Editorials
Introducing: Ziggy Chen
Shanghai-born designer Ziggy Chen launched his namesake label in 2012 with the goal of crafting a line that blends modern elegance with practicality. After studying fashion in the early 1990s, Ziggy Chen became a university lecturer on the subject of textile design. He then worked on the corporate side of fashion. After 20 years in […]
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Celebrating Thirty Years of Avant Toi...
Siblings Fiorella and Mirko Ghignone founded Avant Toi in Genoa in 1994. For the past thirty years, they have developed the brand into a fashion house that has revolutionized the world of knitwear, changing the way cashmere is created and perceived. On the Port of Genoa’s hilltops, overlooking the Italian maritime city and its gulf, […]
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How to Grade Cashmere
Soft to the touch and gentle against the skin, cashmere is one of the most prized textiles in the world. Because of its insulating properties, cashmere keeps the wearer warm in fall and winter and is a lightweight layering option for spring and summer nights. With seasonal care, a high-quality handmade cashmere sweater will last a lifetime.
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Caring for Cashmere: Combs & Stones
Cashmere, a timeless and lofty fabric, relies on a bit of extra attention and care to maintain its longevity. In this effort, a cashmere comb is an indispensable tool. By effectively removing pilling, cashmere combs restore a garments’ original luster without the use of harsh chemicals, ensuring an environmentally friendly approach to fabric care.
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Sensory Intelligence
There is cashmere and there is cashmere. In 2008, Anne Schramm decided to start a small niche knitwear label in Berlin that would tie together generations-old knitting techniques with the best cashmere yarns available. Her pieces combine crochet and knit traditions that have been passed down through her family for generations. Every sweater is made to […]
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Textural Intimacy
For Uma Wang, the soul of design lies in texture. Her material choices are more crucial to a garment’s character than its silhouette or structure…although truth be told, she excels in all three.This dedication to the hand is what draws us again and again to her work – while we adore the drama and artistry […]
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The Sculpture of Yarn
Yarn is so simple, we almost forget its necessity. Woven, knotted, knit… its many incarnations form the building blocks for all fashion and textiles. Designers Michel Bergamo and Cristina Zamagni of Boboutic describe yarn as “an endless line,” wholly rejecting the use of scissors. To cut a string of yarn as a shortcut of convenience […]
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A Guide to Fall/Winter Textiles
As temperatures cool and days shorten, we find ourselves in need of clothing that warms the body and heartens the soul. Here, we’ve compiled a guide to the softest fabrics to carry you through the season. Cashmere From the high plateaus of Asia, cashmere is beloved for its lightweight ultra-soft hand. Due to its scarcity – […]
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The Softness of Suede
Is there anything that says autumn quite like suede? Supple, durable and smooth, with a surface that reads like brushed velvet – what an incredible material. Alongside leather and cashmere, the opportunity to reintegrate this texture into our wardrobes is one of our favorite things about the deepening of the seasons. Top of our minds […]
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The Persistence of Memory
Dries Van Noten’s designs are a sensory feast – to experience them fully is not to just submit the eye to his creativity, but the ear, hand and mind as well. The light caught on a gilded jacquard is just as important as how a blouse slips against the skin, the way silk harmonizes against […]
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Cashmere Jewel Tones
For Avant Toi, color is central not just to the way we dress, but to our perception of the world. It’s a powerful tool to influence the mind, spark creativity and serve as a wellspring of inspiration. With each piece they design, their straightforward cashmere and silk silhouettes act as a blank canvas upon which […]
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Une Bonne Soirée
As the sun descends over Paris, an indescribable magic envelopes the streets. Small boutiques cast a warm glow from their glazed windows – a visual feast of couture and confections alike. Walking the cobblestones reveals a pageant of well-dressed individuals, each a testament to Paris’s legendary style. Locals and visitors alike echo this aura of […]
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A Devotion to Art and Performance
“All the world’s a stage,” or so they say – while we may love the drama of dressing, we’re not always so interested in the drama of dressing. To define and distill one’s own personal style is a challenge many of us struggle with over a lifetime. What do I wear to this event? Is this pant flattering? […]
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Interior Composure, Exterior Exuberance
When curating our own interior spaces, we often think first of the tonal presentation. Are we called to the bright colors of maximalism or to the creamy gold tones of art deco? Do we find ourselves enraptured with bright contemporary concepts or the sweet pastels of an eclectic palette? Or does something older and more […]
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The Mesmerizing Nature of Pattern & Color
One of our favorite things about fall is the opportunity for rich color – unlike the ethereal textiles of spring and summer, fall’s heavier fabrics can hold a more nuanced depth of color. This presents us with full permission to dress exuberantly, in all the plums, blues and currant reds native to the cooling season. […]
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A Love for Antiquity
An interview with Jean Prounis What was your path to becoming a jewelry designer? I launched Prounis in 2017 as a vehicle to tell stories of my love for antiquities while bridging my Greek heritage with the age-old sustainable craft of handwrought jewelry. On visits as a child to see my late grandfather, Nick Prounis, […]
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A Harmony of Hues
Carsten Rundholz is perhaps most famous for his unconventional design. With each collection, he shows the world new ways to experience garments and fabrics we thought we knew. Post-COVID, his work took on new life – instead of structure being the delightful surprise, he turned to color to drive the themes of each delivery. This […]
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A Tale of Time & Texture
In a sweep of remarkable texture and color, weathered-and-worn takes on new meaning in Rundholz’s collection for AW23. Through a stylized and deliberate patina, designers Carsten and Lenka create clothes that seem to tell their own stories – a washed jean jacket bleached by a trek through the desert; distressed cashmere sweaters stretched loose and […]
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Creative Catharsis
Tension, despite its pejorative undertones, is a necessary and underestimated element. It is what heightens the drama of a well-composed painting, what makes you laugh after the delivery of a great punchline and what makes the strings of a violin sing when bowed. It’s omnipresent in a crowd of free minds, in an intimate conversation […]
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A Tale of Tibet
Khata, a Tibetan gifting custom, is to bestow a ‘greeting scarf’ upon friends, relatives or guests. If given upon arrival, it indicates a wish of welcome and happiness. When shared at departure, it symbolizes a safe journey home. So begins Sabina Savage’s enchantment with Tibet. The collection is a celebration of Tibet’s rich and endlessly […]
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Wicklow's Cashmere Tapestry
The magic of Ireland is lost on few. Among its rolling green hills and thousand-year-old stone villages live fates and faeries alike – supposedly, or not, depending on who you ask. The inspiration and mythos of this place lies in its natural splendor: a brush of early-autumn grass against the hand; the pleasant cool of […]
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Notes from the Field
Greetings from the road! This week and last have been a whirlwind of color, creativity and camaraderie as we hit the pavement to find new designers, styles and inspiration for Spring/ Summer 2024. We found an abundance of good energy – and an equal amount of laughter and joy – in Paris, Milan and beyond, […]
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Presence & Character
When Japanese designers Mitsunori Ishimatsu and Miho Kuroda traveled to India in the early aughts, their team met artists craftsmen making the country’s most beautiful textiles – liquid silks, polished cottons and hand-woven linens a treat for the eye and hand. Delicate stitchwork danced across it all – a final flourish from the masters of […]
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Istanbul's Archaeology of Style
Ümit Ünal has been crafting his collection of high handwork goods for over 30 years. However, his aesthetics were formed far before that. His upbringing in Istanbul honed his eye, from afternoons spent working in his family’s atelier to walking the streets surrounded by a millennia of history to childhood games played with scraps of […]