fashionologie

Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony Resort 2012

fashionologie — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:04:59 PDT

>> Chloe Sevigny chose an old youth center gym in New York's Nolita neighborhood for her first ever Chloe Sevigny for Opening Ceremony runway show. "The company has grown so much and we wanted people to be able to see the clothes," she explained, adding of her choice of location: "I wanted you to come in and be transported back to the way you felt when you were a teenager. Even little tiny things - the cinder blocks, the color blue of the walls. Anything that would trigger the senses to that time when you're questioning everything."

Laser-cut leather eyelet minidresses, pearl-studded flats, and shoulder-baring tops populated the Resort 2012 collection, some pieces of which - logo-printed crop tops and high-top sneakers, for instance - were done in collaboration with skateboard lifestyle brand Vision Street Wear. As for the diverse model cast - which included Jenny Shimizu, Christina Kruse, and Danielle Zinaich - Sevigny said: "I wanted to do young and old and different kind of body shapes. A girl you could see hanging out in Tompkins Square Park, or your friend, or your friend's pretty friend. I wanted to look like they could all be hanging out together. I didn't want unattainable beauty."

The collection is expected to hit stores in November, with prices ranging from $45 for a printed denim beret to between $175 and $1,100 for dresses.

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Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez Don't Expect to Be in Fashion Forever

fashionologie — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 11:49:17 PST

>> There's been many an argument over the correct pronunciation of Proenza Schouler, and in the March 2011 issue of Interview, Lazaro Hernandez admits of the name, "I actually regret it." Jack McCollough agrees: "Yeah. One of our biggest regrets is the name of our company. It's like alphabet soup. There are so many letters. Even coming up with a font was a mission. We had to do these fine, little letters. We couldn't do strong, bold letters because it would be, like, out to here . . . . The whole reason why we even picked that name in the first place was that when we started, Barneys had just bought our collection and we didn't have a name. We thought, Hernandez McCollough? Doesn't sound so high end, does it?" Hernandez adds, "Proenza Schouler is better."

Their close friend and interviewer for the piece, Chloe Sevigny, points out that she likes the initials PS. McCollough notes: "We like PS, too, but Paul Smith has taken it. It's trademarked." Perhaps that's how their signature bag, the PS1, got named - it's as close to PS as they could get.

McCollough and Hernandez also cleared up questions surrounding their relationship - they are together personally as well as professionally (even though rumors have circulated that Derek Blasberg caused them to split years ago). And Proenza Schouler's CEO from the beginning, Shirley Cook, who McCollough says "was a friend of a friend from school" and "would come over and help us organize the part of running a business that we were clueless about" while working PR at Helmut Lang, has been dating McCollough's brother for six years. "What if they get married?" Sevigny asks.

Hernandez: Or what if they break up? That's even worse. [laughs] If they get married, it's fine. It's still the family.

McCollough: It could get messy. But you know, all relationships can potentially get really messy.

Hernandez: Like Jack and I could break up and then what would happen? Hmm.

McCollough: Whoa! What are you insinuating? I don't need you. [Hernandez laughs]

Hernandez: Those are all ifs. You gotta just . . .

McCollough: . . . move forward.

As far as their design relationship, Hernandez says it often works on compromise: "What's cool about us, if I want black and Jack wants white, we won't do either. We'll do grey. We have to find something in-between what we both want. It's hard. But Proenza Schouler wouldn't look the way it does if it were me by myself or Jack by himself. We do grey because I like white or he likes black. But none of us really likes grey, in a weird, metaphorical way." And between them, they design "90 percent of what you see."

That includes the pre-collections, which many other designers farm out to their design director (they don't have one). McCollough says, "If anything, the biggest stress these days are these pre-collections. They eat up so much of our time." But: "It's become just a huge part of the business. I think the pre-collections are about 60 percent of the business."

Nonetheless, they maintain that while designing, they don't think about sales. McCollough asserts, "If anything, we're anti-sales." And Hernandez adds: "We're really bad about that. We tend to think, 'What does my woman want for next season? What does she need? What does her closet lack? What has never crossed her mind?' It's never, 'Oh maybe she has enough short skirts made by us, now we need to do longer.' That's beside the point."

Sevigny notes that the designers are friends with Joseph Altuzarra and Alexander Wang, and asks if they feel a healthy competition with other designers. "Totally," Hernandez responds. "I think in the very beginning when we were trying to break through, we reacted to people who had already broken through a bit with something like, 'I hate him!' But now we feel more like there's room for everyone. Everyone does something different. All the young designers now are doing something interesting." McCollough chimes in: "There can be some crossover in places, absolutely. But for the most part, when people are doing well, they have their own thing going on."

It's well-documented that McCollough and Hernandez enjoy stepping away from the erratic fashion cycle on their farm in upstate New York - "People say New York is really inspiring and stuff, but for us, New York is a place to get sh*t done. Leaving the city and exploring things outside of the city is really inspiring," Hernandez says. And for such young designers - both men are 32 - it sounds like they've already mulled the idea of exiting fashion:

McCollough: We're not in this forever. We're not going to have the longevity of Karl Lagerfeld, who's doing this stuff at his age.

Hernandez: We respect people who have the stamina.

Sevigny: So are you going to become like Helmut Lang and do fine art?

McCollough: His career is kind of genius.

Hernandez: Helmut Lang's our hero.

McCollough: He stopped at his peak, you know?

Sevigny: But that wasn't exactly because he wanted to.

Hernandez: I think, probably, in retrospect, that served him well. For our generation, he's like God. He stepped down and left everyone wanting more.

A Closer Look at Chloe Sevigny's Resort 2011 Opening Ceremony Collection, Which Goes on Pre-Sale Monday

Chi Diem Chau — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 09:05:33 PST

>> Chloë Sevigny showed off her third collection for Opening Ceremony back in June, but starting Monday, Dec. 13, it goes on pre-sale. While the lookbook featuring Sevigny has been circulating for months, Opening Ceremony just started releasing up-close looks at the collection's full expanse. There are baby doll leopard dresses, T-shirts printed with Sevigny's favorite Robert Mapplethorpe photographs and collages, and what Sevigny's collections are really known for: the shoes.

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First Look: Chloe Sevigny Debuts Third Collection for Opening Ceremony

fashionologie — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 13:26:09 PDT

>> This Winter brings Chloe Sevigny's third collection to Opening Ceremony. The concept? Five dresses - a baby doll, a puff-sleeved minidress, an empire-waisted shift, a Peter Pan-collared frock, and a boxy dress - in five different prints - leopard, polka dot, paisley, houndstooth, and floral.

"I was just thinking about my closet and how I buy the same thing over and over again. I will buy one dress and want to have it made with different fabrics, so I thought why not try different silhouettes with different patterns, so people can choose a silhouette and have it in a variety of prints," Sevigny explained, adding: “These are prints that I always come back to.”

There are also leather shorts, jeans, T-shirts done with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, square-toed boots reissued by NaNa Shoes ("I wore those combat boots growing up," Sevigny said), sunglasses by Barton Perreira, and tights printed by Fogal to match the dresses.

More images of the collection can be seen here.

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Flashback: Lauren Santo Domingo in Sassy, February 1993 (Plus a Look at the Launch of Derek Blasberg's Book Classy Last Night)

fashionologie — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 13:29:23 PDT

>> Lauren Santo Domingo, along with Chloe Sevigny and Dasha Zhukova, hosted the launch party for Derek Blasberg's new book, Classy, at Barneys in New York last night - with the likes of Zac Posen, Jessica Stam, Jack McCollough, Terry Richardson, and Lazaro Hernandez - before bringing the scene back to her house for a celebratory private dinner. But before Classy, there was Sassy. A number of pictures of Santo Domingo in the '90s hit the web recently, and today, more popped up of her modeling in the March 1993 issue of Sassy.

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Proenza Schouler Fall 2010: Graffiti Pants, Schoolgirl Skirts - And Anna Wintour Watching Without Her Sunglasses On

fashionologie — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 20:12:21 PST

>> If you didn't get enough late '90s references at Alexander Wang, look to Proenza Schouler to fill your Fall 2010 quota. Newcomer Ann Kenny - who has the most arresting blue eyes - opened the show in high-waisted graffiti pants, made in collaboration with J Brand, and a shrunken navy toggle jacket. All the John Fleuvog-style curved platform heels and sheer thigh highs paired with full pleated school girl-style miniskirts must have caught Anna Wintour's attention - she sat next to Bee Shaffer the entire show, sunglasses-less (a first?), until the final runthrough when she finally put her trademark shades on.

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez had the house packed: benches arranged around the X-shaped runway sat as many as they could possibly fit - with the likes of Pamela Love, Mary-Kate Olsen, Jen Brill, Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Carine Roitfeld (in green furry heels), Joseph Altuzarra, Lauren Santo Domingo, Vanessa Traina, Chloe Sevigny, Craig McDean, Terry Richardson, and Olivier Zahm all accounted for. Bass pumped through Milk Studios loud enough to shake the walls, while fuzzy printed flannel dresses and alpine knits evolved into razor-sharp cropped jackets and finally, patterned minidresses with bubble skirts and trapeze shapes.

Marie Chaix styled once again, and if you're a fan of straight-off-the-runway (many front-rowers had their PS 1 clutches handy), for the next 24-odd hours, two of the runway handbags are available for purchase. Post-show, a sight: Hamish Bowles, in his usual dapper suit, but instead of his usual brogues, his trousers stuffed into shiny black wellies. A video of the show can be seen here.

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Laura and Kate Mulleavy Channel Virgin Suicide-Style Sleepwalkers for Rodarte Fall 2010

fashionologie — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:04:17 PST

>> A number of designers have been doing all black for Fall 2010, but between Marc Jacobs yesterday and Rodarte today with their parade of pales, we're left wondering: is soft the new loud? The theme of the day was sleepwalkers, Laura and Kate Mulleavy said backstage, with some inspiration drawn from the Mexican border town of Juarez.

As the lights went down in the Gagosian Gallery, a centerpiece of white candles, dripping wax everywhere, was lit at the runway entrance, and white confetti was thrown on floor, causing the photographer pit to break out in a rendition of "Happy Birthday, Rodarte." Soon, a trail of girls, including Karen Elson, who's been walking a surprising number of shows this season, and Jamie Bochert, entered the smoky room, filling it with patchwork tops, Aztec eagle prints, and even a few pairs of pants. The look was very Virgin Suicides - appropriately, Kirsten Dunst was front row (along with Tavi Gevinson, Chloe Sevigny, Ryan McGinley, Natalie Portman, and Jason Schwartzman) - floaty wedding dresses with ivory and white crochet, lace chiffon, feathers, and pearls. The shoes, meant to look like the models were floating on melted candle wax, had drippings on their heels.

In true Rodarte fashion, four (instead of the usual three) white be-gowned models were left standing in stilted formation at the end; black lights were turned on for the finale procession to "Blue Moon," causing the gowns and confetti on the ground to glow blue in the dark, and revealing lights in the shoes. Cathy Horyn weighs in: "Re Rodarte, concept of randomness not fully developed or particularly novel. We've seen broken brides before. Rei?" Full video of the show can be seen here.

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Interview Keeps the 40th Anniversary Celebration Going with a Little Subbasement Revelry

fashionologie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:09:15 PST

>> Two floors below the ground level entrance to the Hudson Hotel, Interview celebrated its 40th anniversary last night by christening Good Units, the hotel's new club. The space still had remnants of its past life as a 1930s YMCA - wooden bleachers sat in the middle of the main room, providing seating for the likes of Subversive Jewelry's Justin Giunta and Edita Vilkeviciute - and above, where the room's indoor track used to be, party-goers got an eagle's eye view of the dancing going on below. Archival Interview covers and graffiti by Brian Ermanski on the room's four walls gave the party a '90s vibe.

The crowd was teeming with notables, ready to kick-start Fashion Week. Vena Cava's Lisa Mayock and Shipley and Halmos's Jeff Halmos found a less crowded corner near the bar to chat by while Halmos's design partner Sam Shipley fetched drinks. Becka Diamond and Keegan Singh, arms linked, navigated the crowd and later, Singh's boyfriend Eddie Borgo appeared. Giovanna Battaglia, in a red and black leopard-print minidress, grooved to the music, while Derek Blasberg and Kate Bosworth, nearby, animatedly broke it down before scurrying off into the crowd. Mary-Kate Olsen, who's gearing up for her first The Row presentation, as styled by Marie-Amelie Sauve, and Chloe Sevigny both chatted with Lazaro Hernandez. A dark-haired Martin Cohn teetered in those Nina Ricci platform heels. And Dasha Zhukova, fresh off the purchase of a $19.5 million home in Los Angeles last month, flitted by in an emerald fitted coat. All in all, not a bad way to start out the week.

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Hannah MacGibbon Trades in Flax for Wheat with Chloe's Fall 2009 Campaign

fashionologie — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:01:29 PDT

>> Hannah MacGibbon has a serious fan of her work in Chloe Sevigny, who has been spotted at a number of events in different shades of the same scalloped Chloe shorts suit, but when it comes to her ad campaigns, she sticks with photographer Mikael Jansson. For her second major season campaign, instead of flaxen-haired Anna Maria Jagodzinska and Toni Garrn, MacGibbon went with the darker-haired Kasia Struss, Sigrid Agren, and Karlie Kloss, who contrast against the Spanish fields they were captured against in April, as styled by Marie Amelie Sauve.

Proenza Schouler Debuts Guest Edit of A Magazine, Short Film with Kalup Linzy, and Cruise 2010 Collection All in a Week

fashionologie — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:10:39 PDT

>> This has been a week of firsts for Proenza Schouler. They took home their first CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year award Monday, after which Jack McCollough was snapped licking Thakoon Panichgul; Lazaro Hernandez later quipped, "Yeah, we started the week off with a hangover, bad idea, and kind of throws off the whole thing!" With A Magazine #9, out this week with Chloe Sevigny on the cover, they become the first American designer guest editors - Lazaro even photographed the Swarovski campaign inside.

And today, they present their first collection abroad in Florence - complete with performance artist Kalup Linzy's short film starring Chloe Sevigny and Liya Kebede (see here), because they felt they "needed to up the ante." The Cruise 2010 collection includes bags with leather treated to look like herringbone canvas and was inspired by their recent trip to Tahiti: "When we finish a show we go away, and that trip usually winds up being the spark for the next season. Not directly - I think we try to avoid the places where the inspiration would be too on-the-surface, in fact." They say they're staying to work in Italy, and then coming back to get ready for Spring 2010, so maybe some Italian influence will shine through next time around?

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