THIS MONTH DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
Each month we take a moment to introduce you to an upcoming or already successful talent.
Here is a quick review of the best collections to look out for. Get to know this diverse array of brands before they’re all massive.
Gućas Morgan
From London, UK Gućas Morgan is a design partnership between Will Morgan and Elena Gucas, and the design duo met while studying Bespoke Tailoring at London College of Fashion. Having cut their teeth at the likes of Thom Browne and Eckhaus Latta respectively, this young brand manages to perfect conceptual tailoring with a distinctly artistic approach.
Perfect patch-working is perfect, carefully calculated color palette and meticulous hand worked treatment that sets this brand apart from the sea of young graduates out there right now.
Keine Liebe
This Berlin-based streetwear reference rife in the German collection. The recently re-ignited label’s latest drop translates the city’s anarchist past into a punk-tinged drop of casual staples.All of the logo-emblazoned threads in different graphic iterations are sublime.
NAMACHEKO
it is rare for a menswear label to experience a meteoric rise in its first few seasons. Swedish/Kurdish menswear label Namacheko is one of the lucky few; just over a year after launch, the minimalist label is stocked by 38 retailers worldwide, including Dover Street Market, Ssense and Opening Ceremony.
If your label wants to be considered for future posts then, by all means, get in touch. Meanwhile, for more amazing highlighted talent, check out the rest of our Designer Highlight series.
DESIGNER HIGHLIGHT: ELEVEN SIX
Made in Peru.
After years of working at top corporations as a knitwear designer this British fashion designer and entrepreneur, Catherine Carnevale and her husband Nick launched ELEVEN SIX. The Art of knitting is very familiar to Catherine as she grew up learning knitting from her mother and grandmother. Catherine graduated from the University of Brighton, Englands with a Bachelor of Honors in Fashion textiles. Catherine held various designer positions in New York, but decided to leave the corporate world and pursue her passion. Today the couple split their time between Brooklyn and upstate New York and work with artisan women from Peru and Bolivia, creating a unique knitwear brand.
Why Peru?
Peru is where brand concept was born! Being in the vast and powerful Andes mountains of Peru, three months pregnant at a time and being ready for a life change was a big part of the brand inspiration. I was greatly inspired by the hand knitting skills of the Peruvian women artisans . I particularly loved they worked using their local materials mainly baby alpaca so that the products could be produced sustainably. I saw an opportunity to create a brand that gave back, supported and empowered women.
What does the brand name Eleven Six stand for?
The name ELEVEN SIX was born from a combination of my birth date 11th of June (from the European date form), and then my son's due date: 6th of November (US customary form). I have always liked numbers, and I liked that the name could be easily applied to other product areas within a lifestyle brand.
What is the DNA of Eleven Six?
Luxurious, versatile sweater dressing in a sophisticated neutral palette. Hand crafted yet modern. Elevated yet relaxed. Electric yet wearable. Contemporary yet timeless.
What is your creative process?
Often my approach to knitwear begins with creating the fabric through stitch techniques, pattern and texture and then forming the silhouette. The design process starts almost a year in advance. Knitwear and especially hand knit work has long lead times as you are creating the fabric from scratch and to exact shape. I start with creating my color palette and gathering inspirations and translate them into a sketched knitwear collection. I then make technical instruction packages for the factories/artisans whom translate and create my designs from sketches to reality!
How do you produce and sell your designs?
I produce in Peru with two small family factories and some artisan groups as well as in Bolivia with an artisan cooperative. The collection is sold wholesale through our sales showroom during fashion market periods in New York and Paris. Once orders are made by buyers we produce to order. We also sell through our own online shop, SPRING + Garmentory
What kind of woman does your clothing speak to?
I design for a modern woman in need of a versatile wardrobe to suit a lifestyle of work, travel and play. The woman is a conscious consumer and cares that the product supports artisan women and is sustainably produced.
What has been the biggest challenge?
Growing my direct to consumer sales.
Who is your muse?
Jane Birkin for her natural effortless beauty and relaxed chic
What's next for Eleven Six?
The first priority is to grow and establish the women’s knitwear business both through wholesale and direct online sales. From there I would like to expand on the home product offering which goes hand in hand with the ELEVEN SIX lifestyle. Perhaps later the collection could extend to men’s and kids? A goal much further down the line might to be have our own retail space which might partner with my husband’s coffee business knowledge from owning Gasoline Alley Coffee to combine both lifestyles. These are goals in the pipeline! From a philanthropic point of view I would like to support the education of knitted crafts in order to teach the younger generation that they can make a career from this training and that it is not just a craft of past generations.
DESIGNER HIGHLIGHT: RAQUEL OROZCO
Mexico City based designer, Raquel Orozco, dedicated over ten years building and establishing her ready-to-wear line. In her line Orozco offers glamorous and cosmopolitan garments while promoting Mexican techniques and materials. She incorporates leather, silk-crepe, gold-plated silver, and semi-precious stones in her pieces. Raquel showcased her FW17 collection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Mexico City. Her clientele includes many celebrities and dignitaries.
Designer Raquel Orozco.
When did you know you wanted to be a fashion designer?
I realized that i wanted to be a designer when I was looking for clothes with certain characteristics and I could not find them, so I thought, I have to start making some pieces for me , so I made them and my friends started to like what they saw and so it began.
What sparked your interest in fashion?
I always had interest in fashion , but I never think that I could be part of the industry of fashion.
Fourth annual Fashion Popup and Runway show featuring Mexican Designer Raquel Orozco as Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit continues commitment to Showcase Mexico's Art + Fashion.
Describe your creative process.
Dream , draw, and do it.
How do you produce and distribute your designs?
I produce all in Mexico , in my own workshop , and we are distributing in some very special places in Mexico and US.
What is the DNA of Raquel Orozco designs?
Elegance!
What is the inspiration behind Resort 2018?
The beautiful beach places we have in Mexico inspire me always.
What kind of woman does your clothing speak to?
Empowered women, women who are businesswomen who convey security in them.
Which celebrity would you want to see wearing your designs?
Anyone who feels at ease with my designs and transmits the DNA of my brand.
What is next for Raquel Orozco?
To continue enjoying every moment, the possibility that God gives me of being happy.
DESIGNER HIGHLIGHT: YUKA UEHARA OF TOKYOGAMINE
Passionately blurring the lines between fashion, sculpture, and painting.
Upon entering Yuka Uehara's top of the Nob Hill loft in San Francisco, we were pleasantly surprised by green tea prepared for us by Yuka's well-respected Japanese film producer and director father, Ryuji Fukuyama, grand piano and a room filled with brilliant designs by Yuka's young, but already successful brand TokyoGamine. She is a Japanese born, San Francisco based designer whose gowns are a true work of art. Her hand-painted couture dresses have caught the eye of San Francisco. Yuka has been working in fashion ever since she began helping out her father at the costume department for his film production company. Film and storytelling still informs her creative practice as she is a firm believer in the relationship between costume and character.
What made you go into fashion industry?
I got into the creative field by starting working on tv and film production with my father. Then I got fascinated with costumes, I worked with various production houses's costume department to learn about various techniques and mostly how to tell the story and characters in each individual pieces and as a whole production. I also fell in love with stage productions such as the ballet and the opera. The overall experience is something I like to express in my work. A piece that would reflect on the person who is wearing it. A piece that tells a story.
What is unique about TokyoGamine designs?
Perhaps it is the way I see things. I like to treat each piece as an individual piece in a gallery. What I am feeling at that moment is completely transferred into my work. And I think everyday we feel different things from our environment and surrounds, emotions from people we love and my current focus and my emotion makes me unique.
What inspires you?
Love of friends, family. Meeting new people, discovering to new places. Moments of happiness. Describe the girl who wears TokyoGamine? A modern woman who is fearless.
What other designers do you relate to, love?
Recently, delpozo. I love the architectural details in his work!
Which celebrity would you want to see wearing your designs?
Everyone!!! :) the brand is about the wearer, and how they would like to express themselves. I also would love to get into designing for any theatrical productions, cinema, theatre, ballet, and the opera.
What is next for TokyoGamine?
Ready to wear? :)
Interested in learning more about Tokyo Gamine? Set up an unforgettable appointment with Uehara now.
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