Inspired by vintage frocks, Sixties flicks or Old Hollywood, designers are looking back to launch a quartet of new labels.
Designer: Anya Teresse for Kate and Kass
Hometown: Los Angeles
Backstory: Before launching Kate and Kass for spring 2006, Teresse spent seven years in costume design, working on indie films such as “Art School Confidential” and “Friends With Money.” “I started making a lot of my clothes just for fun,” she says. “People kept telling me to start my own line and eventually I did.” The collection’s name, Kate and Kass, comes from her parents’ nicknames, but she owes more to them than this simple moniker. Teresse’s designs, in fact, are mainly inspired by her obsession with old Hollywood films — a childhood enthusiasm sparked by the fact that her mother is a former actress and her father, a movie producer.
The collection: There’s a decidedly Sixties feel to the current collection — cute baby-doll dresses and Mod-ish tops accented with vintage crochet trims, scalloped edges or sweet bows. Think Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby” or Julie Christie in “Darling.”
Stats: Wholesale prices range from $85 to $105. So far, the L.A. boutiques Milk and Diavolina carry Teresse’s full line.
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Designer: Rachel Antonoff, 24, and Alison Lewis, 23, for Mooka Kinney
Hometown: Although both live in New York, Lewis calls Kansas City, Mo., home while Antonoff hails from New Jersey.
Backstory: Antonoff was working in public relations at Rebecca Taylor when she met Lewis, a graphic designer who wanted to rent a room in her West 12th Street apartment. The two bonded over a love of thrift-store frocks, and, believe it or not, unicorns and wood sprites. That shared sensibility was the impulse behind Mooka Kinney, a line of tightly edited vintage-inspired dresses currently in its first season.
The collection: Named after Antonoff’s Maltese dog, the Mooka Kinney collection is playful and charming, with a wide-eyed girlish appeal. There are five dress shapes done up in colorful prints that range from a swan-patterned baby doll to a strawberry-flecked suspender dress. Even the buttons are cute: heart-, pony- and deer-shaped. Go ahead, call the line childlike — the designers don’t shy away from the word. “When people get older, the excitement and character goes out of clothing,” explains Antonoff. “We always see these little kids in jumpers and we wish they [the outfits] were bigger.”
Stats: Mooka Kinney’s line of dresses wholesales for $100 to $125 and will be available at I Heart in Manhattan, Milk in L.A. and Barneys New York.
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Designer: Ricky Lizalde for Lizalde
Hometown: Escondido, Calif., now based in New York.
Backstory: In the early Nineties when Lizalde started his studies at Cal State Long Beach, the thought never crossed his mind that he would one day design lingerie. “I went to school to be a dancer,” he says. And even though he ended up studying costume design, Lizalde moved to New York after graduation to perform with a dance company, dabbling in fashion by creating ensembles for the troupe. Fast-forward to 2006, however, and the 34-year-old is launching his own innerwear collection after long stints designing lingerie for marquee names Valentino at Warnaco, Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang.
The collection: “Modern vintage” is the phrase Lizalde uses to describe his line. Indeed, there’s a certain Old Hollywood sweetness in his designs emphasized by a notable attention to detail. Cases in point: the delicately covered buttons, carefully beribboned necklines and lace trims, which he designs himself.
Stats: Wholesale prices range from $35 for silk tap pants to $99 for a silk georgette gown and $150 for a cotton waffle robe. Saks Fifth Avenue, Fred Segal and Ron Herman in L.A. and Henri Bendel in Manhattan have placed orders.
Designer: Maria Buccellati for MB Beach Couture
Hometown: Miami, but Buccellati has long considered Milan home; she’s married to Andrea Buccellati of the Buccellati Italian jewelry house.
Backstory: Former model Buccellati is a figure familiar to those on the swimwear circuit — she’s co-founder of Piedras, a swimsuit line that made a splash in 2001 with its bikinis and maillots encrusted with semiprecious stones. Now, after five years with partner Paula Berger, Buccellati is branching out with her own collection: MB Beach Couture. “My experience [at Piedras] has changed me completely,” she says. “I view my designs in a more simplified way.”
The collection: Buccellati notes that embellishments are integral to the new line but rather than jewels, she’s using bone, raffia and mother-of-pearl accents. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the looks are any less glam. Take, for example, MB Beach Couture’s brushed silver and bronze patchwork animal print pieces.
Stats: While the swimsuits range from $88 to $350, wholesale, the entire line — including items such as caftans, dresses, T-shirts and wraps — is priced from $55 to $380. Retail outlets include Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus, as well as specialty stores Mirage in Monte Carlo and Aizel in Moscow.