Tag Archives: Designer Highlights

Designer Highlights – Joy Gryson

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Vera Wang, Derek Lam, Alexander Wang and now Joy Gryson, I am feeling a rushing sense of pride being an Asian now. Gryson was born in Korea and raised in NYC. She worked with Marc Jacobs on his accessories line for both Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs before starting her own line of Italian made leather handbags, Gryson in 2006. The brand, known for its beautifully made bags with high quality leather has since then expanded its product line to include as desirable shoes and boots.

                     

Gryson: Eel Olivia Bag (USD995), Eel Violet Bag (USD995) and Grove Wrap Strap Booties (USD495), all available at shopbop.com

Apparently being a designer mom, the best gift one could give to a daughter is not a handbag but a handbag line under her name. Gryson launched a less pricier and hippier line called Olivia Harris, named after her daughter, earlier this year. The line has been one of the best selling new handbag brands around since its launch. How nice??

                

Olivia Harris: East-west Satchel (USD445), Round Leather Shoulder (USD395), Trapezoid (USD445), all available at saks

Lastly, Gryson has also collaborated with Target by launching a line of affordable bags and like the previous collaborations before her, the bags were sold-out. Nevertheless, the biggest highlight of all might be her collaboration with the Munich-based mega 80s come-back brand, MCM for its bags. From what we have seen so far, we are loving it!

              

MCM: Giorno Convertible Satchel (USD995), Giorno Tote (USD1,495) and Sportivo Drawstring Satchel (USD895), all available at saks.

Designer Highlights – Stefano Pilati for YSL

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When Tom Ford stepped down from YSL back in 2004, the fashion community almost griefed to the fact that there might not be anyone else worthy to continue the momentum of reviving the beloved Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. Karl Lagerfeld even went far to suggest closing down the ready-to-wear house and focusing only on its lucrative parfum and cosmetics business. Luckily, the house decided to give Stefano Pilati a promotion with blessing from Yves Saint Laurent himself. Ever since taking the top post in the house, Pilati has done nothing but making women around the world dress better. I am pretty sure he is the designer we should have credited for bringing back the dresses and the waisted belt into daily life. It is also for him that YSL now has many iconic bags besides just the Mombasa. In 2006, together with his former boss, Miuccia Prada, Anna Wintour featured Pilati as one of her Magnificent Seven who would map the future of fashion, a recognition i think PIlati really deserves. This is, afterall, the man who came up with the Muse and Muse Two bags.

Designer Highlights – Frida Giannini for Gucci

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Gucci is one of the most prestigious, iconic and well known fashion and luxury houses in the world, matched by its equally big history and tales. The tragic tale of Gucci family is probably the most dramatic chapter in fashion history ever and the revive of the house by Tom Ford in the 90s is the most recognizable success case many other houses such as Balenciaga and Balmain wish to replicate.

When Tom Ford stepped down from his post as the Creative Director of Gucci in 2004, Gucci put three people in his place: John Ray for mens’ wear, Alessandra Facchinetti for women’s wear and Frida Giannini for Accessories. Ultimately, only Giannini survived and elevated to Creative Director in 2005. Stepping into Tom Ford’s huge shoes is no easy but Giannini did it Italian way. Gucci underwent a big image transformation from a sexed up girl to an alluring woman. There were initially doubts on whether Gucci could survive the transformation but when the sales at Gucci reached a new height, critics had finally gave in.

The 37-year old, Rome Born might be one of the most important force in fashion industry today but her life and love for limelight is the complete opposite of her predecessor, Tom Ford or some other Italian biggest names like Donatella Versace or Dolce and Gabbana. If at one point of time during Ford’s reign in Gucci we had ever wondered whether the brand itself (Gucci) or the designer (Ford) was bigger, Frida was rarely credited for her work for Gucci yet maybe it is not a bad thing afterall. Under Giannini’s direction, Gucci has arrived into the 21st century stronger than ever. She is among the new breed of designers such as Phoebe Philo (who made Chloé cool again, now the new Creative Director for Celine) and Christopher Bailey (Burberry) who champion a lighter luxury and free fashion from attachments from its designers. Yet Giannini’s works are often very personal interpretation of Gucci’s heritage, keeping the brand’s values intact and continuous.

Designer Highlights – Miuccia Prada for Prada and Miu Miu

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Landing on Anna Wintour’s good book is one thing, being the main reason she flies to Milan? That is Miuccia Prada. Afterall, which other woman is as influential as Miuccia in the fashion industry today?

When Miuccia took over the old luggage house of Prada from her family, little did everyone know that a Ph.D. holder in Political Science would one day dictate the way we dress season after season and change the way we see black nylon bags. From its debut in the early 90s until now, Prada black nylon bags remain one of the most iconic, desirable and unpretentious bags around.

When Prada became a global fashion power brand, Miuccia started Miu Miu as the antithesis to the self-growing identity of the brand she had revived. Whether Miu Miu had originally been meant to channel her true design passion which she had to gradually compromise with Prada or simply just another smart business strategy to ride on Prada’s growing success, we will never know for sure. What we know is Miu Miu, once a younger diffusion line of Prada has also grown to a power brand, capable of being totally free of all its attachment from Prada.

With both Prada and Miu Miu, arguably the most powerful Italian fashion houses next to Gucci, Armani, Versace and Dolce and Gabbana, under her helm, Miuccia is a living legend. In 2006, Miuccia Prada was being named as one of the Magnificent Seven in today’s and future’s fashion by US Vogue’s Anna Wintour. Miuccia is the only woman and the only Italian designer designing for an Italian house (two Italian houses, actually) in the list.

Will Miuccia Prada be the Coco Chanel of Italy? I think she already is.

Designer Highlights – Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton

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Not many designers are capable of running the creative department of a giant luxury house and designs for label of their own name at the same time. Miuccia Prada is one (running Prada and Miu Miu at the same time and does it extremely well). Then again, Miuccia Prada is one heck of a woman. The other designer is Marc Jacobs who runs Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs. Marc graduated from Parson School of Design, joined Vuitton in 1997 and created the house’s first ready-to-wear collection. He took Vuitton from a luxury luggage and leather house to a full-fledge fashion brand producing everything from clothings to cellphone straps.

Still Louis Vuitton is best known for its luggage and bags and Marc Jacobs knows this well enough to have created limited-edition pieces that has the world drooling over. His first collaboration with Steven Sprouse in 2001 took the century-old monogram canvas and graffitied it all over, creating a demand that sold the bags out in no time. His collaboration with Takashi Murakami in 2003 resulted in young and beautiful cherry blossom limited-edition pieces which are still being re-sold at crazy prices in ebay today. The much sought-after multicolor canvas was made part of classic offerings afterwards due to its huge success.

In 2006, US Vogue editor and the most powerful woman in fashion, Anna Wintour picked Marc Jacobs along with six other designers to make up The Magnificent Seven who would map the future of fashion.

Image is courtesy of fashionwirepress.com

Designer Highlights – Stuart Vevers for Loewe

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If you have taken notice on exciting new bags from the 160 years old house of Loewe lately, it might because since the beginning of 2008, 34-year-old Stuart Vevers has taken over the helm as the Creative Director of the house and injected new life into the under-the-radar brand. Vever’s resume is among the most powerful ones in the industry today with footprints from Calvin Klein, Bottega Veneta, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Luella Bartley to the most recent Mulberry where he was responsible for the popular Roxanne tote and Mabel bag. Vevers won the Accessory Designer of the Year in the British Fashion Awards 2006. Loewe, on the other hand, is one non-Italian/ French house which prides itself with strong heritage in leather goods comparable to that of Gucci, Hermes and Bottega Veneta.

Since his debut collection for the house (Fall Winter 2008), Vevers has constantly delivered pieces worthy of sharing the limelight with the house’s almighty signature Amazona bag. Will he be able to bring the brand to appeal to the commercial mass like he did Mulberry? Or perhaps the question is whether we ever really wants to? Afterall, both the brands and the designer have always been equally low-key.

Unfortunately Loewe pieces are distributed only offline via their boutiques at this point of time making them more exclusive. Visit loewe.com for the catalogs or contact the nearest boutique to you.

Image is courtesy of elpais.com