On Thursday night, the Timo Weiland trio of Alan Eckstein, Donna Kang and Timo Weiland celebrated the launch of the spring capsule collection with Banana Republic with a buzzing room full of supporters at Sixty Soho’s Gordon Bar. Eckstein wore more than one hat, acting as both co-host and DJ for the event, while Weiland and Kang charmed the crowd, which included Chanel Iman, Georgia Fowler and Banana Republic’s Michael Anderson, as well as Marissa Webb, who worked closely with the designers on their collection.
The collection, a partnership between Banana Republic and the CFDA, launched nationwide in select Banana Republic retail stores and online on Tuesday, March 15, shop it here. The collaboration supports not only emerging talent, but also American manufacturing. The Timo Weiland collection designed was cut and sewn exclusively in New York, and the CFDA Fashion Manufacturing Initiative (FMI) receives a monetary contribution as part of the partnership. FMI grant winner Sunrise Studio have cut and sewn part of the collection alongside SN Productions.
Weiland’s collection is part one of the ongoing CFDA partnership with Banana Republic, with a second collection with a West Coast-based menswear designer to be unveiled for fall. That capsule will be designed, cut and sewn in Los Angeles.
CFDA.com spoke with Timo Weiland about the collaborative process with Banana Republic and how Made in NY weaves throughout his creative process.
CFDA.com: What did you and your team learn from the collaboration process with Banana Republic?
Timo Weiland: “As a team, this has been a career highlight collaborating with Banana Republic and the CFDA on this Made-in-New York project. At every stage of designing the capsule with Marissa Webb, we were able to assimilate our system of development and production to the format of Gap Inc. This was immensely helpful, and has helped us in the progression of our own brand.”
CFDA.com: How does it feel now that the collection is launching in stores and online?
T.W.: “It is quite exciting in a surreal way! We all grew up wearing Banana Republic, incorporating the high-quality American sportswear staples into our everyday lives since grade school. Now that we have a line of apparel in their stores and online, it brings feelings of gratitude for the CFDA and Marissa Webb for believing in us to rise to the challenge.”
CFDA.com: How was your experience working with the New York manufacturers?
T.W.: “The factories that we manufactured the Timo Weiland with Banana Republic collection in NYC are production facilities that we have worked since the launch of Timo Weiland. It has been a pleasure growing with them over the past five years and now scaling with the volume of the Banana Republic brand. Manufacturing at least a sizable portion of our collection in America, more specifically New York, has been a passion project of ours. Alan’s family were prominent Garment Center entrepreneurs in the 1960s so he has it in his genes!”
