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

recycled t-shirts

That's right! A while ago I have registered the domain RecycledTshirt.com and I am pretty sure that that was a very, very good move as I will soon add another online business to my repertoire... and the name says it: T-shirt Recycling!

The idea is to finally, officially offer my customers to take the chance and hand over their old collection of fabulous T-Shirts and let my design team work them into some pretty amazing "new" pieces. There will be a bunch of styles to choose from, so get ready for some really exiting One-Of-A-Kind fashion!

I started taking this process (recycling) to a complete new level, when in the early 1990's (the age of the Tank Girl and girly fashion) I was searching for tight fitting t-shirts - without success (really, there weren't any fitting t-shirts for woman at all and if you were a trend setter in those same shoes, you know what I am talking about) - and whilst shopping in the children's departments, I decided to just make the XXL t-shirt which I adored, but which looked ridiculously hideous on me, into a fitted garment. Over the years I have become very professional at this craft of patchworking!

I am also taking full credit for inventing the t-skirt, a skirt made from a t-shirt.

This is a recent dress I made for one of my private clients (who saw my surf t-shirt dress, which I published here a while ago) who is currently putting together her collection of old Grateful Dead shirts for an up coming new recycling project.

t-shirt recycling service available soon on T-ShirtRecycling.com

made in africa

Designers listen up!

Xoomba is an organization who is working to integrate organic and fair trade solutions in Africa.
It makes sense. Africa can jump ahead of developed nations, weighted down by missing renewable energy infrastructures, already in place there!

I'd love to put a tag on my clothing that says: Made in Africa with organic sustainable materials!

Xoomba's goals are to keep production from raw materials to finished products in West Africa to maximize profits for the local communities and follow fair trade standards in every step of the production. An overwhelming amount of raw materials flies out of Africa without benefiting local economies (eg. 97% of Mali's cotton leaves the country in it's raw state).

It's simply been too long that subcontractors for large companies such as Gap and Nike have supported sweatshops and exploited children.

The garment industry has become too globalized with materials traveling every which way in the process of becoming a garment.

So, I know this is short notice, but you should check out tonight's line up at Galapagos in Brooklyn! Map!

XOOMBA Launch Benefit, tonight at 8PM, $15. Buy tickets!

This is an initiative to work in some of the world's poorest countries to reverse the negatives of the conventional garment industry.

Who if not us the designers and producers should listen and take action?

Tonight, performers will include Nils Nusens and his Viking Funk band, with special guests Perplex, and the incredible vocalist M (Madwoman). Famoro Dioubate, from Guinea, will also perform on balofon as a special guest for the evening.

African food, bissap (Hibiscus tea from Senegal), and Customized cookies from SUGARBUILT will also be sold for this cause.

must see snl spoof

Look, I know this is primarily a blog about fashion, but nowadays politics are so important that there is no way to get around them even in my profession.

In case you missed last Saturday's SNL, here it is: Don't you miss this hilarious spoof of the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin! Watch it now... FYI, this is Saturday Night Live - not the real thing - yeah, I know, it comes darn close! A rare opportunity here to catch up as it has already been taken off You Tube!

Seen the debate last night? You know who needs to be the next president of the United States then...

...another sweet debate! and I love the pictures! they match my blog! photos courtesy of carl posey.

40 minutes to hamptons

Looking for a better way to get to the Hamptons?

Not a supermodel?

If you got $495 to spare do as lovely Adriana Lima, who was boarding a V1 Jet Seaplane to Long Island for an autograph signing... intriguing! V1 Jets are known for flying passengers on the “dead legs,” or the unused trips back to their original departure point. Their newest offering, V1 Jets Seaplane, caters to the Hamptons set - making travel to East Hampton a breeze. You, along with seven passengers, depart from the Seaplane Port at 23rd Street and the F.D.R. Drive. Buckle up and in you’re in for an exhilarating forty-minute commute that lands in East Hampton Airport.

Again, all for a mere $495 EACH WAY…

Adriana Lima not included.

To plan your getaway to the Hamptons, Montauk, or Martha’s Vineyard (my favorite!) by seaplane, visit jetcharter.

Remember, there is the energy efficient, public transportation option of the Long Island Railroad for the one's not in a rush. You can bring your bike along for some real time beach exploring!

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!