Now that CFDA {Fashion Incubator} 4.0 Class designers are fully settled into their spaces, they are ready for the first Open House event Thursday.
In the lead-up to the big day, many were putting the finishing touches on their collections while preparing their work spaces for buyers and visitors. We checked in with the designers to talk inspirations and Open House plans.
Brother Vellies
Aurora James’s new collection is called She’s the Message and the Means. “I am always inspired by women, how we have a voice and are a vehicle to create change,” James said, pointing to the importance of the upcoming election, especially for women and women’s rights. “A lot of women who wear my shoes share a same message, act on it and live their truth.” Look out for a color palette that embraces and compliments all skin tones.
Haus Alkire
Julie and Jason Alkire are channeling an exotic alter ego inspired by a recent Coney Island excursion and vintage photos of women on the famed beach. “It’s the idea of how, when you go on vacation, your personality changes,” Jason explained. “You become a little less inhibited, and more playful on vacation,” Julie elaborated. Pool floats – think pink flamingos – and Japanese brocade add to that inspiration.
Thaddeus O’ Neil
Thaddeus O’ Neil’s Collection 1, 2017, titled Temple of the Burning Sun, is “very simply about the love of joy,” according to the designer. Inspirations include Japanese Shinto temples; Botticelli’s Birth of Venus; Dutch conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader’s performance work In Search of the Miraculous, and William James’s The Varieties of Religious Experience.” A new group of soft T-shirts, he said, “round out our surf-sartorial lexicon and provide an easy entry-point for the brand.”
Yestadt Millinery
Molly Yestadt has been studying Horst photographs, and built her new designs by thinking about insomnia and circular repetition coupled with a 1960s’ Mod vibe. An installation she is putting together for the Open House will reflect this. “I am very excited to present this collection, and to see what people will gravitate towards,” she said.
Haerfest
Brothers Tim and Dan Joo perfected the tailored backpack and other accessories for men; now, they’re launching women’s accessories, too. Sitting in their minimalist space—a perfect backdrop to their designs – the duo explained their design impetus. “Men are dressing these days with button-downs and sneakers, for example, and we saw an opportunity for tailored backpack,” Tim said. Dan adds the men’s pieces are a bit more casual, and the women’s designs are more structured—perfect for women CEOs.
DDUGOFF
Menswear designer Daniel Dugoff has already shown his collection – the men’s wear market happens before women’s — but is looking forward to revisiting the collection that he says did not have a direct inspiration. “From the very beginning, my collection has been about pieces that are easy to wear and have a good fit,” he explained. That said, some influences from a recent road trip are evident, in his patterns, from the swirl of highway ramps to old billboards with ads half-ripped.
Charles Youssef
Inspired by geometric optimism, origami, and triangular shapes, “we wanted to make sure the message was uplifting,” Youssef said. To that end, he looked to the work of two artists: Esther Stocker, the Italian installation artist, and French urban photographer Matthieu Venot, whose pastel colors in architectural photographs inspired the designer.
K/LLER Collection
Sustainability and responsibility are at the core of the brand’s ethos, and for their first Incubator Open House, designers Katie deGuzman and Michael Miller are elevating this notion some more. “We are working on a new element by using Ankole horn from Uganda,” Miller said of the chic earrings and bracelets featuring Ankole mixed with gold elements. DeGuzman added, “With all of our collections, it’s a juxtaposition of graphic and natural elements.”
Ji Oh
Expect to find shades of white and different textures, including crinkled, metallic and shirling, as well as fringe details. “I have this abstract print that almost looks like a fringe on the garment,” the designer said. Oh is looking to her work space to represent her oeuvre during the Open House. “We will be making it feel like a shop,” she noted.
Alix
Alexandra Alvarez’s Spring-Summer 2017 collection is a continuation of her aesthetic of luxury basics that twisted to be fashionable while also functional. “I try to balance luxury, ease and eccentricity through minimal silhouettes and unexpected details,” Alvarez said. The designer is making sure that the Open House experience will be memorable for all. To that end, she is “mopping, cleaning, buying croissants and some champagne/OJ for mimosas,” she said. We can’t wait!
