We are so excited to release our Spring Summer 2018 items and wanted to take some time to share our inspirations and ideas going into this collection. We knew we wanted this collection to represent the shifts we were feeling ourselves. Our business turned two this year, and with that milestone came a lot of changes.
The biggest change you'll see is our growth. We expanded our line to include more unisex styles as well as a few new silhouettes just for women. Our interest in workwear continues to develop, with boilersuits, cropped trousers, and jackets remniscent of chorecoats, all fabricated in the most beautiful linen, which remains at the core of what we do. Our designs are inspired by the casual elegance of workwear and the way architects and designers like Lazlo Moholy-Nagy and Charles Eames would throw coveralls on over a button-up shirt and tie. We love the crisp chicness of a matching set, and designed variations in buttery-soft, green linen which is bright yet is as wearable as a neutral, and a slightly starched indigo linen that is as easy-going and stylish as your favorite denim, but unbelievably light and comfortable as the temperature warms up.
If we had to name the biggest theme of the scene, we would have to say color. We tend to be inspired by husband-and-wife teams, for the reason that we are always looking to see other business-and-life-partner duos to find how our styles of working are reflected, or different. The architects and designers Charles and Ray Eames were the duo we most looked to when thinking about our approach to design this season. They are inspiring to us both for their innovation in design, as well as their confident professional yet approachable way of dressing. We were able to visit the Case Study House, which was their home and studio for many years. While there, we were inspired by their collections of textiles and art from their travels, as well as their wardrobes, which were still in situ! Ray was often to be found in jumpers and button ups; Charles was photographed endlessly in variations of trousers, button-ups, and chore coats, all of which ended up influencing our designs this season, but interpreted through our own lens.
The way artists in particular live with color and approach it in their lives was also significant as we thought about how we work and live. Alexander Calder had a casual relationship to clutter in his home; almost every room was choc-a-bloc with inspiration, objets, souveneirs, books, and papers. All except the bedroom, which was dominated by bedspreads in primary yellow and red, and a large, playful painting. Even in controlled chaos, one needs a restful space. Robert Motherwell's paintings and collages and the way he worked in his studio struck us as just right. Patches of paper on the floor felt remniscent of the way we lay out fabrics, studying them from different angles to see what their best use and placement will be.
Finally, for our imagery this season, as much as we always want to create images that show the details and facts of our garments to convey a sense of fit and movement, we felt drawn to something looser, something a bit more raw, and a lot more fun. The photographs of Lorenzo Vitturi, which draw out formal relationships between fruits and vegetables, act like both collage and assemblage. His patchwork concoctions of shape and texture are brought into beautiful juxtaposition with portraits of individuals, sometimes turned away from the camera or with their faces obscured, others looking towards the light. We thought they were stunning, and they inspired us to take a little more creative license in shooting our clothing, which means in some photographs we didn't shoot our clothing at all! We may keep getting looser in the future with imagery, while continuing to push ourselves as designers. We hope you enjoy this season!