For Hire

Thursday, March 27, 2008

adidas cowboy boots

What in the world were they thinking??



Something really cool!!!! Has anyone seen these? I want them, badly. To give my outfit the last dot on the i. Anyone knows how important that is... so please keep your eyes open!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

my favorite piece of clothing

idil vice shirt with bow tie

During my years of designing clothes, there is one piece that I make the most use out of. It comes back every season: THE BUTTON-DOWN SHIRT. I ask: What better frock can resolve more fashion issues at once than "The Classic Button-Down Type"?

idil vice shirt with embroidery


Most of the time it is made from woven 100% cotton (stay away from polyester and such - unless it's a rare and unbelievable cool vintage), some are even upgraded with the softest weave called Pima.

vintage shirts in fashion

The button-down, button-up or button-front Shirt (The analogous garment to a men's dress shirt for women is a blouse but I like to call mine "shirts", "blouse" sounds a bit "old-lady", and that is NOT what I am aiming for) is the most comfortable piece that also makes you look swell and well dressed in an instant.
You are tired, did not get enough sleep? Just put on a great crisp white and gone are the visible signs of exhaustion!

idil vice in one of her favorite shirts


idil vice bow tie shirt with "Oh!" embroidery



a cool wide version by luise markey as seen on style bubble


A shirt also looks great under almost everything... a T-shirt, a v-neck sweater, a crew-neck sweater, a sports coat, a blazer, etc. and it looks great with almost ANYTHING: Jeans, slacks, skirts, shorts... you name it!

girls who like their own styles


idil vice wearing her shirt underneath her waxed denim top



I personally go nuts for great button downs and do hoard them (some of my favorite basic shirts, besides my very own, are from agnes b). There is nothing wrong with a everyday white button-down shirt, I use them on regular days and wear them for work (and I am NOT a banker).


Below are a few variations of shirts which are sure to give you a lift!


idil vice mickey mouse cotton s/s shirt & idil vice pima bow tie shirt


two idil vice "Mother Teresa" style panel shirts with variations


idil vice powell perlta bones skateboard outfit feat. a white shirt
idil vice patchwork shirt w/ James Dean and Marilyn Monroe


two idil vice police/military inspired versions of shirts




idil vice Monroe tribute button down pima shirt with separate pink satin tie



a button-down detail by baron baronne as seen on style bubble


Oh well, I hope you enjoyed the shirt tribute edition! I am working on a lot of new styles at the moment, some black one's, which are very exiting and some more with bow ties and regular ties, etc. So I will keep posting them as pictures become available...

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

yes, and we love her too!

AGYNESS DEYN - Height: 5'9", Bust: 32", Waist: 24", Hips: 34", Dress: 8, Shoe: 7, Hair: blonde, Eyes: blue, Agencies: New York DNA, London: Models 1, Paris: Viva Model Management.



I am always on the lookout for the model which represents my vision at the present time... thinking about my collection "Fashion Rocks", I definitely feel Agyness, because she punk rocks!

Monday, March 24, 2008

amy winehouse style

Hey -just thought you'd appreciate this fashion spread in the February Edition of French Vogue, Amy-Style modeled by Isabelli Fontana.

photo credit French Vogue

Sunday, March 23, 2008

politics and fashion

We do always question what fashion is most inspired by and whether it is art or if it is just commercial, etc. I personally think fashion is, besides being commercial art, also a opportunity for political statements.

I for example rebel against establishment, against what people think one should look like, etc. with my collections. When I design a skirt with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s picture on it, I state that I find his personality and message important and I pay tribute to it and when I put a substance abuse party print t-shirt under a police officers jacket I expose the corruption of certain authority figures, etc.

It is a fundamental desire of people to be able to express themselves and that is the reason for sales of merchandise with a political statement factor. Of course all fashions are here to make statements because even the guy that sports a classic outfit from Brooks Brothers, makes the statement that he believes in a more conservative approached style. Style can also be used to mislead peoples perception of ones self.

The most recent political fashion accessory (be it worn consciously or unconsiously) is the Shemagh ("kufiya", "keffieh" or "kaffiyeh", "hatta","yashmag" the Arabic terms).


Seen on every street corner for sale in New York, Tokio, Berlin and other major cities around the world and worn by all kinds of people as reported on many fashion/style blogs, etc. The typical fashionable person wears the Shemagh "street style", simply tied around the neck like this:






In the Arab world the scarf is either worn "Kufiya"-Style (A Kufiya is part of the formal Arab attire and is bound by a "aqaal", the cord that goes around the wearer's head)...


...or it is worn like this, "Shemagh-Style"...


Here are a few ways to tie a Shemagh scarf:






Now, my opinion is that the latest popularity of this scarf (originally an 80's trend which started popping back up in 2003 after the US lead invasion in Iraq and by now has become a widespread fashion trend) - also worn by the late Palestinian president Yasser Arafat (The Kaffiyeh is the most recognized symbol of support for the Palestinian intifada) - is rooted in the desire of the Western world to balance out the injustice that is being done by our President, namely George W. Bush and his administration, in the Arab world.

At a time when most Americans wish for the troops to come home and the war in Iraq as well as the Israeli and Palestinian conflict be ended, it is only fitting that people show their colors (and patterns) by wearing this unmistakable political accessory.

The trend has become so huge though that there is a vast amount of youngsters now wearing it, while having no clue about what this scarf stands for and why it has become a trendy fashion accessory, and they simply don't care (!) which is too much of course... and it is also the reason why many people have different ideas about this new trend.

Below an opinion about it from Germany (NOT my point of view however).





And finally here some variations: The collection of the official brand and the matching video...





....by the way here is my way of wearing the Kufiah... after all: I got to show my Turkish roots once in a while!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

idil vice vintage

Hi! I was thinking about how great it is to have the opportunity to have a blog and upload whatever we want and write about what inspires us - or not - and basically in a few years have this great archive of thoughts and images about what is our passion!
And, most importantly: The whole wide world can access it and indulge, which is a far cry from the old paperback diary we used fill back in the day.

I have been in the fashion business for more than a decade now and was just reminiscing about what my blog would look like today, if I'd started it in 1994....

Well, therefore I though it was necessary to have a look back, especially since I do see many of the early 1990's trends come back with a vengeance. The whole 80's thing, (as put together by stylist Richard Shoyemi or worn by Rapper NiYi) with all the deglo colors and the "technoy" accessories? Been there done that - but I don't mean this to sound cocky or bitter - not at all - as life goes on, we realize: everything always, all the time, rotates and, although reinvented and hopefully updated, it all comes right back around, every time!

It's just like history, it repeats itself, and sometimes even the saying: "We will never learn" resonates factual in fashion... and another thing is true: Never throw away a good piece of vintage. It will be back in fashion.

Anyway, enough preaching! I won't bother you with everything at once, but will throw a few pieces in here and there and date them. After all I need to catch up with my lost years in blogging!


Disney's Aladdin spandex gold printed strap dress Idil Vice 1995.


It's me rapping (New York, NY big city of my dreams/The Message
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five) on stage at
Kaufleuten in Zurich, 1995.



....and here some more outfits from this show dated 1995...








...o.k. 'nough said!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

props all around

O.K. I admit: I would never have been able to do it alone. We all need people to get us where we want to go - anyone who thinks otherwise is making a fool of themselves - I had so much help and support - left and right - and it would take this blog days and weeks to give credit... let's face it: I'll never be able to GIVE CREDIT TO EVERYONE.

The people who think they do deserve credit: here I am saying: YOU deserve it. This post is for everyone who gets credit for anything he/she (you know who you are!) has done for idil vice and also to give credit to my longtime, friend and husband and lover, partner and professional photographer CARL POSEY.

Carl Posey has a vision not given naturally to most. He is a special child of creative intuition. I have watched him work many times and some of the times I have just seen the product - and always - it looks like - the pictures are real, simply true and striking at first glance and last. Many of them have become iconic in the meantime and are timeless.

There are many, many images that go through my head when I think Carl Posey... whenever you see an unusually striking image anywhere and also within my collections, they most likely are Carl Posey's honorable depictions... here are some of the newest ones (mind you - fashion shots - he's got a much bigger range) with model "English Muffin" Olivia.





Yeah - I am one of those lucky fashion designers to have the photographer - and one of the very best - right at my doorstep at all times!!! Thanks Carlito - I love and cherish you!

about IDILVICE

My photo
New York, NY, United States
Just like the rare Swiss mountain flower Edelweiss - a symbol of prestige and distinction - the clothing brand IDILVICE (pronouced "Edel-vice") was born in the mountains of Switzerland and since then it's flourishing on the concrete of Manhattan and recently even in the rolling hills of the San Francisco Bay Area. However as the spelling indicates, the label is not meant to be associated with too much folkloric alpine tradition, but rather and probably in the contrary, with unconventionality. The IDILVICE label was founded in 1995 by Swiss Native fashion designer Idil from the city of Saint Gallen, Switzerland, who's foundation dates back to the 7th Century and which became famous for their quality textile products, especially embroidery textiles, which are still popular with Parisian Haute Couture designers today. In search for something less traditional, Master Graphic Designer Idil ventured out to New York City where she fell in love with American Pop Culture.