hippie summer fashion

Yes, I said I was real busy lately and had no time to write... je m'excuse! Nowadays in this economy it's no joke and if one wants to survive he or she better invests a damn large amount of time and sweat into the business. This blog is part of that business, but I admit: it's not priority. I just really love to write and talk about my business so I do want to continue posting when the time allows...

So, right now 2 of my main Bernina sewing machines are in for a tune up (as always in Spring, but one of them has an issue most likely bigger than a regular service can take care of, so I am just hoping my mechanic can take care of it sooner rather than later :/ and weirdly still today, after all these years, I am shocked to see empty tables when I walk by the sewing work space. I am simply not complete without these incredible tools. Well, hopefully there won't be any pressing fashion matters before Memorial Day... But, it's not all bad, because I do have some time to blog now!

I wanted to show you some of the images from our new Spring photo shoot. You'll see, my hippie inspiration continues... Jimi Hendrix on a fringed kaftan and a super hippie Madonna on a woven jacket! O.K. here we go: a couple new pictures from our Spring campaign:

NYC model Jessica Calle in the Madonna (Celebration) Woven Jacket, photo by Carl Posey.

Jess with guitar rockin' out in our purple Jimi Hendrix Kaftan Dress, photo Carl Posey.

So all you really have to do is slip on one of these, turn on the music and relax. Enjoy Summer time! If you are more into skirts, you'll digg our One-Of-A-Kind pleated minis or our fabulous floor length hippie patch work skirts... their all in our New Arrivals category.
O.K. guys and girls, stay tuned for more hippie treats this Season!


And "pssst", I 'm not really supposed to tell you yet, but in one of the next posts, I'll put the spot light on Zimmermann & de Perrot, a Swiss theater troupe which is really good. They had their US premier here in NYC earlier this month. Because Zimi (Martin Zimmermann) and Dimi (Dimitri de Perrot) are both friends and we were roommates in Zürich more than 20 years ago, I was invited. So you'll get the inside scoop and you'll see some images (with ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov) from their NYC photo shoot with photographer Carl Posey.

wedding in las vegas, part 1

Just so you know: What happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. Never ha, ha! Of course not, because people talk, people take pictures and before you know it, the whole wide world knows what you did in that town!

But whatever. You are in for a treat! Let me explain. Most people dream of a wedding in Vegas. Some people are lucky enough to get married in Vegas and some just get to go along! Yessssha! - I was a chosen one! It sounds like cookies and cream to you, but it was not that easy. I took an assignment.

I was to design and tailor a wedding dress for the bride and the outfit for the groom. I got paid. And I was going to soon go on a really nice ride, but first, I had to do some work!

So what were Mimi's dreams of the dress for that most special day in her life? I flew to Switzerland for a meeting to try and find out. I showed her some ideas and we brainstormed around a bit. The same ritual, except shorter and much more focused went on with the groom, Greg. He pretty much knew what he wanted: something cool, with special details, tailored but easy, maybe with a hat. He mentioned that he wanted to wear his sneakers. O.K.!?

The next step here would be the drawing table and it was. Many sketches later I snatched the O.K. to go ahead. Sourcing the actual material from an idea (mirrored sequence?! White on white embroidered silk?!) can be tricky but in NYC's Garment District you can find pretty much anything. And so I did!

Before I go further, I would like to ask this question: Why is one of the most important parts of fashion, it's process needed to exist and come to life, its production so invisible? Who do you think makes these outrageous looking Haute Couture creations??! The good Samaritans? A Magician? No, you can't just shove all the ingredients into an oven and expect them to come out done... they have to be assembled. Meticulously, patiently, stitch by stitch, with a lot of sweat and sometimes even injuries, like small cuts and strains, etc. but let's not go there!

Let's for once, very unglamorously put a spotlight on how these garments and yes, even pretty wedding gowns are made:


My Bernina Artista sewing machine helps!

...all photos by Carl Posey...

O.K. so let this marinate for a while and soon, in one of the very next posts, I will reveal the finished product! And guess what? You are going to go on for the ride with me: A Wedding In Las Vegas! Stay put!

ahead of the game at last?

It's always difficult to move on to the next post if I happen to like the current one. You can see I have been hesitant to shove down The New Yorker cover for nearly a week now. But the time has come, where I must do the inevitable, if I want to keep the readers (you) interested in this feed that is.

But before I move on to a completely different subject, I would like to say how much I appreciated Patty Marx's article and the fact that she mentioned me in it.
Love the cover too! At first I thought it's the artwork of Love and Rockets comic book artists Los Bros Hernandez, Gilbert, Jamie and Mario Hernandez. I was wrong. The illustration picturing a few (!) Michelle Obamas smoothly modeling some garments down the runway is credited to Jean-Claude Floc'h.

Interesting that Floc'h puts emphasis on Michelle's unique color choices - of which I have been talking about in my previous posts - of the outfits along with some key style elements that the first lady is getting known for: classic sheath cuts, decorative waist belts, layering, etc. The only thing missing was something sleeveless.

While Michelle is wearing American made designs, she is - like all of us - sporting lots of China made wear (J.Crew) these days. It's therefore fitting that Patty's article, which dissects the history of production in the U.S.A, is a cover story of the style issue.

I am Swiss. We Swiss are very proud of the label "Made in Switzerland" or "Swiss Made"- if not obviously - and for good reason. Just look at the watch market, anything worth your time and money is Swiss Made, the same goes for chocolate sweets and sewing machines (Bernina), not to mention the fabulous St. Galler Kinderfest Bratwurst, which I am missing every day. The "Swiss Made" label is of quality.

So when I moved to New York in 1992, I did not care about anything but me, sure....

Then I started realizing that I am now producing an item made entirely in the U.S.A. At first I did not embrace that fact and lamented that I would love the Swiss made label instead. However, since I was now living and working here, I started to get friendly with the Made in USA label and I made sure it was known to the customer, via hang tags.

...imports once felt exotic: now homegrown goods seem special...
illustration silja goetz, the new yorker

Little did I know that in the year 2009 I am one of the very, very few left that is actually producing in New York, in a city where originally in 1910 something like over 70% of woman's wear was produced. I learned that today it is a mere 10%. Over 300'000 people worked in the garment industry in the 1950's, today the number is 20'000 and stagnating as we read. If you read The New Yorker article you already know that.

Little did I know. For me it was not really an option to out-source. As a small business, I wanted to keep production as close to home as possible, so that I could literally smell the oil burned by the industrial sewing machines. Sure in the early 2000's I considered, in order to lower the prices, producing elsewhere. There was Turkey, where my cousin (yes, I am half Turkish) was head of a production company. I made a couple of attempts to find a production managing company in NY. But after checking out my options, there was no way that I was in the position to move manufacturing. At that point it would have required a huge amount of money to add jobs (in a foreign country), which I did not have and did not care to look for. So I kept on producing my line in the fashion district just about a mile from my studio. It just made sense to me.

While more and more big companies are shutting down altogether, I have a strange feeling that I am, at last, ahead of the game. Able to sustain an economic downturn, because of the size and local of my business and the uniqueness (not mass produced) of my product, made entirely in the U.S.A.

...always close to the production facilities... day and night...
photo by carl posey

sewing machines are back in fashion

JC Reports most recent newsletter contains an article from Telegraph UK about the comeback of sewing machines - not that I ever thought they were out of fashion, as they generate my income over the past decade! What would I do without them??!


Sewing machines are back in fashion:

Environmentally conscious women are buying more and more sewing machines as they turn their backs on disposable high street fashion in order to "make do and mend", according to retailers.

It has put the boom down to an increased awareness of social and environmental issues and the desire to stand out from the crowd. The chain described the revival as a backlash against a "throw-away" society.

Woolworths reported a similar trend, with its sewing machine sales growing by 258 per cent between 2006 and 2007, but offered a different explanation for the increase.

A spokesman said: "We think it's down to more home economics classes being taught in schools, the increasing popularity of fancy dress parties and the death of the high street tailor."

Reports of a sewing machine revival come ahead of Alternative Fashion Week, which starts tomorrow in London.

Josie Nicholson, founder member and project manager of the Ethical Fashion Forum, said: "Fast fashion has meant consumers have lost some of their individuality but customising your own clothes means you can create your own unique style."

Wow, "yeay" I'd say, "this is the spirit"! Maybe this new found interest in the crafty side of ones personality is also being somehow related to the equally recent found ability to be able to independently sell carefully handy-crafted goodies over the internet and is probably being promoted to originally creative individuals by the popping-up of yet more e-shops and - malls all over the world? Whatever the reason for this comeback- it is a great development!

Although I still swear on my Bernina. It's the best sewing machine in the world and I do NOT recommend any other, especially for home use. (I wish they'd finally made their embroidery elements be compatible with Macintosh however!!) Designers do RARELY use Microsoft. We design on Mac baby.

I'll attach one of my old pics (once I dig it out of my vast archive of deteriorating press clips) of when I received my "Artisa", which was sponsored by Bernina, back in 1998 - or was it 1997? - all I remember it was a X-mas present. Hope this advertising will lead to an upgrade to the newest model "wink", "wink"!

But honestly, a revolution should be on the calender! What is going on in this world? We all damn near look alike and destroy the planet by doing so - how stupid! Death to all China made garbage fashion. I like Uniqlo, sorry! Yeap, a contradiction and some may call me a hypocrite.

There is however a need for casual pieces at low prices in tough economies and that is why we frequent a store like this, but it does not mean we have to live by them and hopefully one completes his basic look with individual pieces made somewhere locally or like this post is trying to suggest hand made by yourself! Try it! I'll supply knowledge and advice in case you need it! Let's bring manufacturing back to the US.

Long Live Individuality! Go get your own machine and fix your style up and make a mark! It's about damn time!