Posts tagged fashion designer
Inspirare Fashion Design Contest Winner & Judge Favs!
11 years ago
Social networking site, Inspirare.com, launched in April with the goal to help emerging designers get exposure and launch their design careers.
How it works: Fashion designers create an online portfolio on Inspirare.com where they upload fashion sketches and images of the finished designs. Inspirare users browse through portfolios and vote on their favorite designs. The most popular designs that are approved by the Inspirare team will be produced and sold exclusively on Inspirare.com. Inspirare provides 100% funding and share generous royalty with designers.
Fashion designers are encouraged to continuously add new designs to their portfolios as Inspirare will produce the best items from portfolios regularly and sell them at the Inspirare Shop (scheduled to launch in September).
The site launched with a fashion design competition, which closed in May. There were over 150 submissions from 23 countries for the competition.
After intense deliberation, the Inspirare team and their judging panel (which I was part of!!) agreed on the winning design. Fashion designer Alejandra de Coss of Puebla, Mexico won the competition for her design, Miss Marble. Inspirare.com will produce the dress and sell it exclusively on their eCommerce store. Designer Alejandra de Coss will receive 20% royalty on the sales.
Inspirare’s fashion director, Kate Blank, has this to say about the Miss Marble dress,
You can see this dress is a nod to several trends such as peplums, cutouts and sheer paneling; but it’s exploring them in a unique way. The dress offers both an interesting print and a two tone colorway allowing us to see it’s versatility and well placed design lines. I also really love the presentation of her fashion illustration. All the images in this design submission are visually interesting and serve a purpose. I think the Miss Marble dress will be a piece that many different women will lust after as it’s a perfect party or event dress.
I fell in love with Texas based Crowned Bird’s Pipit Pencil Shirt. I think the Pipit Pencil Skirt print is so original, yet so commercial. The cut will be flattering for many body types and the length is just right. As soon as this skirt is worn on the streets it’s going to be a quick hit!
Pipit Pencil Skirt by Crowned Bird scored high enough by the judges that it may be considered for production by Inspirare.com. I really hope it gets produced because I’m totally going to buy it!
Inspirare Judge, Lorraine Sander’s, of SF Indie Fashion, Digital Style Digest, and San Francisco Chronicle column Style Btyes favored Anca Miron’s design RDVB. Lorraine says,
The multi-wear possibilities of this design immediately got my attention. While it’s an urbane look that would most likely appeal to a customer who already loves to take risks with fashion, there’s a great deal of versatility in the cut and shape of the garments. They could fit in as easily on the streets of Stockholm as they could in New York or Tokyo. The creativity in the construction, versatility and global appeal made this look stand out.
RDVB by Anca Miron scored high enough by the judges that it may be considered for production by Inspirare.com.
Academy of Art University Style Coordinator and Inspirare Judge, Flore Morton, is a fan of Denis Predescu’s Pink Architecture dress. Flore says,
The dress is urban but sophisticated. The construction is very architectural, and is perfectly executed. The choice of fabrics and colors is modern, and gives a new spin on color blocking. The garment proposes a true personal vision from the designer. The photo shoot communicates a good taste level and a simplicity that balances well the dressy garment. I regret that the 2D drawing is not as strong as the dress itself.
Pink Architecture by Denis Predescu scored high enough by the judges that it may be considered for production by Inspirare.com.
All designs submitted to Inspirare.com can be viewed within the Discover section of the site.
My Top 3 SF Fashion Designers
12 years ago
Day 16 of the 30 Day Blogging Challenge is about my Top 3 SF Fashion Designers.
This one is tricky because even though I support a lot of local designers by going to their fashion shows and covering the on this website, I still own few garments designed by SF designers.
I’m a huge fan of Kajan Padraig. Cake Carlos and Patrick Steber make up the design duo behind the label. The team met while working under Lily Samii. Not only are their pieces gorgeous, and perfect for every type of event – I also really like their label even more because I know the designers behind the label and really like them. Here’s an interview I did with them earlier this year.
Bacca Da Silva is another local favorite for womenswear – he also does menswear, but I can’t remember if I’ve ever seen it or not. His designs are very cutting edge for SF, he incorporates great prints (in large-scale) and right colors. I think everything Bacca made for his Spring 2012 collection I would love to wear.
I was introduced to Alyssa Nicole and her line during San Francisco Fashion Week 2010 (here’s a link to my review of her collection shown at Fashion Week). She really knows how to make flattering, reasonably priced pieces.
Mrs. Libeskind Shops At Babette
12 years ago
Mrs. Nina Libeskind, pictured above with President Barack Obama is the co-founder of Studio Daniel Libeskind, and wife of Daniel Libeskind, a New York based architect that worked on projects at Ground Zero, the Jewish Museum in Berlin, The Art Institute in Chicago, and the Centre Pompidou in Paris to name a few. Nina and her husband maintain a high-profile lifestyle in New York City, and constantly need the wardrobe to go along with the lifestyle.
Recently, while Nina and Daniel were vacationing in Santa Fé, when they visited Babette. Nina was looking for an outfit to wear in the White House. Eva Koehler, the manager of the Santa Fé store helped Mrs. Libeskind. Eva reported that Mrs. Libeskind was kind, sweet, and she and her husband were very affectionate. Mrs. Libeskind purchased a three-piece outfit that Eva recommended as a great outfit for the White House event. The pieces were from Babette’s Summer 2011 collection, and included a grass tank top underneath a 3/4 sleeve skull top and bouquet skirt (see image of Mrs. Libeskind above wearing the top).
Here are the items as shown within Babette’s Summer 2011 Collection lookbook.
About Babette:
Oakland, CA based Babette launched its first signature clothing line in 1968. Since Babette’s inception, the design house rooted in mid-20th century modernist architecture, industrial and graphic design. Designer Babette Pinsky continues to thrive with new ideas and designs. In recent years, co-designer Josephine Tchang has helped expand to companies offerings into sportswear collections.
Interview with Varunee of Sincerely, Varunee
13 years ago
I first met Varunee of Sincerely, Varunee last year while I was securing fashion designers for the Give Back Gala. Her pieces have a great mixture of design elements from deconstructed looks to more traditionally elegant looks. In addition to designing clothing, Varunee also dabbles in jewelry design. Each time I have seen her in person she has been decked out with some of her personal creations!
Varunee took some time out of her busy schedule to do an interview for Style Bust!
Style Bust: How did you get into fashion design?
Varunee: My mother was a fashion designer. I’ve always been interested in fashion ever since I was a little girl.
Style Bust: Are you designing your own collection full-time or do have another job as well?
Varunee: I have a part-time gig.
Style Bust: What did you study in college?
Varunee: I have a B.A. in English and Linguistics from Bangkok Thailand and an A.A. in Fashion Design from Brooks College in Long Beach California.
Style Bust: How has you fashion degree helped you be a successful fashion designer?
Varunee: Classes in Pattern Making and Sewing have helped me tremendously. Although I don’t make most of my patterns or sew myself, I know enough to communicate with my staff.
Style Bust: What do you enjoy most about a fashion career?
Varunee: It is very rewarding to see my clients looking beautiful in my designs. It’s so nice to see my designs enhance their beauty.
Style Bust: What is the most challenging about a fashion career?
Varunee: Trying to stay ahead of my peers.
Style Bust: If you could work for more hours per day, where would you devote the extra time and energy?
Varunee: Design, Design, Design.
Style Bust: Describe the collection you’ll be showing at the Give Back Gala.
Varunee: Deconstructed, raw-edge, funky and elegant, these are adjectives that describe my collection. My clothes are for women that are creative and not afraid to be noticed.
Style Bust: What inspired this collection?
Varunee: The uniqueness of creative women.
Style Bust: Why should people come out and see your work at this show?
Varunee: To see what Sincerely, Varunee is all about.
Style Bust: How can people get in touch with you?
Varunee: www.sincerelyvarunee.com. My blog: sincerelyvarunee.wordpress.com. Telephone 925-957-6336
