ON OUR RADAR SCREEN: The Hollywood Platinum Gifting Lounge in celebration of the MTV Movie Awards,Juliana Jabour & Jackson Johnston & Roe
THE TRICOT SHOWROOM, The Cooper Building, LA
JULIANA JABOUR, A SENSUOUS BRAZILIAN LINE AND EMERGING BROOKLYN FASHION BRAND, JACKSON JOHNSTON & ROE – PUT THEM ON YOUR FASHION RADAR SCREEN!
Text, Vivian G. Kelly and Laura C. Wood
Images of Juliana Jabour and Jackson Johnston & Roe, Courtesy of the Tricot Showroom, LA.
The TRICOT showroom came to our attention at the start of our trip to LA, when we dropped into the Hollywood Platinum Gifting Lounge Platinum Publicity andMELANIE SEGAL organized in honour of THE MTV MOVIE AWARDS on Thursday May 29th at The W Hollywood Residences Welcome Center. This got us a sneak peak of what the W will look like when it opens in 2009.
The lounge raised money and awareness for Brad Pitt’s Make it Right NOLA. Sadly, we got stuck in LA traffic on the way from the BEA Book Conference and had a scant few minutes to look around.
Although we didn’t see her, we heard that Paris Hilton’s Chihuahua Tinkerbell was being escorted/carried around the lounge and was pampered with NATURAL BALANCE PET PRODUCTS. Our grateful Golden back home loved the sample she got in the goodie bag!
On the fashion front, the evening was a success, as we managed to meet Vivian Patao, LA’s TRICOT, [a 2 year old multi line showroom in LA’s Cooper Building] and arranged for a showroom visit the following week.
A VISIT WITH VIVIAN AT THE TRICOT SHOWROOM – FASHION IS A SMALL WORLD
This visit drove home the fact that the fashion industry is a very small one indeed. Initially our interest was solely in getting a closer look at Brazilian designer, JULIANA JABOUR’s sensuous pieces after getting a sampling of what she had to offer at the MTV party. We were rewarded with a bonus once we arrived at Tricot, when Vivian introduced us to JACKSON, JOHNSTON & ROE, an emerging brand based in Brooklyn, NY.
A FEW WORDS WITH VIVIAN ABOUT THE STATE OF RETAIL
Although she’s young, Vivian is a seasoned pro who’s been managing showrooms for 10 years and knows more than a thing or two about retail.
We couldn’t resist picking her brain to find out her take on the current state of retail.
LYRA MAG: What’s your take on the current economic crisis?
VIVIAN PATAO: Brand names that are tried and true breadwinners such as Diane Von and Marc by Marc Jacobs are safe.
LYRA MAG: And if you’re not a Marc or a Diane Von? What if you’re a contemporary brand, what do you do?
VIVIAN PATAO: I brought in a dress line that ‘s a bit cheaper and I do my best to pick up something amazing and different.
LYRA MAG: Amazing and different is good, how about clothes that have “timeless style”?
VIVIAN PATAO: Sure, that works, you’ll always need those pieces in your wardrobe. People supplement their wardrobe by buying their trendy items at H&M.
LYRA MAG: Some of the terms to describe clothes out there are confusing, like “bridge”. Does “Bridge” even exist anymore?.
VIVIAN PATAO: BRIDGE: has now been reinvented and renamed “Missy Contemporary”.
ABOUT JULIANA JABOUR’S LINE
Juliana Jabour is one of the top 5 lines out of Brazil. Ms. Jabour is known as the Queen of knitwear in Brazil and designs for a 18-35 year old demographic.
She has her own factory in Brazil, which gives her the control to deliver the fine finishing and linings, which is often lost in the translation process when you don’t have control of the manufacturing as Ms. Jabour does.
She’s recently become extremely famous in Japan, and is also designing exclusively for Uniqlo . There’s only one Uniqlo location in the US so far, the Uniqlo Global flagship, located at 546 Broadway in Soho, NYC.
For more information on uniqlo, visit
www.uniqlo.com
THE JULIANA JABOUR VIBE: Young and sassy
CHARACTERISITCS: This is primarily a contemporary line of clothing that includes shoes and bags and a small sub designer collection, “THE GOLD LINE”. Rest assured, if you buy a dress from the Gold Line, it’s pretty much equivalent to demi-couture, there are under 5 of the same dress available in any given model.
Distinctive details include bubble hemlines, apron pockets and big tabs.
PRICEPOINTS [all prices are retail]
Clothing: retail $150-275
Shoes: $200 - 350
Bags: $700 - 800
The Gold line: $600 – 2,000
WHERE TO WEAR YOUR JULIAN JABOUR: It’s the perfect party dresses for charity
To read more about and find Juliana Jabour designs please visit:
www.julianajabour.com.br
Tricotshowroom.com
JACKSON JOHNSTON & ROE
As you’ve probably guessed, there are 3 designers involved in this emerging brand.
Childhood friends Sara Moffat, Teo Griscom, and Riley Salyards each used their mothers' maiden names for their womenswear design endeavor.
THEIR DESIGN MANIFESTO: ”Drawing on interdisciplinary strength (art, theatre and painting), the design trio combines their aesthetic visions to create clothing that is timeless and of the time.”
THE VIBE: Young, urban and cool, the designers are in with the downtown music crowd.
HOW IT STARTED/ABOUT THE CLOTHES: their original collection was made up of 1 of a kind jacket jackets for downtown NYC rock star friends.
From there, word got around, and they expanded the collection to include pin tucked blouses, shorts, knickers, pencil skirts and easy dresses.
Vivian describes Jackson Johnston & Roe’s styling of their collection as “very current with a menswear feel.”
AN ECO FASHION ELEMENT: the buttons are made from Brazilian nuts and there are some organic cotton pieces on the line now. All the printed pieces are printed on bamboo fabrics.
JJ&R - ON THE FAST-TRACK?
Daily Candy’s onto JJ&R and there were so many hits after the article that they crashed the company’s website.
LOOK OUT!
The fall collection will be featured by Saks Fifth Avenue in their online store [the eco boutique] in September 2008.
WHERE TO BUY IT/AVAILABILITY:
Satine in LA, Bird in NY and the Williamsburg store in Brooklyn
More store listings and information visit the official website
www.Jacksonjohnstonandroe.com
COMING SOON:
We'll be making an appointment to visit the New York Showroom/atelier. Look for a write-up of our visit to the showroom on LYRA MAG this summer