LAUNCHPAD SHOWROOM, NOHO-NYC
JULY 10TH
WORDS,
JUDITH ECOCHARD
IMAGES,
Courtesy of Launchpad, Charlotte Solnicki, Sea Nyc & J. Ecochard
Madonna is known for a lot of things these days-we just try to focus on her music and iconic status as a jet-set style maker...
We stopped by the spacious loft of the 4 year old showroom LAUNCHPAD yesterday, and like some weird gravitational force- we had an OMG moment when we saw the intricately ruched leather short waist zip front jacket (“Rombo”) by the celeb label du jour (or their keepers) the Charlotte Solnicki line of pure deliciousness.
Jennifer, the super friendly salesgal clued us in on this Argentina label that made a huge splash at the GEN ART STYLES Runway Show (Feb. 2005) with its effortless hip mix of rock n' roll and girly touches.
Designed by two gregarious, fun loving sisters Jessie and Melina- the line is produced flawlessly-using the ladies' deep contacts in their native country’s garment factories- to manufacture very intricately gathered leather jackets, and cottony Grecian gathered colorful summer/Beach wear.
IMHO:
One, we cannot imagine any Chinese factories with the wherewithal to produce these pieces in numbers that would satisfy Sisters Solnick’s growing customer base---and…
Two…if the garb sported fancy pants Euro labels…it would cost twice as much!!!!
RETAIL: Charlotte Solnicki Stores In Uruguay and Buenos Aires, online and trendy shops like Fred Segal, Harrods, Saks Fifth Avenue
SEA Nyc
A rack or two over, we once again nodded our heads with an ‘oh yeah.’ There is something about a California dreamin' designer (for a label based in the Big Apple) that gets the whole super soft 100% organic tee thing with panache and style. Maybe because Left Coasters live in them---like LA formal.
SEA Nyc is inspired by “the energy” of the Big Apple and “the romance of the sea”- according to founders Carolyn Pittel and Kate Rinko.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT:
Made from 100% eco-friendly materials (‘green’ cotton and bamboo), these “longer than average tees” fit like a comfy sleek glove. Fall 2008-rainbow tinged styles range from the popular stripped, deep v-neck (for layering), a Dragon graphic in distressed gold metallic on a X-Fine Tunic Tank, and our favorite-mystical horses galloping across a long sleeve crew neck top. And...there's a few tees for guys too.
For Holiday/Cruise 2009 a line of colorful tube tops with delicate rose bud graphics- fit well without looking skanky.
And though we have plenty of boring basic cover-ups, the, SEA Nyc have two stand-outs: a “Moto Jacket” with bold front zipper pockets worthy of the Hell’s Angel… and a distressed hoodie with striking foil scallops and raw edge details.
RETAIL: Upscale boutiques (soon- Bendel’s Barneys), and Searle, Bloomingdales, Fred Segal (LA)
MSRP: $60-$68 for tees.