Sometimes the most beautiful works of art never see the light of day.
That fate befell Hue’s feature on Shoe Obsession at The Museum at FIT, that homage to droolworthy footwear which (sadly) closed April 13. Hue’s spring textile issue just got too jam-packed for a spread on shoes, even those as gorgeous as those The Museum displayed.
But in the age of the internet, nothing ever dies, not really. Loyal reader, clasp your hands with glee: you can read about Shoe Obsession here!
Independent jewelry designers can often be found at the bench, hammering away at itty bits of metal. But corporate designers work much differently. Charu Mehta, Jewelry Design ’11, associate jewelry designer for the Adelington Design Group, part of Fifth & Pacific (formerly Liz Claiborne), gives Hue Too a rare glimpse into the mass-market design process, using a pair of Kensie earrings as an example.
First, the design team shops at high- and low-end stores for inspiration. They liked these resin earrings—and neon is hot right now—and wanted to create something better.
Back in the studio, the designers make dozens of sketches, based on materials chosen by the product development team. The design director picks the best one—in this case, the one on the lower right. She thought the teardrop shape with just one ring of stones looked special without costing too much.
Next, Mehta makes a clear and informative technical drawing that is sent to the manufacturer.
The manufacturer takes a “first pass” at the earring, and the designers tweak it. In this case, they wanted the blue resin piece to look shinier and asked for it in a range of colors.
Mehta’s work is done when the showroom sample comes in. This piece, in Kensie’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection, sells for $38 at Lord & Taylor and Macy’s.
In the Spring issue of Hue, Assistant Professor Sean Cormier shows off FIT’s state-of-the-art textile-testing lab. Manufacturers of clothing and other textiles subject each item to rigorous testing, to make sure it doesn’t tear too easily or wrinkle too much or burn too fast or fade too strongly in the laundry or rub off on an unsuspecting sofa… you get the point.
The pictures tell the story pretty nicely, in Hue’s humble (and insanely biased) opinion, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, then this video of the testing lab’s machines in action, at 24 frames per second, is worth almost 2 million words. That’s almost twice as long as the longest novel in history, In Search of Lost Time. You’d be a fool not to watch.
embedded by Embedded VideoIn the Spring 2013 issue of Hue, textile designers and developers at four companies talked about their process. A fifth, Yuko Yamaguchi, Illustration ’10, at Tom Cody Design, didn’t fit in the issue. But Hue thinks her job, and her work, is seriously awesome.
A design by Yuko Yamaguchi that combines floral patterns with a leopard print. Originally the design was much flatter; Cody suggested adding brushstrokes for texture.
The Garment District-based company designs patterns and embroidery—about 200 a week—and sells them to fashion designers high and low. Those clients might use the pattern for one garment or an entire collection. Most similar companies are based in Europe; Tom Cody Design is one of the few American companies in the business.
Cody, who started his company after taking a Textile Design course with Professor Lee Stewart at FIT, employs three FIT-trained illustrators and designers on his team and would look favorably upon applicants from FIT’s Illustration or Textile/Surface Design majors (hint, hint).
A design by Yamaguchi inspired by winter foliage.
Using a computer and tablet pen, Yamaguchi creates two to three patterns per day. Those that Cody and assistant art director Yat Yee Tam approve are printed onto mock garments and shown to clients. The job, though demanding, is a satisfying creative outlet for her.
Yamaguchi finds inspiration from runways and street fashion and just about everywhere else. “I think fashion is related to the economy, politics, art, music, literature, news, psychology, technology, and architecture,” she says.
The catch? She can’t get credit for her designs when they hit the runway. Once a design is sold, it’s treated as the buyer’s intellectual property. It’s sort of like having an affair with a celebrity: You get all the fun but none of the status.
“It’s kind of hard,” she admits, “but the good thing is, you’re not bored. When Yat and Tom accept one of my ideas, it’s so exciting. Where I was working before, I’d suggest an idea and they’d deny, deny, deny.”
An abstract painterly design by Yamaguchi. Fewer colors makes the design more appealing to cost-conscious fashion companies.
Hue is crushing on Sophie Hong. The Taiwanese designer, who got her start in the ’70s, creates wearable clothing out of silk dyed using a traditional Chinese technique.
Her unique and beloved silk garments are represented in the Musée Galleria de la Mode et du Costume, a museum of fashion history in Paris.
Her clothes aren’t just meant for runways, so she decided to hold a fashion show outside Cafe Le Nemours in Place Colette in Paris, near her eponymous boutique.
Sophie Hong’s outdoor fashion show. Photo by Liam Cheng.
The show could have been mistaken for a bunch of well-dressed coffee drinkers and umbrella carriers wearing matching chunky clogs, except they were far more orderly than your average size-zero Parisians. And… it wasn’t raining.
embedded by Embedded VideoHue isn’t the only one who likes Ms. Hong. Last year, she received the National Order of Merit from the French government for her fashion design and her French bookstore in Taipei, Le Pigeonnier (The Dovecote). The shop was founded by her late partner, Francoise Zylberberg.
Sophie Hong at her fashion show in Paris last September. Photo by Lucien Lung.
And the icing on the cake? She spent a month at FIT in 1992 on a scholarship. She says the culture she absorbed while here enhanced her vision. Consider Hue flattered.
Sophie’s portrait by Jacques Camille Picoux.
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