American Fashion Podcast

Jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels, part of the Richemont group of companies, has an exhibition of new one of a kind jewelry pieces in a special experience space created by renowned American artist Robert Wilson. The “Noah’s Ark Inspires Van Cleef Arpels” exhibition is at the Cedar Lake event space on West 26th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues in Manhattan. As Ruth La Ferla in The New York Times says, “From Nov. 3 to 19, visitors will be treated to a display of the jeweler’s menagerie of exotic animals, designed as brooches and showcased in a series of recessed glass enclosures cresting and dipping rhythmically along the walls.” For tickets to see the installation, go to ARKVCA.com.

This episode has two parts. First is an interview conducted by Filmmaker Katharina Otto-Bernstein, with the artist Robert Wilson and Van Cleef & Arpels CEO Nicholas Bos. Second is an interview conducted by Charles Beckwith and Cathy Schepis, with the same two gentlemen, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Bos.

Among other things, Charles asks Mr. Wison to talk about light, and Cathy wants to know more about fashion collaborating with the art world.

 

https://www.arkvca.com/

American Fashion Podcast is a fashion show for fashion people, diving deep into the designing, making, and selling of garments and accessories through long-form interviews with people at all levels and in all corners of the business. Past guests have included Ralph Rucci, Naeem Khan, Reem Acra, Teri Agins, Tim Gunn, Lauren Sherman, Nick Graham, Simon Collins, Mickey Boardman, Deb Johnson, Jeff Staple, threeASFOUR, Anita Dongre, Yeohlee Teng, and many others.

Sandra Gault is the CEO of True Gault, a fashion technology start-up company which uses a mobile app to measure your feet and build custom-fitted high heels at a far lower price point than the average for bespoke footwear. In this interview, she talks about the measurement, fabrication, the thought behind the product, and Nikola Tesla.

https://www.truegault.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla

Merica Khan is the designer of Nia Clothing, a Brooklyn-based knitwear label that is using technology to push a sustainability agenda. She's been using the resources of the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator to learn about full-garment knitwear prin...

Abe Burmeister just wanted a better pair of pants, but the quest has taken him and Outlier co-founder Tyler Clemens on a long strange road through the depths of the fashion industry. They now release a new product every week, constantly developing new ideas and trying them out on eager fans. The company has a strong ethical fashion ethos, and a fascinating product development process, which Abe details in this interview.

“There is a core functionality to almost everything that we do. That resonates with people and gives them a reason to come back and buy more. We’re interested in a deep level of quality, so it’s not just ‘oh, that looks cool.’ How does it function? What do the fibers do? Where do they come from? How are people treated all along the supply chain?  These are questions we can’t always answer completely. When you start digging into fashion supply chains, it gets really deep and far back.” – Abe Burmeister, Outlier.nyc

Outlier.nyc References:

• Abe’s Reddit AMA from 2013

Three quick notes about the show. (1) Charles will be doing the show in Los Angeles in early October and wants to connect with listeners and industry experts, so email [email protected] to connect. (2) If you're a long-time subscriber, iTunes is probably ignoring you, and Charles explains why. (3) We are planning our next New York City live show for November, you're going to love the guest, and if you want a free ticket click the Live Show link on AmericanFashionPodcast.com : Click Here For AFP Live Show Tickets

Amy Zhou is COO of the online fashion wholesale marketplace Brandboom (link), which is giving bulk purchasing of luxury apparel a digital dimension for brands and retailers.

Thorsten Roth is a veteran fashion and lifestyle photographer who currently teaches a continuing education photography course at the School of Visual Arts entitled Photographic Identity: Artistic Self-Expression and Professional Application.

 

Izaskun Zabala discusses her business and history as a New York City-based jewelry designer whose major inspiration is an idea of timelessness. We also talk about ancient cultures and palm reading, though that provokes a bit of an argument when she tries to explain how palm reading is a science.

Timelessness References:

• Denisovan
• Basques

Our guest, Nick Blunden, is the Chief Commercial Officer at The Business of Fashion. In this episode of American Fashion Podcast, he discusses the new Business of Fashion Professional “information platform and community.”BoF Pro is a members’ platform and community furthering BoF’s mission to “open, inform, and connect the global fashion community.”

We also discuss BoF’s editorial process and tone, and Nick reveals who really reads and approves all the commends on the articles, why BoF is publishing a print edition twice yearly to feature their long-form content, and how the company thinks about its member and leadership events.

The Ensign is an e-commerce platform showcasing American luxury menswear: https://theensign.us/

Co-founders Luis Morales and Jason Wagg have backgrounds defined by work for premiere labels like Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren. In this interview they discuss the state of American menswear design and domestic garment manufacturing, and the company they are running to amplify and ride its resurgence.

“We really waned to highlight and create awareness in America on the design talent that is here, but also the fact that it’s resolating on a global level, and that was always our goal. We wanted to take the concept of Neo-American Luxury to the global consumer.” – Luis Morales “It wasn’t surprising that so many Japanese retailers were very invested, and were very interested in designers that we wanted to work with that were based here in America. What was very surprising is how little American retail support they had. We understood the first part of it, but the second part was really– it really reaffirmed that what our idea was, and what we felt our motivations were, were in the right direction.” – Luis Morales “One of the exciting things about menswear right now, is that guys don’t have that uniform anymore. We don’t have to wear suits and ties, and sometimes it’s great to wear a suit and tie, but now it’s a more special thing. Now when you wear a suit and tie you want it to look right. You want it to be for a certain occasion, and you are able to distinguish yourself in a way that you weren’t able to before, because everybody was wearing a suit and tie.” – Jason Wagg “Every single one of our designers is a passion project for us, because we believe in them. Our business is to take an investment in them, a lot of times emotionally, and we want to communicate that to other people, and we want them to get excited about it too.” –  Jason Wagg

Jim Moore details how he directs fashion coverage and visual language at the leading men’s magazine. He discusses their Best New Menswear Designers of America feature, and its new global variant in collaboration with Gap. Mr. Moore has been at GQ for nearly 40 years, was instrumental in the creation of New York Men’s Fashion Week, and delivers deep insights into the here and now of men’s fashion.

“I think what you’re finding is this new breed of designers that really… they have a mission, they have a business plan, and they want to get their clothes into Barneys or they want to do a collaboration with Uniqlo someday. They’re hungry and they’ve got good ideas, and we have a lot of original talent coming out of America. I think that is something to celebrate, and we’re really interested in that.” – Jim Moore, GQ Creative Director

References:

• Mordechai Rubinstein
• Five Four Club
• Fred Segal
• Reinge Clothing
• Popeye Magazine
• Brutus Magazine