CFDA’s American Auction, Saint Martins’ Winner, Ramy Brook’s Hamptons Home
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AMERICAN AUCTION: For the first time, Sotheby’s and the Council of Fashion Designers of America are partnering on an exclusive auction to offer looks from America’s top designers, featuring famous designs and rare pieces donated by CFDA members and collectors of American fashion.
The exhibition will highlight the genres and time periods that have made American fashion diverse and influential, from memorable red carpet looks to streetwear. Further details will be available closer to the auction.
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The CFDA will work with a curator to put together the auction lots.
The auction will take place at Sotheby’s from Nov. 27 through Dec. 12 alongside the company’s Luxury Week sale in New York. The auction will have an online component, and it hasn’t been determined if there will be a live auction.
All proceeds from the sale will go to the CFDA Foundation, which benefits CFDA Scholarships and business mentoring to nurture the next generation of American fashion. — LISA LOCKWOOD
EDEN TAN’S WIN: Central Saint Martins’ annual BA graduate show saw students pushing the boundaries of fashion with unique textiles, silhouettes and techniques.
Held inside the Granary Square campus in Kings Cross, the 134-graduate showcase certainly lived up to the fashion school’s reputation as “the world’s biggest factory for making trouble” as its current chancellor, Grayson Perry describes the school.
Menswear designer Eden Tan took home the top honor of the L’Oréal Professionnel Young Talent Award. His collection, titled “On Borrowed Fabric,” centers around sustainability, drawing on his hobby of tinkering to develop new techniques.
Each look from his collection was crafted out of an uncut roll of fabric, some of which were then airbrushed to create a trompe l’oeil effect.
“The motivation of the collection was the possibility of making clothes which could be as easily reprocessed into new garments as if the fabric had never passed through my hands,” Tan explained to WWD.
“This meant developing an arsenal of techniques with the purpose of convincing the eye that what it’s seeing is more than just a roll of fabric,” he added.
Runners up for the L’Oréal prize were womenswear designers Alba Mas Amoros, who came in second place, and Ivan Delogu, who came in third.
Other standouts included Sarabande award winner and womenswear designer Sam Crabbe’s collection, which featured elevated classic wardrobe staples with architectural twists.
In one look, long, lime green silk trousers draped around the models’ legs paired with a gray bandeau top that had protrusions jutting from it. In the model’s hands was a sparkling pink bag, in a shape reminiscent of a bird’s wing.
“It’s about a childhood fascination with birds of prey, in particular the peregrine falcon,” the designer said. “To me, they represent the epitome of agility, fluidity and freedom, which is what I wanted to portray in this collection.”
Sofia Castellon, recipient of the Nina Steward Award, and who is graduating from the knitwear pathway, derived inspiration from her Mexican American identity.
Her work experimented with elastic in knitwear, allowing her textiles, which came in shades of pink, blue and white, to be contorted over metal and plastic structures. Also incorporated in her work were a variety of personal materials.
“Over the course of the past few years, I collected ‘milagros,’ which translates to ‘miracles,’” Castellon explained.
“They’re silver charms from my hometown, Mexico City, Mexico. I knitted them in a way that would create a mesmerizing glimmer and jingle,” she said.
In the middle of the show, calamity struck when a knitwear designer had his models pour cigarette butts over the runway, some of which flew onto the crowd. BA fashion design pathway leader Sarah Gresty was immediately on the scene, among others, clearing the runway for the upcoming models. — TIANWEI ZHANG
HITTING THE HAMPTONS: Ramy Brook, the women’s contemporary brand, will open a year-round shop in Southampton, New York, on Friday.
The 1,320-square foot store, located at 44 Main Street, features Ramy Brook styles, along with exclusive items sold only at this location. In addition, the shop carries the newly launched kids’ collection, Sequin, the third jewelry collection for the brand and Wolven, an activewear capsule.
The space was previously occupied by Chaser Southampton.
The brand decided to open this location because of the success of its previous pop-up store at 28B Jobs Lane in Southampton the past two summers, which stayed open from Memorial Day through Labor Day and was the brand’s first pop-up.
“Our previous pop-up was an incredible experience,” said Ramy Sharp, president and creative director of Ramy Brook. “Southampton is home to many brands in our contemporary category, and we find it delightful that many of them are our neighbors and we love the shoppers.”
In addition to its new Southampton shop, Ramy Brook has a permanent location at 980 Madison Avenue in New York.
The new Southampton boutique features a “beachy/glam vibe” with a light wood floor and a hang rail system that mimics sun-bleached driftwood. The design is embellished with signature Ramy Brook gold details and pops of Ramy Brook orange. — L.L.
CELEBRATING BAGS: The final event of the Think Bag competition, sponsored by Leather & Luxury magazine and the Florentine leather goods company Loipell, was held Wednesday in Florence at the Villa Favard campus. The contest involved the students of the master in bag design at the Florence-based fashion and design institute Polimoda.
On this occasion, the Choi Bag by the Korean student Daseul Choi was named the winner of the project.
Choi designed a bag with delicate shapes and an innovative design, in black nappa leather with a steel handle. “For this project I combined my experience in fabrics with a passion for leather and patterns,” said the young designer. “The geometric overlaps of the handle of my bag recall the feathers of a bird, symbol of my brand, while the design pays homage to the breathtaking beauty of the Vatican City seen from above.”
The award comes with the production of a limited edition of the bag by Loipell to be distributed in September in retail stores such as Mantovani and Playground. Before being up for sale, the bag will be presented at Mipel, the handbags and accessories trade show, and Lineapelle, the leather trade show, by Leather & Luxury.
The proceeds from the sale will be entirely donated to the Meyer Pediatric Hospital Foundation to support the hospital’s diabetes research.
Choi will also benefit from an internship at British menswear brand Dunhill, which supported the project with a lesson on the creative process held by Attilio Rebuglio, Dunhill’s head of leather goods design, and Nicola Scarpini, leather goods industrial director at the brand.
The Think Bag contest was founded in 2021 to invite young talents to design and create a bag evaluating budgets, timing and difficulties of developing their own idea and prototype.
During this third edition, begun in February, seven different prototypes were created, each developed by seven students from different countries. Along the way, the students attended workshops held by Florentine companies that have joined the project, such as Air Collection and Creazioni Lorenza, among others. The bags were presented in front of a jury of experts which included Leonardo Campidelli, chief supply chain officer at Dunhill, and Scarpini.
The jury evaluated the projects under the six criteria of presentation, functionality, design, originality, brand identity and feasibility. — ANDREA ONATE
BACK IN SAG HARBOR: Decades, the vintage retail store, will return to Sage & Madison at 31 Madison Street in Sag Harbor for the second annual East Coast summer fashion residency, beginning June 26.
Curated by Cameron Silver, founder of Decades in Los Angeles, the summer-long boutique at Sage & Madison will showcase a collection of vintage and archival pieces from such fashion brands as Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Hermès, and Valentino. Sage & Madison will also host a series of weekly pop-up boutiques featuring brands including Jean Paul Gaultier, Etro, Jil Sander and Marni, among others running concurrently with the Decades residency.
Silver said he chose to return to Sage & Madison due to the “overwhelming success of last year’s debut.”
The residency kicks off with a three-day exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture. The lush garden will host a pop-up from Bogner, featuring the brand’s golf and sport collections. From June 29 to July 3, Ala von Ausberg will present her resortwear including original prints in silks and chiffon.
The lineup of designers for the Decades residency includes St John (July 16 to 23); Jil Sander (July 24 to 31); Libertine, in collaboration with Portuguese high jeweler Rosior (Aug. 1 to 7); Etro (Aug. 8 to 15), and Marni (Aug. 16 to Sept. 4).
Asked why he wanted to bring Decades to Sag Harbor, Silver said: “Decades has a strong following in the Hamptons and my clients gravitate toward an intimate and exclusive shopping experience which is provided within Sage & Madison’s 18th-century walls. Sag Harbor remains the most charming destination in the Hamptons and it is wonderful to invite some of my favorite international luxury brands to pop up with me over the summer.
“We will get people dressed for their morning Tracy Anderson class, lunch at Le Bilboquet, something avant garde to wear to the Watermill Center Gala, and prepared for any occasion all summer,” added Silver, who has a new book coming out next April titled, “Caftans: From Classic to Camp,” that will be published by Vendome Press. — L.L.
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