Owl’s Lab

Owl’s Lab is located at 20 E 12th St, NYC in the West Village

More of the structured pieces from the fall collection features black and blue.  Graphic crosses stretch across the middle of the fantastic black and blue dress. Slouchy sweaters that hit the calf look refined while sweeping comfortably across the body. Even the fur vest accented with zippers looks effortless.  Odd but refreshingly original colors for the fall like yellow and light green soften and brighten what is normally the season of the muted palate across the board. Now do you see what we’re talking about with the rule breaking?

Spattered in the midst of this collection is a group of statement necklaces.  While they would hardly qualify as daily wear jewelry, they could be the perfect way to blend in, more like stand out—at some hip gallery opening.  Normally, this would be the part to complain about some off part of the collection.  And while the leotard-like onesies might seem to fit that mold, there’s something about them that is indubitably intriguing.  

VPL can be found at Creatures of Comfort and Satine in Los Angeles, Hejfina in Chicago, and Mick Margo in NYC.

C&P recently started a year-long project The Ladies of Castor & Pollux where they feature an especially interesting customer, colleague, or friend.  The newest edition is set designer and prop stylist, Cindi DiPrima, check it out here.

Castor & Pollux is located in the West Village at 238 W 10th St, NYC

Vena Cava, Rodarte, Zac Posen

Wwd.com asked some of their favorite designers to draw sketches  of their interpretations of space chic.  Of course Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai of Vena Cava envision aliens in space and Erin Fetherston pictures a beautiful goddess walking on the moon.

Yigal Azourel, Brian Atwood, Erin Fetherston

all images via wwd.com

Stella McCartney takes her love for animals to new heights featuring Bambi and friends in her new campaign shot by Ryan McGinley in the woods of Worcestershire, England. Being a fellow vegetarian, McCartney has naturally been one of my favorite luxury designers and her willingness to have some fun wins bonus points.  With the characters from Bambi, dense woodland setting, and real animals it somehow still works with McCartney’s fiercer than normal designs.

One of my favorite shops in San Francisco, Acrimony, is offering a sweet summer sale for both men and women.  If you are in San Fran definitely check it out but the rest of us can shop the website for 40% off all regular priced items and 70% of sale merchandise. Details about Acrimony can be found here.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America and Vogue announced the ten finalists for the 2009 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. For the sixth year the emerging talents have the opportunity to win a cash prize and mentorship programs from their selected industry leaders. The winner and 2 runners-up will be announced November 16. Vogue’s Editor In Chief, Anna Wintour summed up the nominees “The ten finalists we selected are a talented, diverse group, who are building healthy independent businesses in challenging times.”  The Fashion Fund is one of the most coveted awards as previous winners include Alexander Wang, Rogan Gregory of Rogan, Doo-Ri Chung, Trovata and Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough.

ALABAMA CHANIN – Natalie Chanin (eco-conscious, womenswear)
ESQUIVEL SHOES – George Esquivel (shoes)
GARY GRAHAM – Gary Graham (womenswear)
HOUSE OF WARIS – Waris Ahluwalia (jewelry)
MONIQUE PEAN – Monique Péan (jewelry)
OHNE TITEL – Flora Gill and Alexa Adams (womenswear)
PATRIK ERVELL – Patrik Ervell (menswear)
SOPHIE THEALLET – Sophie Theallet (womenswear)
SPURR – Simon Spurr (menswear)
WAYNE – Wayne Lee (womenswear)

I am probably not the only person that watches the Daily 10 on E! just to see what Catt Sadler and Debbie Matenopoulos are wearing. Their style on the show has evolved to be a mix a girly, leg-bearing ensembles with strong accessories to create edgy looks.  Monica Rose is the engergetic stylist behind the hosts of Daily 10 and she is also the personal stylist for Kim Kardashian.  Although she has a natural sensibility for her work, landing her present jobs didn’t come easy.  Rose started working as a freelance stylist doing editorial work in 2003, after 10 years of working retail jobs.  In Los Angeles she worked at boutiques Poleci and Parallel and always had a passion for helping her customers look their best. 

Her talent evolved into an ambition to pursue styling full-time but she had to start from the beginning. Without ever formally assisting anyone she approached modeling agencies with business cards asking to do work for photos to built her portfolio and it took off after that. Being a very visual person Rose looks at the actual process as putting a puzzle together and her goal for her clients is to help them feel beautiful and confident. It’s easy to tell by the energy in her voice that she loves what she does and she recently started her blog to help guide aspiring stylists and fashionistas.  

Former celebrity stylist and buyer Christina Minasian designs under the label Pencey, named after the prep school in Catcher in the Rye.  Minasian designs for the girl that wants to dress girly but is still a tomboy at heart. With flowing fabrics combined draped fringe and sheer panels the whimsical designs sill have an edge.   

Pencey can be found at Helianthus in NYC, Beckley and Feature in Los Angeles and more stores here.

There was something about Laila Azhar’s Spring ‘09 look book that I was drawn to.  I love the collection, but I was struck by the images of the look book.  After a little investigation I found the man behind the lens was Karl Rothenberger a NYC photographer originally from good ol’ Chicago.  Rothenberger specializes in fashion editorial work with a knack for capturing his girls as if they have an alluring story to tell.  Recently I got the chance to meet up with him to find out more about his work and how he got started.  It was a coincidence we met on a day the Cubs were playing the White Sox.  By default Rothenberger is a White Sox fan, he grew up just a few blocks away from Comiskey Park and I am obsessed with the Cubs. Obviously the Cubs won that day.   

After a month of enjoying the California sun he made a pit stop in Chicago to visit family and do some work in the Midwest before returning to NYC.  The extremely laid-back and reserved Rothenberger got his start by assisting the famous photographer Bruce Weber. Now on his own he has a strong recognizable signature of soft, clean images and candid shots backstage at fashion week.  More of Karl’s work can be found on his website and his conversational blog where he details behind the scenes glimpses of his work and life adventures.