Wear What When

News You Can Use

(…to go New York, the new Loft location, and Nordstrom.com)

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 27, 2010 at 07:30AM 0 Comments

NEW YORK NEW YORK

I. So you’re into this whole Fashion’s Night Out thing? Really into it? Like, really, really into it? The Shops at the Bravern are offering a three-day two-person trip to New York for the real-deal parties, fashion shows, and shopping events. You can enter to win on the Bravern’s Facebook page. Hurry though: The contest ends on August 29.

a. While you’re in New York, you might be interested in dropping in at the Vilcek Foundation, where once-local designer Madina Vadache is showing 19 debut designs from her spring 2011 collection. (One of them is pictured here.) We’ve featured the designer’s work in our fashion and Bride & Groom spreads; it’s great to see her getting a high-profile show — sort of an off-Lincoln Center extended Fashion Week thing — in her new homebase. Sort of: The Vilcek Foundation exists to “heighten public awareness of the contributions made by immigrants to the American arts and science.”

NEW TO TOWN

II. You know that former Adidas store at Fifth and Pike? It’s going to be an outpost of LOFT, the Ann Taylor sub-line. (Yes, most LOFT stores are actually at least upstairs if not in a loft. The Seattle street-level LOFT marks the first such non-elevated location.) In a development that shocked and surprised cynical style watchers, cool indie fashion sites like Refinery 29 started making a big deal out of the brand in recent months. Also, less indie ones like Style.com. And then there was that whole image retouching thing. But I digress. Fact is: Along with the whole M’Obama-led White House Black Market thing, LOFT’s image is getting fashion-y-er and more fashion-y-er. Around here we’re pretty big on shopping local, but we understand that you might purchase a mass-marketed cardigan from time to time, too. The store is set to open in time for the holidays.

a. Soma Intimates, a lingerie chain, is set to open at Pacific Place on September 8. The New York-based bra-and-pantie shop is offering one free bra with any $75 purchase through 9/22/10. Locally owned lingerie shops? Sure thing, right here.

b. By the way, have you been watching the developments at the old Cold Water Creek location, where All Saints is set to open up shop?

POINT AND CLICK

III. Nordstrom.com relaunched, and the New York Times took notice. Call me local yokel but I like seeing our town’s name leading off a national fashion sales story with a positive bent. From the NYT piece: “In fact, Nordstrom, based in Seattle, has been the department store with one of the best improvements in same-store sales over the last year, when its overall sales reached $8.26 billion. While it may not seem revolutionary, a melding of Web site and store is surprisingly rare in the retailing world.”

a. Of course, Nordstrom.com isn’t the only local shop to meld its site with its store. Blackbird in Ballard and Totokaelo in West Edge are two boutiques that maintain a whip-smart, high-style, huge numbers web presence, and, as would follow, legions of international online customers.

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Tags: new, Seattle in the News, Locally Designed, New York, Online Shopping, New, Soon, and Gone, Retail News

Retail News

Diamonds and Pearls

Seattle native Amanda Brotman clutches Fashion Group International’s accessories designer award.

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 16, 2010 at 06:30AM 0 Comments

I can’t resist a hometown-girl-makes-good story. Here’s one: Amanda Brotman was recently awarded Fashion Group International’s Rising Star award for accessories for her line Amanda Pearl.

Brotman is a familiar name around here, so let’s get that part out of the way: Yes, the Brotmans.

The Seattle-raised designer, a New Yorker of late, launched her line in Fall 2008 with a collection of jewel-toned silk roll clutches for evening. In 2009, she added jewelry when the beaded handles she’d been doing lent themselves to other ideas about decoration, and for Spring 2010 she added even more jewelry.

Wait till you see fall.

And then there’s the bridal collection.

Brotman works with hand-painted and fine silk fabrics, precious and recycled stones and beads, and her designs are handmade in Italy and New York. As a whole, the brand is ageless, elegant, and just bold enough to get noticed.

So it’s no surprise, of course, that it did indeed get noticed. Other winners this year include Joseph Altuzarra of Altuzarra and Odin New York.

You can find Amanda Pearl in Seattle at Mario’s, Nordstrom, and Far 4.

And in case you were wondering, you can find the Seattle chapter of FGI; here.

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Tags: Accessories, Locally Designed, New York

Trending

Backstage Pass #3

How to get the look: Nonie explains how the Vena Cava magic happens

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 12, 2010 at 08:24AM 0 Comments

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Tags: fashion week, Butter London, New York,

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Backstage Pass #2

Behind the Scenes at Vena Cave at New York Fashion week with Seattle’s Butter London and In Your Head

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 12, 2010 at 08:15AM 0 Comments

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Tags: fashion week, Butter London, New York,

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Backstage Pass #1

Seattle’s Nonie Creme from Butter London working out color options with Vena Cava designer Lisa Mayock

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 12, 2010 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

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Tags: fashion week, Butter London, New York,

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You, Anna, and Tavi

Congratulations, you’re (virtually) going to Fashion Week! Stay tuned for backstage videos!

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 11, 2010 at 07:30AM 1 Comments

Nevermind the snowstorm, your boss, or the airport; You’re on your way to New York Fashion Week. In fact, you’re already there. Or rather, veteran Style Counselor and Butter London mastermind Nonie Creme is, along with Seattle’s leading trend forecaster, Shannon Kelly of In Your Head. And they’ve invited you—via Wear What When—to be in their back pocket.

The former is, of course, overseeing three-free lacquer applications and working out color theories with some of today’s most exciting designers, and the latter is directing all things social- and media-oriented. Starting tomorrow and continuing into next week, they’re taking you behind the scenes with videos (half-dressed models, stressed-out stage managers, next fall’s most important silhouettes being tossed over shoulders), interviews, and more.

The premiere you-are-there virtual backstage pass goes out tomorrow, Friday Feb. 12. If Vena Cava’s fall looks are as paint-splattered, sludgey/sexy, and wearable as their spring stuff is, it ought to be quite the video. Tune in tomorrow!

Next week: Expect behind-the-scenes sneak peaks from Creme and Kellly as they hit none other than Alexander Wang (!!!) and Calvin Klein.

And: follow me on Twitter for of-the-moment pics and notes.

But first, a chat with Creme and Kelly about what all of this — social media for the runway, back stage videos, live streaming shows, bloggers in the front row — means for color, for Seattle, and for fashion.

Wear What When: Nonie, tell us about the collaboration process with the designers.

Nonie Creme: A few days before each show, there is a meeting called the “test”. It’s when the designer meets with the senior hair stylist, make up artist, and nail technician to discuss the look for the catwalk. A fit model is present to try on the collection for us, and the designer talks us through his/her inspiration and thoughts about who his woman is that season. It’s an incredible thing to be a part of, and a huge honor to be invited to the test meeting. At that time, I might sneak off and custom mix a palette to show the team and designer, and eventually we arrive at a final look for the show. It can take HOURS! After everything is decided, I race back to my hotel and get mixing!!

WWW How many nail techs do you bring with you for something like this? And how soon before runway time are the nails being done? One just imagines the Butter London station as the most hazardous thing in the world this side of a bucket of paint. Tell us about how it all comes together.

Nonie: This season my team will consist of nine technicians, including myself. There are definitely times when the nail colour changes at the last second. It’s terrifying! I keep a stash of empty bottles with me for last minute custom mixes, but pray that we switch to a stock Butter London colour! The nail team works simultaneously with hair and makeup, so we are usually found crawling around under the table, desperately trying to stay out of the way of sharp stilettos, flying iPhones, and film crews scrambling to interview the top models.

WWW: How does the experience ‘color’ (sorry!) your vision in terms of your next season … is this a highly creative time for you?

Nonie: Absolutely. The shows directly influence what I create for Butter London each season. I wait until shows in London, Paris, and Milan are done so that I can review all the shows that inspire me, and then I contemplate key trends, colour palettes, and general mood. After that I think about how to marry all those things to nails and nail colour in a way that ensures our customers are truly getting what’s in fashion.

WWW: Can’t wait to see what takes shape. Shannon! Let’s talk networks. What’s your take on the bloggers-in-the-front-row thing? Just a trend? For designers and their press agents, is it desperate or just good business?

Shannon: Personally, I’m a fan of any form of media that gets consumers excited about fashion—from daily bloggers to seasoned editors. While I understand the concern about true editorial reporting, there is something familiar with the questions around who should hold clout within the fashion community… It wasn’t that long ago that food bloggers came across similar scrutiny among the gastronomical elite.

As information overload exhausts the average person, bloggers, brands and traditional media need to collaborate to wield influence. And cultivating new talent may ruffle feathers but it also might nurture a new generation. Today, the front row is THE place for evolution and ultimately innovation— I’m excited to see what kind of response we get from our behind-the-scenes backstage daily diary for Butter London.

WWW: What is fashion currently not doing in terms of new or now media that they should be doing?

Shannon: The biggest gap for fashion in terms of “now” media is the ability to adjust campaigns or strategies ever so slightly based on the anthropology gained from social media. Due to the gigantic investment of most fashion campaigns, brands rarely are able to use insights gained from social media in “real-time” and valuable content about brand awareness or sentiment is not immediate. There may never be a silver bullet for unlocking consumer culture or label loyalty but by listening and responding to online conversations, brands can better understand where fashion will go.

WWW: Who’s your pick for Designer Making the Best/Most Use of Current Media Trends?

Shannon: Burberry and Chanel have put some interesting things out but Dolce & Gabbana have really embraced avante-garde technology and are looking to push the limits. The presence of bloggers at D&G in Milan for S/S 2010 was a defining moment for fashion and just last week Stefano Gabbana “let his inner Fellini come out” by directing a raw YouTube video from the set of the brand’s S/S 10 men’s campaign. I think that Stefano Gabbana told WWD that he wanted to create his own social network. They really understand the opportunity and tailor appropriate messaging that adds an extra dimension to the brand regardless of if you are a loyalist or an occasional shopper.

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Tags: fashion week, Butter London, Trends, New York, Alexander Wang

What's In Store

Sweet Suggestion #5

Fired, Sealed, Delivered

Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Feb 10, 2010 at 06:17PM 0 Comments

Flowers and pizza are not the only things that can be delivered come Sunday. Add to the short list: Glassybaby hand-fired vessels.

For Valentine’s Day, the local glassblowers are geared up to deliver their gorgeously hued votives and glasses directly to your loved one’s door.

Even if your loved one is in New York City.

Did you know this? Founder Lee Rhodes and company recently opened a shop in the West Village. The um, New York Times thinks it’s cool.

So, yeah. If you heart New York, or even Queen Anne, and you’re feeling the pressure of Sunday pressing in on you, a glossy red (or pink or raspberry) Glassybaby sure beats a meat lover’s pie.

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Tags: Valentine's Day, Home Decor, New York