Behrle NYC is looking for interns…

Are you obsessed with fine finishing, fit and craftsmanship? Do you love to work with your hands? Does the attention to detail that you see only in fine quality vintage and couture fashion leave you in awe?

The skills we want to develop Immediately are:

Creative: This requires real hands on interest and skills, as well as a dedication to craft and a passion to learn and develop the techniques and discipline required to produce true luxury goods. 

Applicants should be very organized and facile self-starters with strong spatial skills and an understanding of how various materials, hang, drape and mold.  You must be able to operate an industrial sewing machine proficiently as you will primarily be assisting the designer and pattern maker in the development of samples, from the sourcing of materials to the muslin prototypes, fittings, and corrections. Ideal for Problem solvers who enjoy a challenge.

You will be asked to help in other areas as the need arises- this is a small company.  However our goal is to find talent and train for ongoing positions.

We require 2- 3 days per week & hours are flexible.

Please email your resume and examples of your work to:  behrlenyc(at)gmail(dot)com

Behrle NYC is looking for interns…

The Finishing Touches

I am determined to finish this and I promise I will never put you through this again.

The Dress,  that month of work-on top of all the other work.

Putting together a wedding on your own...a whole other  part of you just  rises to the surface.  It's kind of like that movie "Basket Case".  When else do I go to Macy's... to shop???? ( I can't stand Macy's) and buy 5 pairs of shoes just to try?  Then buy 2 more on 34th street in a fit of panic. (6 hours of returns) When else does my better-half get even more involved than me in planning a party menu & insisting on the (amazing) chef & trekking over to Chinatown on the subway to buy,  lord knows, how many pounds of shrimp,  so the menu is absolutely perfect?

Not a lot of places in life where collaboration is quite like this, this is theater.  Starting  at the top...

Invite:

Ellen Weldon Design LLC

Cake:

Cake by Scott McMillen, cake man extraordinaire of the Institute of Culinary Education

Ring- for the groom...

Ring by Nurit Design

Shoes:

....the heels risk getting stuck in between roof tiles

... another shape, but not what I am going for

perfect style tor my Titania like dress... but do they have the color???
Aldo Shoes, which amazingly makes shoes in my size.

Hair:

a pouf to match my dress...by Kelly at Santanica

And of course the chef, the wonderful John Berninzoni, formerly of Chanterelle.

The Finishing Touches

When Dreaming makes it So

This is the point where I click my heels three times and say "I want to go warm…"

I dream of these ramparts

I want to be a roman cat chasing the sun

I want more places to look like this

and this...

I want to wander these halls

...and  play here

I want to lose myself here

...and here

 I will easily cast spells...

and always have fun with my food!

When Dreaming makes it So

Blown Away by the Future of Fashion

I am just blown away by this video,  which came to my attention via BOF.   I truly agree &  really believe,  that this is the future of fashion.  In one fell swoop it renders the idea of showing on a runway obsolete.  And it raises the bar of the art tremendously.

Gareth Pugh S/S 2011 Collection - Director: Ruth Hogben from SHOWstudio on Vimeo.

As a designer, who has done several shows and one large Fashion week production -  I don't think it is optimal for showing the clothes,  communicating the concept or getting the audience.  You are subject to the vagaries of ...oh, the weather, the scheduling,  your PR,  your guests - which celebrity is going to show up...?  The press that shows up - or doesn't.  The models.  The shoes.

As Pugh notes in this story...if a model falls,  "that's an enduring moment".   There are a billion things completely out of your control!  Not good for a designer's temperament at all.

I think beautifully creative presentations like this along with still presentations,  still photography and showroom appointments are the next direction.  Besides "Zombie-faced models" in runway shows can't be gone soon enough for me.

I love the black and white sections and the op-art print and was astounded by the down filled op-art piece (brilliant!) which is, believe it or not,  the exact same cut as this:

  Fur-to-velvet reversible square

It's wonderful, the difference the volume makes.

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Blown Away by the Future of Fashion

The Word of Luxury, or Cars and Girls

In Fashion or branding, what do you think of when you think of Luxury?   Is it Hermes?   Or perhaps Louis Vuitton?   How About American Eagle or Urban Decay?   How is it that ALL of these things have been labeled at one point or another as "Luxury"?  

Really, what is it?  Is it D & G masquerading as Forever 21:

Or is  it a $75,000.00 Balmain crocodile jacket?
Is it exclusivity?   Or something more like this?   If you've watched this movie  you'll have drooled over seriously fantastic luxury in a big way!


Is it what you receive from it?  Sheer pleasure or pure bragging rights?  A new Ferarri or an original 1965 Shelby? 

 How about a 1957 Ferrari?

( Is this not the epitome of Luxury?  Better yet if you drive it daily!  Dammit, why can they DESIGN cars like this anymore???)  

Or is it… (as the old song goes) A Winnebago??? Heck a HERD of Winnebagos!  (Disclaimer later) or  a baby's arm holding an apple…?


Luxury could mean the freedom of this…

 Fee Waybill as QuayLude

Or this…

 Daphne Guinness as... Daphne Guinness.

Luxury,   it means a lot of things to a lot of different people. Indefinable, elusive, emotional, visceral, shallow & at the same time incredibly vital.


It is continually evolving & expressing & Inspiring.

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The Word of Luxury, or Cars and Girls

Rolex Leather Aviator Jacket Commission

Here is a recent custom commission of the Rolex Jacket, featured here  and here.  (Originally commissioned by Rolex for an advertisement.)

This one has  a real shearling fur collar and is a functional portrait collar cut, rather than the extreme (great looking, but very constricting for actual wear) off-the-shoulder cut of the editorial model in the advert.

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Rolex Leather Aviator Jacket Commission

Long Live McQueen

 

I,  like so many others right now,  am immensely shocked and saddened by the news of Alexander McQueen's suicide.   He was an incredible and prolific talent who's work transcended fashion and became art.

The World, ( & not just the Fashion world) has lost a creative wellspring and tremendously inspiring force for the future.

Anytime you have someone of such far reaching creative and thinking talent, who is able to get their work out there so fearlessly, and project their inspiring vision so clearly, it is truly a gift to us all.

He elevated Fashion with Thought & incredible Beauty, a beauty sprung from unlikely  & often dark & surprising places, provoking more thought.  His work demanded a response on the part of both the wearer and voyeur.  His ability to make the most unlikely,  ungainly & sometimes unwearable article of clothing into a coveted garment conveying fetishistic powers (all meanings apply here) was astonishingly visceral… it was like he could feel our veins vibrating and tap into them.

Alexander McQueen, was a gift to all of us.  My heart goes out to Him, his Family, Friends and everybody he touched with his life & work.  We have lost a true artist. We have lost a vision.
May he live on forever in his power of inspiration.

RIP

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Long Live McQueen

Nice Work if you can get it.

My friend Karin sent me this  photo of this very cute Giles Deacon bag:

 

( I will refrain from comment on the pants....)

& I do think the bag is even cuter in solid white.

...but it sure looks suspiciously like this plush toy by Wild Republic that's "Licensed by the Natural History Museum and approved by NHM Paleontologists." as noted on the smaller version available on Amazon.  I wonder if  NHM or WR will see any licensing fees should this bag go into production? 

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Nice Work if you can get it.

Channeling H.R. Giger

 Wow, was I blown away when I finally got the chance to look at Alexander McQueen's show.  The prints are brilliant, the use of the prints is so out of this world.  They blew me away.

So....Um...Very...ALIEN...

 

photos: Style.com

So I am perfectly perplexed as to why all the review on Style.com could talk about was Lady Gaga and the accompanying hordes on twitter.  

It mentions the concept as being sort of an apocolyptic "Waterworld".  But,  it completely ignores the VERY  OBVIOUS and (I think) incredibly beautifully executed homage to the works of H.R. Giger.

H.R Giger,  I think is one of the most influential of our contemporary artists.   His work transformed  and completely re-invented & redefined what is "Alien",  threatening and unfathomable, both in us,  and in the futuristic universes that make up his realm.

 His painting are just that - paintings, not computer generated, but generated out of his imagination and made real in all of the various film and decor projects he has done over the years.

Case in point... check out the full splash page on the official HR Giger site -  it could be the breast plate of one of the dresses....

 The real deal at www.hrgiger.com

Not to mention the shoes and the hair, both of which are incredible -  as both unbelievable edifices and pure works of art.  I am astounded that the girls could walk in these! (and I wonder how much they weigh - they are so purely dangerous! I like this. A lot!)

 

 

photos: style.com

I am such a sucker for prints,  having worked in leather for so long,  so I think this is my favorite McQueen collection of all time! 

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Channeling H.R. Giger

Ready-to-Wear vs Custom-Made

Fashion Week is over here in NYC, and everywhere, the press has been full of stories on the state of the industry, the price of the clothes and how to give the industry, especially at the high end, a jolt.

Debate over price point, $800.00 for a dress is considered by some to be to “low end” for “high end” according to an interview in the NYT with Vera Wang, while Thakoon shows off $100.00 a yard fabric that he plans to use for a dress that will wind up at about 2000.00 in the stores.

Me, I think this is pretty impressive, considering he has to make that dress, pay for all the materials (There is a lot of draping this season=more fabric) & notions (trims, buttons, zippers etc) plus the highly skilled sewers needed to make something that will merit that price and then, add his markup, covering fixed and variable costs, and allowing for some profit (this should also include an allowance for buy backs & charge backs) plus carrying costs, since he will probably have to wait between 90 - 120 days to get paid. All this, for about 1/3rd of that estimated retail price.

On the other hand, in Thursdays’ style section was a feature “The Bodysuit Electric” featuring a $2300.00 ready-to-wear YSL strapless leather 1980’s style bodysuit, and all the different ways you can wear it. (Unfortunately all too 1980's derived) It is a hot, sexy garment, but why would you buy this as RTW? Even in the editorial you can see that the model will fall out of it the second she spontaneously raises an arm. A great piece, but a piece of this sort screams out to be custom-made. And when you consider the investment, it should to be custom-made.

What do you think, RTW vs Custom-Made?
Why and for what would you make the choice, or not, to go Custom-Made?

Or even Made-to-Order? (Usually an existing style, but adjusted to suit, usually within a specified size range.)

Other reads:
Wall Street Journal - various articles on Luxury
Forbes

There is a ton more out there, but my brain is a bit fried from the last week. I need a break!

Runway (!) Image Credit
There are some really fabulous photos here, Enjoy!

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Ready-to-Wear vs Custom-Made

Glorious Leather Jacket

Ok, after getting all worked up about the leather jackets in "Inglourious Basterds" let's get back to the modern world. (Though I live to see those statement lapels come back!)

Here are some photos of a jacket I just finished, in an incredible espresso brown leather called "Roadrunner". The leather was milled a bit before cutting to bring out the grain. I am loving this leather. It's got a beautiful hand and very good weight and it works up beautifully.

This jacket was based on a old and much loved & worn, jacket belonging to the customer.

But the original jacket was quite beat up & much too over-sized for his taste & style today so really it was just a jumping off point.

It is lined in a heavy weight cotton sateen in a contrasting khaki and has these wonderful variegated horn buttons as well as two large outside pockets and 3 interior pockets, 2 at chest level and a special semi- hidden card pocket.














I am thrilled with the way it came out. It looks great on him, suits him perfectly & and should last him forever! ... Drat, did I just lose another customer!?

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Glorious Leather Jacket

Perfect Skins

People always ask what I make in leather, and my answer is... everything! I think "leather" is still oddly stuck on either "outerwear" or "fetish" wear in most people's minds when it comes up as a specific fabrication. And, I decided to focus on leather because I like the restraint :) it gives me. Like many artists I work best with a tightly defined goal or project, so I chose leather as my medium. I do work in other fabrics, but not here.   After all why would I need to? Look at just some of the things that can be done with skins... Please Turn The Sound DOWN - Or OFF!  My Apologies.

This video is of my last production collection, showing examples of work done in hand painted leather, laser cut leathers, distressed leathers, leather with hand-cut work and lacing, woven leather, reversible leather and fur, and stretch leather. As well as the leather & textile fabrications that are exclusive to BehrleNYC. Variations of many of these items can be custom-made.

Perfect Skins

Hard Edged Romance in Leather

I've been super busy, we just shot a bunch of new stuff and I have been working on some different items than I am used to. Two projects entail some very hard and ridged construction, not normally what I do, but since I've started doing handbags-fascinates me. I am making a home now (more like an RV) for a little computer. The bag has really hardcore customer specifications, light in weight, good size, very specific pockets- my client wants it to hold everything she needs when flying, several changes of clothes plus computer and peripherals.

A real challenge, since something like this is very personal. I know how I like things a certain way and how many things, I always want to "fix", be it in a bag, a sleeve, a hem- whatever. So I completely get it when somebody says they've bought x # of (off-the-rack) bags, jackets- whatever, and nothing quite works.

The last couple of years, bags are so loaded down with hardware, you're already weight-lifting. Before the computer, the make-up, the paperback, the keys, the phone and god knows what else.

My whole thing- with leather- is to lighten it up.

If you didn't know, I am the antithesis of Chrome Hearts, ...fashion is hard enough without having to lug around an extra 20 lbs. (& my virtually waterproof 4.5 oz leather eco-shopping bag will be available to order next week & no that is not a typo)

So now I am working on the second bag, I will post some photos when I am done, in the
meantime here is a preview of some of the new stuff. It's kinda hard and dark and romantic all at once.













I want to thank the photographer, Phillip Wong, the model, Yana Zak, fabulous make-up artist, Sandra Downie and James Fabius for their help in getting this latest shoot together and the gorgeous results!

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Now playing: Nick Cave & Kate Bush - Where The Wild Roses Grow
via FoxyTunes

Hard Edged Romance in Leather