Ideeën
New York meets Japan — that’s the attitude underscoring new label Ideeën, by Junko Hirata and Atsuko Yanase. “It has a very Japanese sensibility,” says Hirata of the line’s experimental cuts. “But it’s not Comme des Garçons. We both live and work in New York, and we have that in our style.” It also shows in their CVs. Hirata has worked at Yigal Azrouël and Helmut Lang, while Yanase spent time at Club Monaco. They met while at Catherine Malandrino. And it all translates into a collection that’s utterly wearable but packs an edgy punch.
Anne Leman
Backstory: Leman, who studied science at New York University before ditching the lab for silk screens at Fashion Institute of Technology, grew up in the laid-back hills of Berkeley, Calif. She quickly acclimated to a decidedly more serious environment when her family moved to England just after Leman turned 10, a cultural shift that has inspired the line’s dresses, tops and pants, which she launched for fall 2008. “There’s a Britannia element to my work, and it plays into the idiosyncrasies of the British,” admits Leman, “but I am also influenced by the West Coast. I want to make timeless, classic pieces, but with a bit of wit.”
Collection: Though Leman is unafraid to adorn, embellish and accent her floaty dresses with all manner of beading and crystals, the end result manages to be completely feminine, never garish. “They’re definitely detail-oriented,” says Leman, who plans to avoid flash-in-the-pan status by turning out well-constructed clothes for day and night. “People are looking for added value, and I hope that I appeal not only to someone who shops often but to those who don’t, who look for garments that stand the test of time.”
Stats: Now available in 12 countries, the line is sold at numerous U.S. retailers, including Intermix, Nordstrom Via C and Satine. Wholesale prices range from $90 to $450.
— Sarah Haight
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Eden Blake
Who: Heather Menzie Gressette
Backstory: Gressette started her career in the fashion industry in the early Nineties when she opened her own boutique in Columbia, S.C., called Willis and Winter. “I remember the days of coming to New York during Coterie and it was at The Plaza,” she recalls. “It was a very different experience than going to the Piers today.” Menzie Gressette soon spun off a second location in the city and, in 2002, began dabbling in her own designs. “I found my customer at the time, who was approaching 40, had outgrown the short skirts from Trina Turk or Milly,” she explains, “but still wanted color and prints.” Fast-forward several years, and Menzie Gressette has sold both her shops, moved to New York, and finally launched her first real collection, called Eden Blake.
Collection: To understand the vibe behind Menzie Gressette’s line, consider where the name comes from. Blake, she chose for purely phonetic reasons, but Eden has a twofold raison d’être: it’s pulled from the French Hotel du Cap-Eden Roc, in the Côte d’Azur, as well as her godmother, Penny Eden. “I would play in her closet as a child,” the designer recalls. “She was like Linda Evans from ‘Dynasty.'” The collection, meanwhile, reads uptown polished with a trace of European chic — trim wool suits with big brass buttons, bias-cut dresses and simple sheaths, for example.
Stats: Retailers such as Tracey Ross in L.A. and Cantaloup in New York have picked up the line, which wholesales from $145 for blouses and skirts to $495 for evening gowns.
— Venessa Lau
Douglas Reker
Backstory: Nashville native Douglas Reker cut his teeth at companies like LaRok, Pencey and Christian Lacroix Jeans. His forte, however, was fabrics and surface embellishment. “I did prints, jacquards, embroideries and burnouts, any sort of textile novelty techniques,” says the Savannah College of Art and Design grad. As for why he’s leaving that arena, Reker notes, “I really missed making a whole garment rather than just doing the surface.” Still, he could have been looking at another career altogether; Reker started out an economics major at New York University. “I did an internship at a mutual fund my second year,” he says, “and it totally freaked me out.”
Collection: For Reker’s spring 2009 debut, he chose a picnic theme for his collection. “I want fashion to be an escape from all the bad news we’ve had lately,” he says. “And a picnic is a perfect example of getting away from high stress and just having a nice afternoon.” In keeping with the motif, Reker uses basket weave detailing, for instance, in jersey dresses and cotton canvas pants. The mood ends up being fairly clean and architectural, punched up with painterly grass prints or floral embroideries. Next season, he promises an even more intriguing collection concept. “It’s about tiny things, like miniature figurines,” he explains.
Stats: Wholesale prices start at $75 for knit tops and go to $300 for a canvas dress with lattice sleeves.
— V.L.
Erin Kleinberg
Backstory: Toronto native Erin Kleinberg has a stylist’s — not a designer’s — background. She has worked at several Canadian glossies and did a stint in the personal shopping department at Holt Renfrew. But that didn’t stop Kleinberg from creating a series of tops made from vintage scarves two years ago. “My great-grandmother had the most unreal collection of vintage everything,” Kleinberg says, adding that her big break came when she bumped into Mischa Barton at a local Toronto H&M and sent a few of her own pieces the actress’ way. In this new collection, however, she breaks free of the scarves and instead delivers some rather cleaned-up casualwear.
Collection: “My whole aesthetic is rooted in vintage clothing,” Kleinberg remarks. But she offers up only a whiff of that retro sensibility, so the offerings steer more street-chic than Seventies flashback. Take, for instance, her self-proclaimed obsession with dramatic vintage jewelry. In her fall lineup, Kleinberg’s debut, the inspiration only shows up sparingly in decorative leaf beadwork or a sequin heart appliqué.The core conceit underscoring the collection here is comfort, as in extremely thin and slouchy shirts, tank and cardigans.
Stats: The collection, which wholesales from $175 to $255, has been picked up by Barneys New York.
— V.L.
PHOTOS BY PASHA ANTONOV; MODELS: LIUDMILLA BAKHMAT AND CRISTINA JURACH, BOTH AT SUPREME; HAIR BY VANESSA EVELYN/PETRA ALEXANDRA; MAKEUP BY BRYAN LYNDE/RJ BENNETT REPRESENTS; FASHION ASSISTANT: ALEXANDRA CASEY