Welcome to your morning dose of denim news, links, sales, and inside info! Catch up on what’s happening and browse our personal picks for the most interesting what-not that turns up during our morning web crawl. Got a tip you think we should include, a sale you want to share, or a style you just saw and can’t live without? Email us!
1. Closing soon: Ruelala’s Hudson Jeans sale is in progress, so snag your favorite men’s or women’s Hudsons (most are $99.90) before they’re gone.
2. Barneys New York produced this snazzy video, featuring guys from all walks of life talking about how to pick up chicks, among other things. They are styled in Barneys Co-Op Spring 2012 featured brands, which include a crisp pair of Nudie Jeans Slim Jim Post Recycle Dry ($215). Watch the Barneys Men’s Co-op video here.
3. Gap has teamed up with Threadless to bring exclusive, community-designed graphic t-shirts to Gap stores worldwide! Enter your design and you could win $2,000 – $10,000. Go to Threadless online for details.
4. We’re intrigued by these high-top velcro sneakers in denim by Raf Simons ($600). Now that he’s got his hands free for a bit, we’re hoping to see him churn out more denim goods.
—Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: Barneys New York, denim on sale, Gap, Hudson Jeans, jeans on sale, Nudie, Raf Simons, Ruelala, Threadless
Welcome to your morning dose of denim news, links, sales, and inside info! Catch up on what’s happening and browse our personal picks for the most interesting what-not that turns up during our morning web crawl. Got a tip you think we should include, a sale you want to share, or a style you just saw and can’t live without? Email us!
1. The Den.m Bar opened up last week in downtown Los Angeles, offering custom made denim for about $200. Everything is made on the premises and made from a choice of Kaihara Denim, Nisshinbo Denim, Cone Denim White Oak (from North Carolina), Kurabo Denim, and Canadian Denim. Image via the Brigham Yen blog.
2. Looks like Raf Simons has handed over not only his role as Creative Director at Jil Sander, but also the director’s role at The Avant/Garde Diaries Festival, which will hold a show in downtown Los Angeles (April 19 to May 10). The new curator is Mike D of The Beastie Boys.
3. Citizens of Humanity and Goldsign have opened up their gorgeous new 2,000-square-foot showroom in West Hollywood, California. Buyers might be tempted to hang out a little longer than usual, but we’re certain that will be okay.
4. NYC Twi-Hards will get to meet Kellan Lutz at Bloomingdales in the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, who will be present this Saturday, March 17 (2 to 3 p.m.) to promote the Dylan George and Abbot + Main Spring 2012 collection. Shoppers who makes purchases through March 17 will get access to the VIP “Express” line to meet Kellan first. Location: Bloomingdales Roosevelt Field Mall, Menswear Main Level, 630 Old Country Rd., Garden City.
—Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: Abbot & Main, Abbot and Main, Adriano Goldschmied, avant-garde fashion, Avant/Garde Diaries, Citizens of Humanity, custom denim Los Angeles, Den.m Bar, downtown art scene, DTLA, Dylan George, Goldsign, kellan lutz, Raf Simons
Welcome to your morning dose of denim news, links, sales, and inside info! Catch up on what’s happening and browse our personal picks for the most interesting what-not that turns up during our morning web crawl. Got a tip you think we should include, a sale you want to share, or a style you just saw and can’t live without? Email us!
1. Last weekend, Raf Simons presented his final collection at Milan Fashion Week as Creative Director for Jil Sander, because the founder of the brand is returning. The womenswear is gorgeous, by the way. Perhaps Simons will go back to further developing his namesake denim? Fingers crossed.
2. On February 21, G-Star RAW opened their largest global flagship store in the world, a 7,319 square feet brick-and-mortar store in Hong Kong. The event was marked by stuntmen walking down the building and a traditional lion dance, with indigo blue lions. Watch the G-Star grand opening event online.
3. Kellan Lutz is certainly becoming a fashion fixture. Between his acting and design collaboration with clothing brand Abbot+Main, he still found time to squeeze in front row at the Simon Spurr fashion show during NYFW.
4. Shopbop has a ONE by collection, a collaboration between multiple brands which feature covetable pieces on limited supply, such as this denim oxford shoe (featured above) by Anniel ($135).
5. What are you doing on Instagram? We found a couple of musician/concert photographers from IndieRockReviews.com, wearing Volcom and RVCA jeans out in SoCal. Photo via Tim Johnson (@timtom949).
—Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: Abbot and Main, G-Star Raw, Instagram, kellan lutz, One by Anniel, Raf Simons, RVCA, Shopbop, Street Style, volcom
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Tags: 1930s, 1940s, Acne Jeans, avant-garde, aw 2011, color denim, D&G, Dior Homme, Dsquared2, Dustbowl, Edun, Henrik Vibskov, Jil Sander, John Varvatos, Kenzo, Kris Van Assche, menswear, minimalism, Moschino, Paul Smith, Raf Simons, retro, Roaring 20s, Western
Opening Friday is FIT’s exhibition “American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion”, curated by Patricia Mears, displays the craft and intricacies of dressmaking. The show runs through April 10th.
Emerging menswear brand Spurr, designed by Simon Spurr, will be going back to its’ roots of denim related sportswear and t-shirts at a lower price point, mostly made in Italy. The higher-end collection, named appropriately, Simon Spurr, will continue to have hand-finished suits, leathers and knits all made in Italy and France.
Juicy Couture is on a jet-setting quest to make the world more juicier. They are opening up a shop at Miami International Airport in December, then traveling north to open at JFK International Airport, continuing across the pond to Taiwan’s TaoYuan International Airport and then on to Athens Airport.
Read more of WWD highlights below.
–Nikki Cho Russo
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Dresses from Rodarte, Narciso Rodriguez and Adrian's design for Joan Crawford on display at the "American Beauty Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion" show. Photo by John Aquino
The incomplete cotton muslins on display in ???American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion??? are the surest indication the Museum at FIT??™s newest show delves into the inner workings of design.
Custom patternmaker Nicolas Caito personally inspected the muslins on the mannequins for Thakoon, Proenza Schouler and Francisco Costa to be certain they were just so. That attention to detail was just what curator Patricia Mears was after for the museum??™s latest installment, which opens Friday and runs through April 10.
Rather than give a more predictable historic overview of American fashion, Mears has zeroed in on how the philosophy of beauty is relayed in the craft of dressmaking. During a preview of the exhibition Wednesday, she said, ???One of the things I wanted to do with this show was to not make it about sketching, diffusion lines, marketing or anything else. I wanted to show people who really know how to make clothes.???
Click here to read the full article and slideshow
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Spurrs Spring presentation. Photo by Pasha Antonov
Spurr is branching into two collections at different pricing tiers in an effort to position itself for global distribution. The split, which will take effect for fall 2010, is the first strategic move since Tommy Fazio became president of the emerging brand designed by Simon Spurr.
Spurr will be a contemporary collection of denim-related sportswear such as T-shirts and jackets. The label is going back to its roots, having launched three years ago with jeans at Bergdorf Goodman, where Fazio was the men??™s fashion director. Spurr since has evolved into a full designer collection, but starting with the fall 2010 collections, the designer offerings will bear the new label, Simon Spurr. The Simon Spurr collection will feature hand-finished suits, leathers and knits, all made in Italy and France.
Spurr, the contemporary collection, will continue to be made mostly in Italy.
Click here to read the full article
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LOS ANGELES ??” Dylan George, the premium denim brand founded last year by Danny Guez, is looking to ignite growth with the addition of executive talent and the relaunch of its men??™s business.
Rick Spielberg joined Los Angeles-based Dylan George in October after a four-year run with Hudson, where he helped grow revenue from $9 million to $60 million as vice president. Before Hudson, Spielberg was president of Blue Holdings, which was founded by Guez??™s father, Paul, and where Danny met Spielberg before the younger Guez left to launch People??™s Liberation in 2004. At City of Commerce, Calif.-based Blue Holdings, Spielberg oversaw the denim brands Antik Denim and Taverniti So for two years.
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Rendering of the Juicy Couture shop in Miami International Airport. Photo by Courtesy Photo
The contemporary brand, which did $600 million in sales last year, plans to target customers when they travel, opening four stores at airports worldwide beginning in December. The first will launch in Miami International Airport??™s American Airlines terminal, followed by the British Airways terminal at New York??™s John F. Kennedy International Airport in January. In February, a Juicy store will open in the Taiwan TaoYuan International Airport??™s Terminal II through Juicy??™s Asian distribution partner, Lane Crawford.
The fourth shop, which is planned for a spring launch, will be in the Athens Airport Duty Free area. This store will open with the help of the brand??™s new partnership with Elmec Sport SA. The retail license and distribution agreement will allow the firm to retail all Juicy Couture collections, including apparel, accessories, footwear, children??™s wear, intimates and jewelry in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria through freestanding stores and select specialty retailers. The wholesale operation with Elmec will begin with the spring collection. The three-year deal expires on March 31, 2014, with an option to renew for another three years.
Click here to read the full article
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TOD??™S IN THE SHADE: Tod??™s is about to fill one more gap in its lifestyle offerings. Just in time for cruise and Christmas shopping, the luxury goods brand will roll out a few styles of its new eyewear line to select Tod??™s flagships and opticians worldwide. The full range will debut in February. The capsule is comprised of 13 models for men and women, plus unisex ones, in acetate and metal, or combinations of the two. Colors include black, bronze, gold, silver and blush pink. Some styles are available in different sizes. The designs already have attracted fans such asJessica Alba, Freida Pinto, Jennifer Garner and Demi Moore. Retail prices for the Marcolin-produced eyewear range from $289 to $541.
FRIENDS OF MEN??™S: Men??™s wear veterans and young CFDA members came together to fete Robert Bryan??™s new men??™s wear tome, ???American Fashion Menswear.??? David Lauren stood in for Ralph Lauren, who wrote the foreword. The book combines historical images and recent looks from new American designers like Michael Bastian and Tim Hamilton ??” no doubt a result of the CFDA??™s involvement in the project. Scores of industry friends came to the Ace Hotel to congratulate Bryan. Diane von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein??™s Italo Zucchelli and Kevin Carrigan,Phillip Lim, Richard Chai and the duos behind Duckie Brown, Rag & Bone and Shipley & Halmos all paid their respects.
OUT THERE: Dysfashional, the conceptual fashion exhibition curated by Luca Marchetti and Emanuele Quinz, is set to present two new stages in Paris and Berlin. The avant-garde show, which does not feature any clothing, will include a video installation by Raf Simons and experimental exhibits by the likes of Maison Martin Margiela, Kostas Murkudis, Pierre Hardy and Damien Blotti??re. Up-and-coming Berlin-based designer Michael Sontag has conceived an interactive installation inspired by the dressing table. Parasite, a hybrid gallery-cum-store space that will feature a labyrinth of ???wallscapes??? designed by Bless, will showcase work by emerging artists and designers exploring the boundaries of contemporary fashion.
A Dysfashional fanzine was released for the Paris leg of the show, scheduled to run at the Passage du D?©sir until Nov. 29, with a German edition to follow for the Berlin session, to be housed in the city??™s Haus der Kulturen der Welt venue from June 18 to July 18. Both editions will then be bound to form a catalogue.
HER TURN: Damir Doma, a rising talent on the Paris men??™s wear scene, is turning his hand to women??™s wear, too. The Croatian designer plans to show his debut women??™s collection on the runway during Paris Fashion Week next March. Earlier this year, Doma opened a boutique in Paris on the Rue des Arquebusier in the Marais.
Tags: Ali Zedtwitz, American Fashion Menswear, Anthropolgie, Damien Blottière, Damir Doma, Danny Guez, Diptych, Dylan George, Dysfashional, Emanuele Quinz, F.I.T., Juicy Couture, Klaus Mühlbauer, Koi Suwannagate, Kostats Murkudis, Lawan, Luca Marchetti, Maison Martin Margiela, Pierre Hardy, Raf Simons, Rick Spielberg, Robert Bryan, Spurr, Tod's
A message from our friends at oki-ni for their blow-out sale on some fantastic brands:
To clear room for some of the amazing autumn/winter pieces that are winging their way to us from all corners of the globe??¦we??™ve decided the time has come for our sale??™s final mark down.
We think there are still some genuine bargains to be had, and from some of our most loved brands too. In particular there are some pieces of timeless Alexander McQueen and Jil Sander tailoring, some fantastic Folk knitwear, iconic footwear from Adidas, Vans and Diadora and some essential casual wear from YMC and Haversack. All are classics in the making and all up to 70% off.
Get on it.
The oki-ni team
–Nikki Cho Russo
Tags: Adidas, Alexander McQueen, Folk, Haversack, Jil Sander, martin margiela, Mon De Guerre, oki-ni, Raf Simons, Vans, YMC
Raf Simons
Photo By Courtesy Photo
MILAN ??” Other designers may be clipping their wings, but Raf Simons is spreading his.
Simons detailed plans for his eponymous label, which include his first ad campaign, a small furniture collection and two more stores in Asia ??” all despite the grim economic climate.
With the group??™s sales expected to increase 15 percent to 9 million euros, or $12.1 million at current exchange, this year, the Belgian designer, who launched his signature men??™s wear label in 1995, has every reason to be positive.
???You prepare yourself for a difficult year ahead ??” I am well-informed. I know companies are struggling, but without sounding pretentious, I really can??™t believe we have such positive results,??? Simons said at the headquarters of Futurenet, his de facto maison.
Tags: Raf Simons
RAF BY RAF SIMONS Woven Slim Fit Jeans. Available at OAK.
Imagine what famed architects Frank Gehry or Ludwig Mies van der Rohe could do if they had the fashion acumen and desire to design jeans! If you haven’t heard of Belgian fashion designer Raf Simons, then start adding him to your short list of favorite Belgian goods, besides chocolate and beer. Although he never became a famous architect, Raf Simons certainly is making a name for himself in the high fashion industry.
RAF SIMONS Painted Aviator, in acetate and stainless steel. Available at GILT GROUPE.
While French and Italian designers seem to dominate the fashion world in Europe, this rising star has already made big waves on the European fashion show circuit, not to mention being appointed Creative Director for the Jil Sander brand in 2005. Loved by fashion editors and celebrities alike, it is a wonder why Raf Simons is only receiving a warm (but not hot) reception by retailers such as Barneys here in the States.
As many denimphiles look to the old guard for denim’s new evolution, perhaps it is the underground, independent or unconventional designers, such as Simons himself, who will serve up a new, exciting denim revival. With an architectural background, Simons has offered an innovative perspective on fashion, from apparel to jeans to accessories. See for yourself!
Where to Find RAF SIMONS:
OAK
YOOX
GILT GROUPE (Through March 29)
– Kathy Ng Hassan
Tags: Jil Sander, men's jeans, Raf Simons
Photo Source: WWD
Raf Simons, the creative director for the House of Jil Sander, who just last year opened the newest Jil Sander boutique on the corner of Howard and Crosby, has come out with a line of premium denim clothes for men. Simons injects his signature clean lines with his sartorial aesthetics for a refined tailored result in each piece. The color palettes are in off-white, blue or gray denim. They come in slim or boot-leg, while the skinny two-button blazers feature inner pockets and softly padded shoulders. The denim line will be available in Jil Sander stores worldwide for spring, and come packaged in an exclusive navy box.
In addition, if you haven’t already ventured over to the Howard Street store, which happens to be across the street from Opening Ceremony, you should make a point of stopping in to view the collection, but better yet, the interior design of the store. It is a magical minimalists dreamscape. The space was co-designed by Dutch artist Germaine Kruip, whose installations play with light and space and how environments are perceived by their viewers. Mirrors are heavily used throughout the store along with marble that add to the shopping experience, evoking the true essence of what Jil Sanders stands for coupled with the cool modern minimalism that Raf Simons brings so brilliantly to the label.
www.jilsander.com
30 Howard St, New York - (212) 925-2246
–Nikki Cho Russo
Tags: Jil Sander, Raf Simons
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