Alexander Wang Racks Up Another Award Nomination, Used to Use Craigslist Models

fashionologie — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:54:44 -0700

>> Laura and Kate Mulleavy of Rodarte became the first American designers to take home the 100,000 euro Swiss Textile Award last year, and the 2009 nominees are half American brands this time around: Thakoon Panichgul, Ohne Titel, Alexander Wang, Erdem, Alexis Mabille, and Peter Pilotto among them.

A winner will be announced Nov. 12, but in the meantime, Wang, who's been on an winning streak with the 2009 Swarovski Award for Womenswear and the 2008 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award under his belt, recently spoke to Vogue about how he's gotten so far in such a short time.

He's known for his model selection now, but in the beginning, they came from Craigslist.

"In one of the first pictures we did, the model, who we found on Craigslist, was just wearing a sweater, slouching, and smoking a cigarette. People identified with her then, and she hasn’t changed much since.”

"When I first started, my product was definitely a lot safer . . ." »

fashionologie — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:27:27 -0800

>> INSIDER WIRE -Speaking of awards, Rodarte won double honors - 100,000 euros for the Swiss Textiles Award, the first American designers to ever do so - last night. The prize, which Laura and Kate Mulleavy snatched over fellow nominees Richard Nicoll, Louise Goldin, and Jean-Pierre Braganza, is to be used to fund international development of the brand. Last year's winner was Marios Schwab. [Style File, WWD]