News from ApparelMagic clients

After winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2015, great things have been expected for New York-based designer and ApparelMagic client Jonathan Simkhai. As his spring 2018 collection shown during fashion week proves, he’s now in the big leagues, able to represent American fashion on the international stage.

A post shared by Jonathan Simkhai (@jonathansimkhai) on Sep 11, 2017 at 1:04pm PDT

In an almost wholly indigo and cream show, Simkhai’s capable hands worked breezy sportswear staples into of-the-moment shapes.

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Striped shirting is having a moment, of course, and here it was pulled away from its business suit origins and into a realm of fantasy. Poplin shirts were knotted into handkerchief-hem dresses and separates with curly lace trims that could have been tatted by small forest fauna for a fairytale heroine.

Continuing this theme, innocent white gowns in eyelet lace were casually cinched in with a swath of sandy suede or leather.

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The collection wasn’t just for storybook princesses, however. California dream girls also got a powerful shout out in the form of crochet dresses with sexy cutouts and glimpses of skin underneath the open-work designs, all perfect for a sunset walk on Venice Beach.

Moving past sundown, Simkhai had visions of ethereal chiffon nightgowns edged in lace and a dose of old Hollywood glamour. Day to night, Jonathan Simkhai’s spring line is a dream.

With New York Fashion Week in a state of flux, the fashion industry has been in need of a jolt of excitement. At ApparelMagic client Eckhaus Latta’s show this season, that is exactly what they got.

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In a raw warehouse deep in Bushwick, Mike Eckhaus and Zoe Latta’s spring collection was as unsettling and avant garde as always. Hems were uneven. Tops ended abruptly above the belly button or flashed a sliver of skin above mom jeans, and suits were tailored to hang far off the body.

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If any of these items sound like a fashion faux-pas, that’s kind of the point. Eckhaus Latta excels at taking the unfashionable and uncomfortable and giving it a 180 degree spin until it has the downtown chic the label is known for. Everyone wearing Eckhaus Latta looks like an underground artist with an enigmatic personality and a fascinating oeuvre to match.

Their trademark knitwear was in full force here, a cutaway version in vermillion and wide pants rendered in mustard. Ending the show was a series of cloud-like sheer shifts, their ethereal powder-blue color contrasting with workwear pants worn below.

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Adding to the wide variety of clothing on display, the casting was especially idiosyncratic. In a time when diversity is talked about more than ever, the designers recognized that models come in all colors, shapes, sizes, and ages. Their cast proved that minidresses can be worn–and worn well–above size 2 and that any age can wear a crop top.

To encapsulate the whole brand’s aesthetic in one look though, a pregnant model walked down the runway with belly bared and with paint in her hair. Eckhaus Latta’s vision is the future, and in this future we can all be runway stars.

Sirens of social media take note: wearing any of ApparelMagic client Sachin & Babi’s spring collection will make your next vacation’s content go viral.

Taking a turn from the ballroom to the beach, the spring collection takes resort-style staples and glams them up for evening. Designers Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia gave their clothes the influencer treatment, in the best way possible.

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Statement accessories? Turkish hammam tassels hung off the hem of many looks, and long earring versions in bright red are all you need for an on-trend selfie.

Vivid colors? Sachin & Babi rendered their chic eveningwear in icy blue chiffon, marigold yellow satin, and millennial pink taffeta. These screen-friendly blocks of bright color are perfect for any jet-setter on holiday.

Dramatic volumes? Never fearing a ballgown silhouette, the designers featured high-low dresses and trapeze-shaped beach cover-ups any social media scroller would double tap.

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Iconic graphics? T-shirts embellished with a bold set of red lips make the airplane seat selfie fun when there’s not enough elbow room for one of Sachin & Babi’s diaphanous gowns.

All that’s left is for Instagram influencers to hop on a plane and wear these picture-perfect dresses on terraces overlooking the Mediterranean.

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Liya Kebede is one of the world’s most in-demand supermodels, walking on red carpets in New York and runways in Paris and representing brands like Estée Lauder, Louis Vuitton, and Gap, but that doesn’t stop this Ethiopian-born beauty from giving back. Kebede, a Glamour magazine Woman of the Year and one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, isn’t just a Vogue covergirl: she’s a force for change in the world, starting with her roots in Africa.

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lemlem, Her line of clothing and homewares launched a decade ago, gives jobs to weavers and traditional craftspeople, many of whom are women, and is proudly made in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Madagascar. This is no vanity project: everything from yarn-spinning to embroidery is done in Africa, and lemlem, an ApparelMagic client, is committed to helping improve these artisans’ quality of life by utilizing their special skills.

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From gauzy caftans handwoven in Kenya to tank tops embroidered in Rwanda, lemlem’s clothes don’t just do good, they look good. In addition to its men’s, women’s, and children’s lines, lemlem also creates home textiles and collaborates with Ancient Greek Sandals on footwear.

In addition to the line of clothing, lemlem also benefits the lemlem Foundation, a nonprofit aiming at improving maternal care in Ethiopia. Learn more about the lemlem Foundation here.

A post shared by lemlem (@lemlemnyc) on May 25, 2017 at 1:35pm PDT

The stars of movies, music, TV, and fashion converged last night at the Met Gala in New York City. The red carpet, often deemed the “Fashion Oscars” due to the high-profile celebrities, included a number of them promoting ApparelMagic clients.

The subject of the 2016 documentary The First Monday in May, the Met Gala is an annual fundraiser headed by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.

With this year’s exhibition celebrating designer Rei Kawakubo’s visionary body of work, the typically white-tie dress code directed these VIPs to go out of their comfort zone with avant-garde looks.

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Just weeks after the end of her groundbreaking HBO series Girls, Lena Dunham was back in the spotlight in a ballgown by ApparelMagic client Elizabeth Kennedy. Worn with her trademark irreverence, the off-the-shoulder number referenced motifs running through the Met’s exhibition: namely, the tartans and plaids Kawakubo is drawn back to again and again and her lifelong affinity with assymmetry. Topping the Elizabeth Kennedy gown off with a messy bun and casual bangs, Dunham found the perfect balance between her elegant eveningwear and her fun-loving demeanor.

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Jenni Konner, a director, writer, and producer on HBO’s Girls, twinned with her partner in crime in a merlot column dress, also by ApparelMagic client Elizabeth Kennedy. With huge bell sleeves cinched with black straps, Konner’s dress was a punky take on formalwear. Elizabeth Kennedy, an emerging designer brand, is quickly becoming the modern woman’s one-stop shop for dramatic but unfussy evening dresses.

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Solange Knowles is topping not just the charts, but now even topping Vogue’s Best Dressed List. In a cold-weather tuxedo by ApparelMagic client Thom Browne from his Fall 2017 show, Solange showed that her sister Beyonce is not the only force to be reckoned with in both music and fashion. The Thom Browne ensemble, a down-filled puffer overcoat with a long train, cemented the Cranes in the Sky singer’s status as a tastemaker.

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With the front page news in the theatre world of her new award earlier this week, Cynthia Erivo is a rising star. The Grammy, Tony, and now Emmy winner chose ApparelMagic client Thom Browne for this occasion for a surreal ballgown-style assemblage of deconstructed tailoring. Walking up the Met’s grand stair like a 2017 Marie Antoinette, her hair was styled in the Louis XVI pouf style paired with a dress substituting panniers for white brocade blazers.

A post shared by Thom Browne (@thombrowneny) on May 3, 2017 at 2:46pm PDT

Superstar rapper Wiz Khalifa isn’t the first person you’d expect to see in white tie and tales, but at a gala exhibiting an iconoclastic designer, the combination seems especially opportune. The graphic tailcoat and waistcoat offer the perfect contrast to his many, many tattoos and over the top jewelry. With a pair of low key sunglasses to shield his eyes from a blinged out watch, Khalifa is this century’s perfect gentleman in his Thom Browne finery.

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DJ and music producer Diplo took some time off the top 40 to take in the sights at the Costume Institute in a suit by ApparelMagic client Thom Browne. Trimmed in black grosgrain and hemmed into the designer’s signature cropped silhouette, the suit made the Grammy winner into every bit the heartthrob.

America, the beautiful. Public School’s Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne put out a collection this season at New York Fashion Week dedicated to their country from sea to shining sea. Or maybe more accurately, From Manhattan city street to great plains field to Los Angeles basketball court. Indeed, with models wearing clever red caps proclaiming “Make America New York” and fuzzy white moccasins, you knew this wasn’t a standard star-spangled version of the United States.

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Looking to bring together the red and the blue—literally, in the case of some patriotic paisleys, and geopolitically, with urban streetwear and farmers’ plaids—Public School found a bipartisan approach with the most chic denim on denim looks for some and deconstructed suiting with open shoulders for others. This was anything, though, but a compromise.

Somewhere between a hoodie screen printed with a close up of Michael Jordan’s face and a mean set of cranberry colored jackets, you could tell that this folksy-varsity hybrid was exactly what the country needed. Or at least the fashion industry.

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