LYRA MAG.

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Backstage images, J. Ecochard Runway images, J. Grossman courtesy of totallycool.net DATE: Monday, January 21, 2008 THE PLACE: The Piers, the Northern Tip of the Forbidden Zone, 12th Avenue & 55th Street, NYC BACKSTAGE: THE PRE-SHOW We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. Many times, the best show is the one that goes on backstage rather than on the catwalk. Where else can you see some of the world’s top male models clustered about, one of them with a beautiful tattoo [an homage to artist Salvatore Dali that took over a year to complete]? Another plus – the opportunity to talk to the fashion designer and find out what was actually on their mind when they designed the collection. Buckler Backgrounder: Every season, Mr. Buckler comes-up with a compelling inspiration; we love the line sheets he and People’s Revolution Public Relations work up and put on the seats. Note to everyone else doing a show – it makes things easier for the audience. For Resort/Spri...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images, J. Ecochard WHEN: Monday, January 21, 2008, Martin Luther King Jr. Day THE PLACE: The Piers, the Southern Tip of the Forbidden Zone, 12th Avenue & 55th Street, NYC THE BIG QUESTION: WHY THE PIERS? WHY SHOW SO EARLY? The year, some of the menswear designers showing in NYC for fall 08 fashion week decided to band together and show as a group, down at the Piers, a week ahead of with the rest of the men’s and women’s designers during the official NY Fashion Week, Feb. 1-8. Among them were Yoko Devereaux and *Buckler [covered in our next post]. In PRINCIPAL, we loved the idea of an early men’s’ showing. We fondly remember “back in the day” when the men [designers] had their own fashion week and the women had their own as well. What worked was that it helped set a more leisurely tone to the proceedings for editors and photographers running around from show A to show B and back to shows C-Z. The running around comes into play as not everyone shows at Bryant P...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images all, Judith Ecochard except for group portrait, courtesy of Harrison & Schriftman PR WHAT: A COMING OUT PARTY IN NYC FOR KIRA PLASTININA’S US LAUNCH TWEENS EVERYWHERE, GET READY! KIRA PLASTININA ANNOUNCES HER ARRIVAL TO THE BIG APPLE. WHEN: Wednesday, January 13th, 5:00pm WHERE: Starlight Studios WHY: Because we can always use another fashion-forward contemporary clothing and accessory resource that retails at H&M prices! ABOUT KIRA PLASTININA THE US PLAN: Remember those social study/history classes in Middle School when you learned about “manifest destiny”? That’s similar to Ms. Plastinina’s plans for her brand in the US. She will start her US rollout in Manhattan, in more than one location, and rightfully so. These days, with the over-crowded marketplace and vendors screaming for attention, the hard reality is that you have to be willing to spend some money to build a brand, The necessary package includes: the services of a top of the line PR f...

MENSWEAR DEBUT-ENK/IMG SHOWS Text, All Photos by J. Ecochard Except Jack Black Freezing temps and a cool economic landscape greeted the Collective/Blue menswear trade shows that took over NY’s Piers this past week (January 20-22). Nevertheless, several enticing guy friendly trends are sure to get American consumers in a buying mood in an iffy retail environment: Artesian, Technical, Upscale and ‘Sustainable’ Innovations in Fabrics …taking cues from athletic performance wear Brands repositioned as “luxury” to counter a rising Euro/weakening US $ “Eco” Driven mind-set including limiting carbon imprints via environmental-friendly manufacturing/delivery processes Creative, Slimmer silhouettes interspersed with thick exotic wools/cashmere knits Masculine Accessories and Grooming Products geared towards the travel set Highlights from the hundreds of hopeful sellers -which confirmed our belief that guys’ threads are better made than the female equivalent- include: The dress...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images, Richard Spiegel WHERE: The spring 2008, ENK Shows, Pier 94, West 55th Street ABOUT THE BAGS: Since Badgley Mischka restructured their business and signed on with Iconix, they’ve had the good fortune to partner with the affable Franco Franchi , the President of Franchi, a high end handbag manufacturer. The Franchi label evening bags we spotted in the Franchi booth are also by the way, absolutely Red Carpet worthy. Mr. Franchi was the first to sign on and do a license with Badgley Mischka. Many licensing deals have followed: sunglasses, swimsuits, but this one remains solidly in the top three. Mr. Franchi pointed out the harmony between the designers’ efforts on the clothing and accessory fronts, and this handsome handbag line is consistent with the duo’s high standards, as are the majority of their other licensed products. As with Badgley Mischka RTW, there are two differently priced lines. 1. THE PLATINUM LINE – bags that are intended for everyday and come...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images, courtesy of Geo Art and Eco Skin WHEN: Wednesday, January 12, 2008 CATEGORY: JEWLERY THE LINE: GEO ART’s “Go Green Collection: Kudos to environmentally conscious designer, Cynthia Gale, for creating this lovely eco capsule collection and to Fatima Fidan, Sales and Marketing whiz for her extensive research before she recommended that GEO ART team up with CENYC [the council for the Environment of NY City]. WHY IT’S ECO 1. THE PIECES ARE MADE OF 70-80% RECYCLED SILVER. It’s not the 100% you might expect because it’s very hard to guarantee 100% of this, or anything, for that matter. 2. THE CENYC LINK The hook-up with CENYC came at a good time. While CENYC is still located in Mayor Bloomberg’s office, and is politically funded, it’s a sad fact that the enthusiasm and funding for all things NYC that surged after 9-11 has noticeably diminished. THE NEXT STEP: Geo Art will be at the spa show, where they’ll show the increasingly popular SPINNING RING. *TREND ALERT...

A HIP INTERSECTION OF DESIGN AND PRICE Text, Images by J. ECOCHARD There is nothing like a turn-around opportunity that gets the Wall Streeters, retail types, and us… all worked up. Obviously, it takes brains, vision, and the wherewithal to execute . So we were happily impressed to meet the Creative Director of the Hampshire Group , Patrick Groenendaal -who has the pedigree (Parsons, designer stints)-smarts, and drive to “invigorate” the one-year old Spring & Mercer’s line of women’s contemporary sportswear. The Spring/Summer 2008 press preview that took place in the company’s showroom yesterday (January 17th) on West 40th Street, NYC conjured up lessons learned in our graduate school marketing class on Brand Building 101. Spring & Mercer’s emphasis on touchable fabrics, durable construction, stylish cuts and hand crafted details – at the disposable Forever 21 price points….gets an “A.” No wonder big stores like Macy’s, Bloomies and Nordstrom’s carry the line. Except Sprin...

Spring/Summer 2008 Previe ws –Continued ALINA Text, Photos by J. ECOCHARD A twenty-minute runway show can build buzz for established brands but a showroom jaunt offers intimate intros to newer lines. On a recent visit to a PR’s girly pink Garment Center’s locale, a group of simply stunning exotic skin (croc, Napa leather, alligator) carryalls grabbed our eyeballs as soon as we walked in. Our moment of we want it all NOW was ignited by the under the radar, made in Italy, luxe line Alina . Sprouting from seeds planted by two Cuban-born sisters, Alina Garcia and Yamilia Halfon (who now reside in Houston TX) the exclusive Alina bags are classically shaped , not architectural mysteries that hold nothing. The glorious samples we saw- a sunny bright orange ostrich “ Tremezzo ” shoulder bag with tasteful gold hardware, and a roomy burnished metallic creamy brown/beige ostrich “ Ryl ” shoulder bag…are knockouts. More thoughts? Effortlessly channeling the timeless elegance of a fashion ico...

Text, Vivian G. Kelly Images, all by Judith Ecochard except for image of Ganesha, by Richard Spiegel WHAT: Neiman’s 411 on what accessories you’ll crave for spring 2008 WHERE: The Penthouse of the Chambers Hotel, 15 West 56 Street, NYC As always, the executive fashion team at Neiman’s led by Sandra Wilson, Neiman’s Accessories Fashion Director for the Neiman-Marcus stores skillfully narrow down the key accessory trends [for spring 2008] to the most basic of equations. The Aladdin’s cave of delights in the penthouse was styled by the incomparable Sandra and Neiman’s Fashion Director, Ken Downing. Sandra and Barbara Merlino, Neiman’s Communications Manager, took us through the two levels of well-edited goodies at the penthouse suite in the Chambers Hotel. For spring 2008, it all boils down to 4 basic equations 1. Color + color = spring 2. Color + artistry = spring 3. Color + feminine = spring 4. Color + global = spring While Prada, Fendi, Chanel, Gucci, Vivier are consistently among ou...

SPRING/SUMMER 2008 Looks:Text/Photos-J.ECOCHARD We love the ENK trade shows. No hour long waits for press registration, friendly staff, no celebs, and no linebacker paparazzi trampling worker bees for photos of the Front Row. Just aisle upon aisle of accessories and clothes that beckon for up close and personal views. The Spring/Summer 2008 Accessories Circuit visited NYC last week that saw warm, sunny skies take the drudge out of the hike to the Piers Convention space ensconced on the mighty Hudson. Once inside, it didn’t take long to stop us in our tracks. Clever Carriage , an ultra-sophisticated, luxe handbag, tote, carry-all line that we cannot believe we missed in earlier reviews, was hands down the highlight. Luckily we squeezed in a chat with the lovely South African born, “Head Coachman” Kim Tania Issacsohn . …in her perpetually packed booth. She noted that her clients (of 11 years running) are “cultured women with a high taste levels l that want something different and uniq...