Jenni Kayne has a genius method for interpreting menswear inspired pieces into feminine forms. For Resort 2010 Kayne offers up her southern California roots with laid-back basics, pops of neon green and sheer, flowing fabrics essential for tropical getaways. Missing from the collection was any sign of Kayne’s signature long feminine dresses and skirts instead the focus was on edgy separates that are more fitting for the time.
Jenni Kayne can be found at Satine, Confederacy and Feature in Los Angeles, Gretta Luxe in Boston, Curve in NYC and more stores here.
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.
Coco Rocha is known for her contagious antics, posting silly photos of herself and videos dancing around with fellow model and best friend Behati Prinsloo (below). The craziness seems to run in the family. In Rocha’s newest video with father Trevor Haines, the father-daughter duo lip-dub tunes from the Jungle Book, dancing around, imitating monkeys with jazz hands and fake-sharing a banana. I am not sure many dad’s can pull this off but at least we know who she inherited her personality from.
It’s harder then ever to create a recognizable jewelry collection but if your childhood goal is to have an empire you must produce something brilliant. Meredith Kahn’s wildly admired collections featuring pendulum, talons, sirens and love links all have a visual story to tell that make her customers feel something even if they don’t know the piece’s original origins. Kahn started by re-working old trinkets and found objects, which later transition into her collection, that is an anagram of her name, Made Her Think and her luxe eponymous collection, Meredith Kahn. Kahn emphasizes the significance to connect with her customers with intense look books displaying her notes of inspiration and producing a short video to recreate the story of her collection ‘Illusions of the Heart’. With endless inspiration from the elements Kahn has hopeful plans for clothing and handbags that will incorporate her jewelry designs as hardware to tell many more stories while expanding her empire.
Made Her Think can be found at Confederacy in Los Angeles, Acrimony in San Francisco, Funky Lala in NYC and more stores here.
Anica- 30% off Spring Items
Take 30% off select sale items fromWood Wood, Clu, Rachel Comey, Mociun, Opening Ceremony and more. 2418 Polk St, Russian Hill, San Francisco
Thistle & Clover – 4th of July Summer Sale
Starting Friday, July 3rd T&C is taking up to 60% off summer favorites Tylho, Wren, Lorick, Church & State, Geren Ford and Demylee. 221 DeKalb, Fort Green, Brooklyn
Milkmade – Summer Sale
Select 30% markdowns on men’s and women’s summer merchandise from What Comes Around Goes Around, Travota and Corpus.
Until Saturday July 4. 1413 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice.
Confederacy – July Markdowns
Favorite LA boutique has taken 40% discounts off Boy by Band of Outsiders, Proenza Schouler, Phillip Lim, Rag & Bone, Kova & T, Alexander Wang, APC and many more.
Sale through July. 4661 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles
Bird- Summer Sale
25% markdowns off favorite designers Sunshine & Shadow, Bodkin, Mociun, Tsumori Chisato, United Bamboo, Vena Cava and many more. 220 Smith Street, Cobble Hill; 316 Fifth Avenue, Park Slope; and 203 Grand Street, Williamsburg all in Brooklyn
For those who have visited, Thistle and Clover is easily considered the friendliest store around. The Fort Greene boutique co-owned by Camilla Gale and Rand Niederhoffer is one of Brooklyn’s finest. Occupying a modern, fresh space their shop appears to have a minimalist approach yet is bursting with collections from emerging Edelweiss by Sarah and popular Wren, Myne designers. The girls take pride in offering the newest designers to their customers and help jump start the reach for many new labels. A couple times each year Thistle & Clover holds open-calls for budding designers, the selected designers then have to opportunity to sell their collections on consignment or even collaborate with the store for special projects. The break that many young designers hope for to establish their labels.
Anyone on the hunt for sophisticated dresses with mini-length hemlines should consider T&C the ultimate destination. The girls know what their customers want and exceed expectations with racks full of perfectly edited designs mixed with jewelry collections from local designers that can’t be found anywhere else. The shop has set out to be a neighborhood staple and for those located in NYC should venture over and visit as they state ‘Thistle and Clover is just a hop, skip, and a jump from 6 major NY subway lines.’ The girls stock select merchandise on their website and you can keep up with them on their store blog and twitter.
Thistle & Clover 221 DeKalb Ave, Brooklyn in the lovely Fort Greene neighborhood [click to continue…]
