FashionPeddler.com Fashion News

Just in time for fashion week, the CFDA & Assouline have published the American Fashion Cookbook. It’s like Vogue meets the Food Network. There are over one hundred recipes & illustrations from American fashion designers. The foreword was penned by Martha Stewart & the book includes recipes from DVF, Derek Lam, Donna Kara, Zac Posen, Carolina Herrera, etcetera etcetera. Perhaps, I should re-re-covert my kitchen back to an actual kitchen as I presently use the oven to store surplus shoes & the cupboards to store sweaters. – Ashkan.

The most I was able to get away with in private school was turning my blazer inside out on Fridays. Otherwise, it was overly starched oxford shirts, Gap chinos, and stiff penny loafers (I put a dime in mine as I was worth more than a penny). One young lady has taken prep school to another creative level with her fashion line labeled Academy for Wayward Girls. The other day we profiled the Caulfield Preparatory & A.W.G. seems to be the female counterpart. Sixteen year old Justine Crawford – who moonlights as a model for photographer Bruce Weber – created A.W.G. out of the uniform fashion ennui many private schoolers live with. Her line is complete with tartans, varsity sweaters, kilt skirts, and patches, but with a punk edge. Academy for Wayward Girls may be worth a demerit or two, so you can end up in detention with the hottie from third period History. – Ashkan.

Following the tumble of European fashion houses Gianfranco Ferre & Christian Lacroix comes the fall of the house of Escada. The German label filed for bankruptcy this week as shareholders were not interested in a 200 million Euro bailout. Escada is a relatively young fashion house founded in 1978 with a focus on bold colors & patterns. Think 1980’s Ivana Trump or Linda Evangelista as the face of Escada. Their primary market was the Northern hemisphere with several licensing deals for accessories, fragrances, sunglasses, and children’s clothing. The Escada that was… - Ashkan.

Most people follow the conventional calendar year from January to December, but if you are a stanch connoisseur of fashion, you keep to the fashion calendar. The fashion calendar is based around the various fashion weeks, haute couture shows, and the resort shows scattered all through the year. One of the chief & most important fashion weeks Stateside is the S/S 2010 shows the week of September 10th through September 17th, 2009 in New York City. We previously reported that an alternative fashion week will be sponsored at MILK Studios featuring leading American designers (see post titled “Milk Fed”). The schedule for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week has been released & you may preview the lineup at www.mbfashionweek.com. Which fashion week will you attend… Mercedes Benz or MILK Studios? - Ashkan.

The onset of Gossip Girl brought resurgence of preppy fashion; particularly for men. Lacoste, deck shoes, cardigans, oxfords…all of it! I’ve even been stocking up on Ralph Lauren pique polo shirts. The contemporary interpretation of the WASP look is in distressed & comfortable fabrics. A new designer-cum-novelist named Vincent Flumiani debuted his original men’s collection for A/W 2009 under the label “Caulfield Preparatory.” Much like Holden Caulfield, this collection is on a journey. The first collection is aptly titled “Chapter One” & begins the dialogue between designer, wearer, and clothing. Flumiani’s S/S 2010 collection is called “Chapter Two” with a nautical theme. The Caulfield Preparatory slim-fitting collection is promising & resembles a high-end Abercrombie & Fitch with detailed buttons & removable crests patches. Let’s skip class from Pencey, check into the Edmont Hotel, and curl up with the Official Preppy Handbook.
-Ashkan

“I think it is ok to be unknown” says designer Joseph Altuzarra, but he won’t be unheard of for long. I discovered Altuzarra when I saw a photo of Carine Roitfeld wearing one of his body conscious coats last spring. Subsequently, I saw an asymmetrical silver lame dress & I had to ask “Who is this designer & what’s his story?” Twenty-five year old, Joseph Altuzarra is a Paris born, American educated fashion designer. He attended Swarthmore College where he taught himself pattern making & sketching. Whereas his major was Art, he focused on fashion & architecture. His cirriculum vitae is entirely impressive starting with stints at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schuler, and finally at Givenchy before breaking out on his own. Altuzarra recently debuted a sophomore collection to much flourish & praise. His A/W 2009 collection is small, but poignant. It consists of gathered dresses, camel jackets, slim trousers, and thigh high suede boots. Altuzarra is what I am now christening the “hybrid designer”: crossing French couture with American sportswear. – Ashkan.

A critical time seems to be budding among American designers & the catalyst may have been this week’s C.F.D.A. meeting. What followed was M.A.C. cosmetic pulling their sponsorship from Fashion Week at Bryant Park. It costs roughly $25,000 to rent a small tent at Bryant Park & M.A.C. felt it barred many middle market designers. M.A.C. decided to go for a milk run to West 15th & 10th Avenue to the MILK studios where they will hosting several fashion shows for Fall 2009. The show roster reads like a Barney’s Co-Op sale: Proenza Schueler, Alexander Wang, Gareth Pugh, Preen, Erin Featherston, Tory Burch, ThreeasFour, and Band of Outsiders. I don’t expect Anna W. will be pleased to travel from Bryant Park’s sixty scheduled shows to MILK’s downtown location. Tittle-tattle reports say there will be fashion shuttle buses between the two venues. I give major props to M.A.C. for their benevolent act. As I always say… in M.A.C., we trust! - Ashkan.