I love little nights chock full of inspiration like last night. Pamela Castillo, Co-Founder of Market Publique, joined me at the FIT Museum for a conversation and slideshow of the lives and works of Isabel and Ruben Toledo. We may have been a few minutes late….since we bumped into some vintage coats we just HAD to have on the way – oops!

Listening to the Toledo’s in conversation with Valerie Steele, FIT Museum Director, it was just lovely to hear them speak live about their support for each other, the passion for their work, and the beautiful way their artistic and fashionable lives merge. SO inspiring! I’m still playing and learning in video-land, but hopefully I can share some footage with you soon. This weekend is the last weekend of the exhibition, so get yourself there if you can! If you can’t, click here to see it online. Ruben stated my favorite quote from last night: Following trends is like forcing yourself to eat pizza and drink chocolate milk ALL the time...

Pamela and I parted ways afterwards and I headed down to 92YTribeca to catch what was left of The Glambulance with House of Diehl. If you are feeling uninspired about your wardrobe, or that you can’t be stylish enough on your budget…MJ Diehl and Roman Milisic can cure those feelings, and fast.  With a little bit of DIY fashion, anything is possible. My two favorite transformations are below.

In literally about 60 seconds they turned a pair of odd, sparkly pants into a funky cropped jacket, and a striped button-down shirt into a sassy little dress. Like the sound of that? The Style Wars tour kicks off again in November in Miami, NYC, Atlanta, LA, and San Francisco. Click here to learn more, or apply to be part of the fun.

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Mo

Darling Designer Profile: Karelle Levy, Fashion Designer

by Mo on May 20, 2008

It was a truly great Darling afternoon meeting designer Karelle Levy and checking out her KRELwear studio in Miami! Yarn from floor almost to the ceiling, surrounded by racks of lovely, shimmering KREL designs everywhere. Karelle Levy knits her own fabrics, finding inspiration in the inherent beauty and formal aspects of the process. Levy has developed garments by reconfiguring what she calls “toobular” fashion, using few or no seams in her knitting technique. This makes her garments interchangeable and convertible; a single piece can be worn as a sleeveless top, or a skirt, and they all reflect her independent, no rules ethic, “Living garments, embracing flaws – let it run.”

SD: How did you end up in the fashion industry?
KREL: In college, I took a knit machine technique class and got really into it. So when I graduated I bought myself a knitting machine so that I could continue knitting. I haven’t stopped since. I accumulated so many pieces that I started doing performance art with the pieces I made, which were sometimes more creative than wearable. Soon after I had so many pieces that I started selling them.

SD: When and how did you know you would choose this path?
KREL: Once I started to sell them, and people were interested in purchasing them, I wanted to concentrate on making and selling clothes. I traveled to LA and New York in search of boutiques that would be able to carry such items and was basically selling straight from my suitcase.

SD: Where did you go to school and what did you study?
KREL: I went to Rhode Island School of Design and studied Textile Design

SD: What was your first job in the industry?
KREL: I worked in boutiques but never for any fashion design industry. I’ve been learning the business since I started selling.

SD: What inspires your designs?
 KREL: The every day, what is coming up in fashion.

SD: What is your design process?
KREL: My assistants and I knit more than we draw. We make a lot of test garments and then turn them into actual samples. We make the specs for them after we’ve decided it is a good garment for production.

SD: Describe your philosophy behind your designs?
KREL: By creating geometric shapes combined with little construction detail, I design eco-knit fabrics that mold around the body to make innovative clothes.

SD: What does your average day entail?
KREL: Factory visits, meetings with potential buyers, lots of emailing, yarnbuying, yarn researching.

SD: If you knew then (before you entered the industry) what you know now, what would you do differently?
KREL: I would have moved to New York once I got divorced and tried to work for the industry getting connections that I try to make now.

SD: In your opinion what is the best and worst current fashion trend?
KREL: I tend not to pay much attention I like what I like. :)

SD: What do you think the hardest aspect of your industry is?
KREL: Getting recognition that pays off in sales.

SD: Do you have any events you are getting ready for in the near future? If so tell us a little about it. KREL: I just did the Style Wars competition in NYC and won!

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/nyregion/12fashion.html

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Mo

Designer Toobox #4

by Mo on May 15, 2008

New Darling Ricardo Tovar

Hats off to Anne De Pasquale

New Darling Bags by Peep

New Darling Beads – Yellowplum

Community News and new darlings

Welcome new darling designers, we are so glad to have you with us! From as nearby as Astoria, Queens and Providence, RI, north to Belfast, Maine, south to Philly, west to Chicago and all the way out to Hawaii…show us your indie – everywhere! To all of our darling designers – get to know us a bit better and read the latest Darling interview at SFindiefashion.com, and be sure to comment and tell us what you think!
Put your hands together for Lara Miller whose eco-friendly designs will be featured on the show Big Ideas for a Small Planet, read more here. Don’t stop clapping yet…Karelle Levy, aka KRELwear just won Style Wars in Tribeca, NYC…be sure to check out NYTimes images here! Go Darlings, go!

New Darling K Flynn

New Darling Yana

how to – SHOUT IT OUT

Change is in the air. We are redesigning Your House for Indie Fashion, and we don’t want you to be lost in your own home! SDv2 is looking mighty fine, and we hope for it to be up and running around the beginning of June. Be sure your store is current and up-to-date! Here is what to expect:
1) Shoppers will be able to shop a new juried section of the site -the best of the best- here are the criteria:
- Minimum of 10 items in the store
- Uploading new items quarterly
- High quality images
- Inventory kept current with available items
- Have a complete profile
Email us if you would like to be considered.

Other new features

2) Bye bye forums and hello Indie Fashion Event Directory. This new feature will make it much easier for you to upload your own indie events (and events in your area). Therefore Darlings everywhere will be creating a comprehensive list of indie fashion events happening across the country – all in one place.

3) Mini blogs!

Okay here is our favorite. Around the time of the launch or shortly after you will have access to a new mini blog right in your account! Very easily you will be able to keep everyone that stops by your store up to date. Darling shoppers and designers will be able to stop buy your store and see what is going on, strike up a convo with you, collaborate with you, and find out what you are up to next. Fabulous!

Some Erhart Menswear

Kitten Miami Knickerbockers

Photo Critiques

Typically we would would be giving you the next round of photo – how to – in this spot. But with all the change happening around Smashing Darling, we want to make sure you are aware of one already happening. Julie Darling has started regular Monday Photo Critiques, simply put, they are really great, and very important. If you haven’t read the first two yet, take a second and do so in the blog. It is great to be having conversations with you all, be sure to leave a comment. Suggest someone’s store to be critiqued next week (or volunteer your own) by emailing: julie[at]smashingdarling[dot]com. We promise to always be nice and offer ideas and suggestions that we genuinely think will help take your photography (and hopefully your sales!) to the next level.

Have any questions? Just let us know:

trishandjulie@smashingdarling.com

cheers ~ the Darlings

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trish

Karelle Levy designer for Krelwear Wins Style Wars

by trish on May 14, 2008

Join me in congratulating Karelle Levy of Krelwear for winning the Style Wars competition held in Tribeca, NYC this passed Friday. It was the first national Style Wars event hosted by Mary Jo Diehl and Roman Milisic of House of Diehl. Emerging designers competed to create couture designs from random objects and raw material on a model in five minutes. Please read about the whole evening at The New York Times. Don’t forget to check out the pictures of the event too.

Just as an FYI, next Tuesday’s interview will feature Karelle Levy.

Please feel free to email me about events going on in the indie design community that you may or may not be involved. I would love to help get the word out. Email trish(at)smashingdarling(dot)com. Tell me what you are up to that you want to share.

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