CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Thread Social

 02/25/10 — 0 comments

It’s a safe bet that just about any woman who has been a bridesmaid in the past decade is familiar with the insanely popular Thread Bridesmaid line, founded in 1999 by Beth Blake. She took her hit line beyond the altar by launching, with designer Melissa Akey, Thread Social. The latter has the requisite “something borrowed” from the former. “We worked with bridesmaids here seven days a week for many years,” says Akey, who notes that the experience of dealing with nervous bridal-party members helps dictate the flattering cut of their day-to-night dresses. “Hard to get those voices out of your head.”

Robin Sayers | Categories: Design + Designers, People + Personalities | No Comments »
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CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Lyn Devon

 02/22/10 — 1 comment

This past October, women’s luxury-sportswear designer Lyn Devon was among 30 new members inducted into the CFDA. In her spot in our CATWALK COUNTDOWN series, Devon says her goal is to design pieces her customers will deem their go-to pieces, items that are classic and effortless and not, as she puts it, fussy or trendy. “I want to perfect the classics,” says the native New Yorker. She doesn’t need to globe-trot to track down the muse for her work. “I’m inspired in little ways all the time. I don’t ever have a ‘Eureka!’ moment, and I’m not like, ‘Well, I go to Casablanca … ‘ ” See why I italicized that bit above.

Go behind the scenes on our exclusive studio visits.  Check out the photos here.

Robin Sayers | Categories: Design + Designers, People + Personalities | 1 Comment »
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CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Robert Geller

 02/18/10 — 0 comments

German-born Robert Geller graduated in 2001 from the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in fashion design, then worked for both Marc Jacobs and Alexandre Plokhov (revamping the Cloak brand). He launched his eponymous line with a fall/winter 2007 collection, and just two years later, he got a phone call from the editor-in-chief of GQ, who told Geller he’d won the magazine’s Best New Menswear Designer in America award. “I got off the phone, and I turned into my office … and I told them that we’d won, and everybody was in tears, so happy,” says Geller in his segment in our CATWALK COUNTDOWN series. Better yet? His dad was visiting from Germany. You’re made of stone if this doesn’t make you say “Awwww!”

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Chanel dinner and Interview party

 02/13/10 — 0 comments

mcmullan_interview_18Patti Smith, Vanessa Paradis, Maureen Chiquet

Just as I did at the start of last season, I am out filming for FULL FRONTAL FASHION on a crazy night before the official start of Fashion Week. This evening had me between a Chanel private dinner and a club opening that simultaneously celebrated Interview magazine at the Bowery Hotel and got me excited for the rest of the week — the last Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Bryant Park seems determined to go out with a bang.

The private dinner in Jean Georges at the Mark Hotel was thrown for a new Chanel product and a new face for it, Vanessa Paradis. Coco Rouge, the new lipstick using an old formula Coco herself concocted, seems poised to be the hot new Chanel product this year. And how could it not be, with the beautiful and modest Paradis gracing the advertising? She talked about how fortunate she felt for the chance to represent the famed brand. She walked in without her significant other, Johnny Depp, who was probably home watching the kids. Instead, she came hand in hand with Patti Smith (not a bad date, if I do say so!). Kate Bosworth, Amy Astley, Rachel Zoe, and other fashion notables joined for the dinner.

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Patrick McMullan | Categories: People + Personalities | No Comments »
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CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Shipley & Halmos

 02/12/10 — 0 comments

What’s not to like about this entry in our CATWALK COUNTDOWN series? In no particular order, there are two handsome guys (brand founders Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos), two cute dogs, several shots of an amazing studio with eclectic décor, a handful of fleeting glimpses at sketches for new pieces, a few laughs, and one reference to Keanu Reeves in POINT BREAK. We also get a peek at their label, the inscription pretty much summing up both the line and the men behind it: “Shipley & Halmos, An Offering of Some Clothing & Things Crafted with Hand, Health and Heart.”

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Photos: sneak peek of CATWALK COUNTDOWN photo galleries

 02/11/10 — 0 comments

cbenz_sg_008Designer Chris Benz as featured in CATWALK COUNTDOWN

Have you watched CATWALK COUNTDOWN yet? In our new series we hear more from 10 designers as they gear up for New York Fashion Week. Get up close and personal with the following: Chris Benz, Vena Cava, Erin Fetherston, Lyn Devon, Christian Cota, Cushnie et Ochs, Thread Social, Shipley & Halmos, Sachin & Babi for Ankasa and Robert Geller.

In addition to our CATWALK COUNTDOWN videos, we also shot exclusive photos in the designers’ studios over the past few months. Ashley Simko followed all the participants through their design process and provides an exclusive look at how the fall 2010 collections were created.

Check back all week to get an inside look at the studios. Meanwhile, CLICK HERE for a sneak peek at what’s to come.

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Photos from last night, and thankfully no one fell in the pool at the Standard Hotel!

 02/10/10 — 1 comment

fff_party_10FULL FRONTAL FASHION celebrates the premiere of CATWALK COUNTDOWN

We braved the impending blizzard here in New York to bring you photos from our premiere party last night for CATWALK COUNTDOWN. The party was up at the new Poolside bar on the 18th floor at the Standard Hotel and we are happy to report that no one fell in the pool! We saw a few close calls and particularly loved watching people check out the vending machine that sold bikinis and board shorts!  Who knew there was such a device?

It was great to celebrate the premiere with Vena Cava, Erin Fetherston, Lyn Devon, Christian Cota, Cushnie et Ochs, Thread Social, Shipley & Halmos, Sachin & Babi and Robert Geller. Thanks for joining us! Also in attendance: Chiara Clemente, Tinsley Mortimer, Brad Goreski, Coco Rocha and Fern Mallis, among others.

The snow is lowering our productivity but here are a few photo selects from last night.

It seems like a few of the late night tweets sum up the vibe last night:

@refinery29:  @fullfrontalfash craving a late night swim…can we get some room keys?

@nyprdiva: Enjoyed @fullfrontalfash party at the Standard (though the pool made me a little nervous)

@fashionistaNYC: RT @LaForce_Stevens: Fern Mallis, Lynn Yeager and Brad Goreski (@mrbradgoreski) just checked in @fullfrontalfash. #nyfw

FULL FRONTAL FASHION | Categories: People + Personalities | 1 Comment »
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CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Chris Benz

 02/09/10 — 0 comments

A window across from Chris Benz’s studio in midtown Manhattan is plastered with two signs, one reading SAVE OUR GARMENT CENTER, the other SAVE THE FASHION DISTRICT. The Seattle-born Benz spends the better portion of his feature in our CATWALK COUNTDOWN series speaking to the growing threat to New York’s fashion epicenter: “I think our responsibility is to support the domestic garment industry. We produce 98 percent of our collection — samples and production — within a two-block radius of this studio. We work with little factories really closely, so we know people. I think that if that goes away, it’ll be a huge detriment to the industry.” Put a visual with this, and hear him explain why a typical Chris Benz customer doesn’t tuck in her shirt.

Watch all the episodes of CATWALK COUNTDOWN here.

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CATWALK COUNTDOWN: Vena Cava

 02/08/10 — 0 comments

In 2003, three weeks after graduating from Parsons, classmates Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai began work on their inaugural collection — on the floor of their living room. “The initial idea was that we were going to have a barbecue,” Buhai recalls in the duo’s segment on CATWALK COUNTDOWN. “We were going to make a bunch of clothes and just have a fashion-show kegger.” In this piece, we learn their friend, Douglas, persuaded the Vena Cava ladies to modify their plan and schedule it during New York Fashion Week. Important players showed up, and the rest is fashion history. Now you can see the Vena Cava threads on every cool “It” girl around town. Thanks, Douglas!

Watch all the episodes of CATWALK COUNTDOWN here.

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