the mind body problem

the 50 dollar bill event and my design for it

2009-12-08T20:51:00.001-08:00

Absolute Beginners is having the 50 dollar bill event this Friday. I can't show you what will be on sale but I can give you a preview sketch... Make sure to be there from 7-11 to see the real thing.

New Store!

2009-12-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

I am selling in Absolute Beginners now 616 East 9th, a store that I played some part in starting. It's been a fun venture so far and there are a lot of amazing designers involved in this projects so I would advise everyone to stop by and watch this shop evolve. This is a picture of the brand new storefront taken the day after Alex, Isabella and Michael spent all night building it.

Drapey T - "Thieves III"

2009-06-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

My attempt at a drapey T- with hood. Made from super light weight dingy gray sky rayon cotton. Shoulder buttons hold up sleeves and convert shirt into tank. Pocket sheared for drapey look. Hood is amply cut.

The History of Draping

2009-06-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

Anne Hollander gives examples of draping in Rome and 17th century Holland. The draping patterns in ancient Rome were the main source of style.

Trapeze II

2009-05-10T13:46:00.001-07:00

Trapeze II is cut like trapeze but made from Italian heather gray thick stripe cotton jersey. Neck band is raw and curls. Sleeves are cuffed.

Trapeze

2009-05-10T13:39:00.001-07:00

This T is made from spectacular gray on gray super soft French viscose blend fabric - raw edges on the neck band, no hems on sleeves or bottom.

Lords of Flatbush

2009-05-10T13:22:00.001-07:00

This pullover "Biker" jacket done in waffle fabric has back vents and contrasting elbow patches and lots of top stitching details. It's now at both Love Brigade and the Dressing Room.

polo tank

2009-05-10T13:00:00.000-07:00

Prototype for the sleeveless polo... Colors to be determined.

Selling at Love Brigade!

2009-02-22T10:41:00.000-08:00

(As of a couple weeks ago) our clothes are being sold at Love Brigade and Friends at 230 Grand St., Williamburg!

Waffle

2009-02-22T10:39:00.000-08:00

Cowl

2009-02-22T10:37:00.001-08:00

hoodie dickie

2009-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Raskolnikov

2009-02-22T10:31:00.000-08:00

Yoke tee

2009-02-22T10:15:00.000-08:00

waffle biker

2009-02-19T18:37:00.000-08:00

This waffle knit pullover "biker" jacket will be ready for production in Spring 09. We are really excited about it.

Production

2009-01-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

Went to the Crane Street shop today and watched Miguel cut the fabric for the cowl top and the the hoodie dickey. Since they use the same fabric they are being laid out together. Both should be ready by the end of the week.

Finally in stores...

2008-12-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

The close are now for sale at The Dressing Room at 75A Orchard. Here are photos of the rack , the shop window and Alexandra who was so sweet and helped me get set up. More on this later.

Cubist....

2008-12-02T13:11:00.001-08:00

I had been working with the idea of big pockets like this for a while. There is still some questions about proportions but I think this is a good final design.

the waffle shirt

2008-11-29T18:29:00.000-08:00

Michael with basic waffle shirt with darts. All finishing, including serging is on the outside

the cowl...

2008-11-29T18:17:00.001-08:00

This is a the famous "cowl" shirt. The neck piece is long enough to cover the whole head. This has not gone to the sample-maker yet but would like to have a few made in the next couple weeks. Since this was designed i have found lots of examples of other contemporary designers working with cowls or cowl-like knits. here are two versions...

my version of Raskolnikov's shirt

2008-11-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

This is my version. The actual garment, being made now, has a fully finished inside. The elbow patches are larger and are outlines in red 5 needle stitching.

Crime and punishment...

2008-11-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

John Hurt in the British tv adaptation of "Crime and Punishment". I love these British productions from the 70's and 80's, almost always shot on Betacam they have a particular aesthetic.

slashing

2008-11-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

Slashing was a 16th century fad inspired by the clothes of soldiers. Here is an hoody style that was inspired by slashing. I had a lot of the dark red and light red fabric so I used the light red for the pocket linings...

The final yoke shirt

2008-11-29T15:27:00.000-08:00

Not bad but, it finally made sense when we tried a super light weight dingy gray (with hint of purple) rayon on top of a charcoal gray. The fabric and is shear and looks like it's about to peal off. The only problem was having product made. Susan, my manufacturer, said she couldn't cut that kind of "yoke" pattern. So we did it by hand. See picts of Michael cutting out the graded "yoke" pieces. Threads were sewn across yoke for a kind of quilting affect. In the end we decided to keep them then. I now want to sell the shirts with hanging threads - cut them off yourself if you don't like them!

The yoke shirt

2008-11-29T15:20:00.000-08:00

The pinkish and yellowish shirt is an early try-same with the blue one blue.

applique

2008-11-29T15:00:00.000-08:00

I was thinking of ways to expand the function of the t-shirt and was playing with the idea of peeling layers. I tried monochromes and a few experiments with colors - based mainly on the fabric I had at hand.

Finding a name...

2008-11-29T14:49:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of going back and forth about a name for this line. More on the details of that in a future post. But for now, the line is called "The Mind/Body Problem". This name has gotten a serious thumbs down from just about everyone but it is a logic behind it. Somehow when my co-worker Matt Drazin showed me this Bast poster, it all made sense. Most likely the line name will changing every season along with its inspirations.