………………………….When I presented my July 07 sketches to my buyer, which changed quite often…..I decided to do the sketches like a runway show…..They loved it! This whole collection was very me, and something I would have shown at Anne Klein!
……………………….The July Designer Gallery was high on GLAMOUR!……..No lounge clothes or sweats here. This was a PRIME TIME SHOW so all of the stops had to be pulled out!!!! The top jacket was in the ever popular WOOL BOUCLE. It didn’t matter how many styles I did in this fabric….they all sold out, and this was no different. The trims on the jacket were real MATTE GOLD LEATHER!…..The colors were BLACK/GOLD and BOTTLE GREEN/GOLD. The green was very dark and rich. The Gold leather banding trimmed the collar, down the front and hem of the jacket, which had a curved side slit. The three pocket flaps also had gold band trims. The sleeves had a curved split trimmed in the leather. All of the half ball buttons were in a matte gold to match the leather……It was a hard decision whether this jacket or another boucle jacket with zipper trims should be in the Designer Gallery, but we had to choose one so we felt the gold leather and the next jacket told a strong story…………The next jacket was a METALLIC LEATHER BELTED MOTTO. It came in the MATTE GOLD and a MATTE SILVER……Everyone at the gallery show went wild for these jackets and all of the models had to try them on!. I think the sketch speaks for itself. Zipper asymmetric front…..zipper pockets and zippers on the sleeves plus a gold roller buckle would be all the details you would think it needed, but you know me…..I always like to go the extra mile. I added two more zipper at the hems of the back seams. I showed them unzipped…..SEXY!……Skipping down to the bottom row were three pieces in the yet unnamed Whisper Knit. They were all in the heavier weight yarn which was all I was using at the time. The classic TN was in a jersey stitch and had tubular trims [which I brought back last year], the Pant was in the ENR and had a wide-ish leg opening. The LONG CARDIGAN was fitted through the top rib cage, and gently became A-Line and easy over the hips to the A-Line bottom. It had 1 1/2 inch tubular trims down the front to create bands. There were 4 buttons, but I don’t remember them. From the sketch they could have been DTM domed oval shaped acrylic buttons, but that’s a guess. This cardigan looked great with the pant and the WK ENR long skirt to come…..The colors were BLACK, DEEP MAGENTA and BOTTLE GREEN………….The next two pieces were SHOW STOPPERS! There was a convertible PEASANT TOP, and a SUNBURST PLEATED MAXI SKIRT. The fabric for both pieces was the same with TWO DIFFERENT FINISHES…..The fabric for the skirt was smooth as you can see in the photos, but the same fabric was crushed by a heat process with made it permanent…..One had GOLD metallic threads that were crossed with black polyester fine yarns, and the other was SILVER metallic threads crossed with the same black polyester thread. This gave both colors an antique look and not garish. We called the colors BRONZE and GUNMETAL. The polyester yarn made the pleats permanent and kept the crushed treatment permanent Polyester is the only yarn that will do this…….so if a pleated skirt has poly in it you know the pleats will not come out…..If it’s made in another yarn like silk or rayon the pleats will eventually come out and have to be individually pressed back in………….All in all this was a dynamite segment….Once again I raised the bar!!! Looking at these clothes, and looking at what QVC stands for today …they are worlds apart. For them to make money their direction is probably better……..but not nearly as much fun!
……………………..There were two groups to July that blended together. They were conceived as one large group, but they had to be split due to the number of garments. The CAD has “Bridge” noted on it so this must have been a 1:00am show…..The jacket on the top row was a fully lined SUEDE….It had ALL OVER tiny GOLD GROMMETS……..The neck band and the band down the front were in leather and had gold dome snaps. The leather bands on the pockets, the hems of the jacket and sleeves were decorated with tiny flat gold studs…..WOW, there was a lot of work on this already costly suede jacket. We offered it in all Black and Chamois with BLACK leather….The sweater next to the jacket was called the “POET’S SWEATER”, because it had a very Romeo and Juliet romantic look to it…..The yarn was a wool and acrylic blend that had become very popular because it wasn’t itchy and was very soft….quality always pays. It had a drop seam on the sleeve that corresponded with the horizontal body seam. From these seams there was shirring. The sleeve had a full bottom that went into a 3 1/2 inch ribbed cuff. The tunic sweater had side slits. It looked great loose or belted. We offered it in BLACK and DEEP MAGENTA….Angela has this sweater and still wears it over her jeans…..At the bottom row, to the far left, was a wonderful, very DESIGNER jacket. It was in BOILED WOOL. This was an unlined SWING jacket. It had CIRCULAR RUFFLES down the front and around the curved hem to the back. The RAGLAN sleeve had a separate ruffle at the bottom. ALL OF THE SEAMS and edges of the ruffles were finished with a cover stitch which kept the jacket and the ruffles light and fluid. All of the seams were cover stitched so there were no seam allowances to add any bulk.. The jacket, considering the fabric, was light as a feather. It is often the construction, facings etc. that add weight to a jacket……..This jacket had none of those things. We offered it in IVORY and BLACK…..13 years latter I brought back a similar design in MOSS CREPE. For me this is a timeless feminine design……..The next sweater I LOVED. I did the exact same thing for Anne Klein. I also did a dress and other variations for AK with the same zip off concept…..The tunic sweater was in the acrylic/wool blend, and was made in a 5 gauge jersey stitch. It was avail in fuchsia and black with gold exposed zippers. It had a zip off ribbed funnel neck and zip off sleeves. The concept was to create different sweaters out of one….so you could have a sort of ballet neck tunic without the funnel, or a funnel neck sleeveless pullover, or a band pockets over sized vest. On one of Chantal’s visits I gave her this sweater, and she told be her daughter, who just entered college, absconded with it, and loves it. I was happy to hear the next generation is enjoying my designs………The next long skirt was actually my first in the ENR Whisper Knit. It had the tubular back with the split. It worked with everything in all of the collections, and for years and years to come. It would not surprise me if many of you still own and wear it….It came in Deep Magenta and Black.
………………….For May 07 I presented a beautiful linen jacket with beautiful emb. It was chosen as the May TSV!……It had a beautiful VINE pattern around the neck, down the front, around the bottom hem. There was a separate pattern I designed for the sleeves. To edge the entire jacket I had black gros grain ribbon pleated on the diagonal and stitched onto the jacket as a border. It had one loop and button closure. The colors were PALE BLUE/ BLACK, NATURAL BLACK and IVORY/BLACK……There was a crop pant in linen in BLACK, PALE BLUE, NATURAL and IVORY to coordinate. A shell tank sweater in PALE BLUE, BLACK and IVORY finished the outfit.
…………………….May 07 Fashion Day had some really fun pieces and one of my favorite jackets……The sketch of the jacket on the top row was a twill denim 4 pocket blazer with lots of details. It had a yoke front and back. There were body seams in the front from the yoke to the hem and three seams in the back creating a great shape.. There were 4 patch pockets with flaps. and antique military buttons….antique gold on the white and antique silver on the black…..Zippers were a major detail. There were exposed zippers above the bottom patch pockets and on the 3/4 sleeves. The Capri denim pant also had exposed zippers at the bottom leg and the top side seam……Below is a 3 tiered skirt in the same fabric as the tunic shirt….It was printed and had laser eyelet cutouts……There was one more 8 panel linen/rayon skirt with emb. panels. A similar design was used in a previous jacket….The last item in the group was a had crocheted tank in a thick metallic cord yarn.. It was lined in nude….very sexy……….I made a similar top for an AK resort group, photo above. It surprised everyone when it sold out during the show!