The Big Question

January: With the variety of designers and brand collaborations we've seen in recent years, which types of artists do you see being the next big collaboration focus? What would your ideal designer brand collaboration be? 

Morgan Yakus and Karin Bereson Owners – No.6	Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee Founder and Creative Director - Mama	Betsy Gould Women’s Contemporary, St. John Department, Neiman Marcus

Christopher Wong Buyer – Gilt MAN	JEANINE PESCE Active Sports Editor Stylesight

Morgan Yakus and Karin Bereson
Owners - No.6

“As the media becomes more attentive to fashion’s changing styles and trends, celebrities have driven the gradient for fashion by collaborating with lesser-known fashion houses. These collaborations have led to some of the most innovative and interesting collections. We believe that the next trend in fashion could be partnerships between designers and influential fashion bloggers. With the emergence of street fashion, fashion bloggers are decisive in dictating a larger part of today’s up and coming trends. Blogs by Susie Bubble, The Sartorialist and even 13-year-old newcomer Tavi are some of the most widely read, and are key players in the high-fashion community. A designer/blogger collaboration could be a fresh and exciting addition to the fashion world.

We have been fortunate enough to jump on this bandwagon and publish collaborations with some of our favorite artists. The first two books (in a series of six) feature musician/painter Devendra Banhart and artist Jim Drain. Our dream would be to collaborate with Dries Van Noten, Bjork or Frank Lloyd Wright (yes, dream), and we would love to work with Karl Lagerfeld on a low-fi art book for No.6!”

BIO: Morgan Yakus and Karin Bereson opened No.6 Store in the Little Italy neighborhood of NYC in 2005. Morgan is a former stylist who specializes in “vintage inspiration” for a number of prestigious designers and Karin has been a stylist for 15 years, with a large roster of editorial and advertising clients. The No.6 collection started as re-tailored vintage pieces made exclusively for the store. These one-of-a-kind dresses quickly became coveted items by models, editors and celebrities. Barneys was one the first stores to order the re-tailored collection. As demand grew, the collection evolved one step further into a group of very limited and individually numbered dresses, made by pairing modern silhouettes with vintage fabrics. This success prompted Morgan and Karin to create a complete dress collection, incorporating original prints and sought-out fabrics. In staying true to its roots, the No.6 collection reflects the well-trained eyes of Morgan and Karin, resulting in looks that are designed for eclectic yet classic tastemakers, whose personal style consists of unlikely pairings of colors, prints and shapes for an unique day-to-day look. No.6 collections are renowned for having an appeal reaching far and wide to women with diversified tastes. In addition to the No.6 collection, Morgan and Karin have most recently worked with Kim Gordon to develop an exclusive No.6 capsule collection featuring vintage fabrics for her Mirror/Dash pop-up store in L.A. Their Williamsburg-based vintage archive will be up and running in mid-January for designers and stylists to rent or buy the european, victorian through 90's-era, vintage designer pieces (this will be by appointment only; if interested, email: info@no6store.com).

Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee
Founder and Creative Director - Mama

“It seems like everyone in the business is collaborating with someone, but the projects that make sense are usually few and far between. Target and H&M are the most notable and consistent, and though the projects produce great designer clothing at affordable prices, I think these types of partnerships are getting a bit stale. Celebrities are also collaborating with many brands, such as Kanye West for Louis Vuitton, but I find the product uninspired.

I think consumers will start to get bored by these projects, and I think we’ll see more partnerships that are really true to the essence of collaborating – where a company taps a designer, from an entirely different field, to design a product they have never created before. For example, when Target or H&M invites leading fashion designers to design clothes, you know the end result: beautiful clothing. But, when you have an artist who has never designed a particular product add his personal touch to that product, the end result is usually genius. 

My favorite example of a true collaboration is Frank Gehry’s jewelry collection for Tiffany & Co.  Frank Gehry, the renowned architect, is a master at creating breathtaking structures. Though he never designed jewelry before, his ability to create 3-D sculptural pieces enabled him to lend his artistic eye to creating jewelry. I also enjoyed Vivienne Westwood’s recent collaboration with Cole & Son to create wallpaper, architect Zaha Hadid’s designs for Lacoste and Melissa Shoes and Sylvie Fleury’s “Stolen Kisses” wine glasses and champagne flutes for Dom Pérignon. These types of projects utilize the designers’ innate talents to create something they don’t normally produce.

As far as my ideal projects, I think Pantone should collaborate with a cosmetics and fragrance company, and I’d love to see what kind of furniture and home accessories Frank Gehry would create. Apple has really clean product design; it would be nice to see them apply their look to non-technology-related products.”

BIO: Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee is the co-founder and Editor In Chief of M.I.S.S. She is also the founder and designer of Mama, an internationally recognized ladies’ contemporary line. Much more than a clothing line, Mama has worked with the likes of adidas, New Era Cap, Montana Colors, Juicy Cosmetics and Bijules NYC on product design and brand development. Davi-Khorasanee’s work has been featured in All Gone: The Finest of Street Culture 2007, 200% Cotton, Protest T-Shirts, Sneaker Freaker, Sportswear International, Elle Girl, XLR8R, Mass Appeal, The Face, Streetwear Today, YM, Vapors, Staf, Beautiful/Decay, BPM and Missbehave Magazine.

Betsy Gould
Manager - Women’s Contemporary, St. John Department, Neiman Marcus

“I believe in the individuality of each designer. Each designer Neiman Marcus carries has created their own “trademark” within their brand name. Their distinctive aesthetics have created a loyal following. For instance, the wrap dress by Diane Von Furstenberg has stood the test of time, and can be found currently worn by four generations of women.

I think collaboration between two creative forces such as Alexander Wang and Phillip Lim would be remarkable. However, I do not believe in designers in general collaborating with mass retailers such as Target/ H&M just to earn an extra buck. There are so many directions a designer can take to extend their line to appeal to the masses, but I think they should stick to their identifiable designs and their passion and vision that got them started...

Moving forward, I would like to see designers collaborate without jeopardizing their individual style, to create a product that is not necessarily at a lesser price point but remains luxurious, unique and true to the designers’ roots.”

BIO: Betsy Gould is the current Contemporary Sportswear and St. John Department Manager at Neiman Marcus on Chicago’s famed Michigan Avenue. The renowned retailer has offered upscale assortments of apparel, accessories, jewelry, beauty and decorative home products to the affluent consumer for over a century. The company operates 41 Neiman Marcus stores across the United States and two Bergdorf Goodman stores in Manhattan. Betsy began her career in the fashion industry working in sales for Lazarus Department Stores, later serving as a Sales Manager for BCBG Max Azria. She managed two BCBG locations in Chicago before accepting a position with Neiman Marcus. Betsy is a graduate of The University of Dayton.

Christopher Wong
Buyer - Gilt MAN (www.giltman.com)

“Right now, due to the recession, there is a stronger focus on the relationship between the designers and the retailers. Whether it is a big collaboration between H&M and Jimmy Choo or a smaller collaboration, like what Band of Outsiders is doing with Barneys, it is all about getting the customer in the store and buying something that is unique with a strong perceived value. It is too competitive a market right now for both stores and designers, so everyone is looking to differentiate themselves. Not only do these store collaborations provide good press and imaging, they are bottom line-focused and are meant to drive sales which, as a buyer, is great.  

I would love to see collaborations between established brands and fashion-forward designers, such as Undercover and L.L. Bean, or reviving Eddie Bauer with someone like Patrik Ervell. What could make Esprit exciting would be a designer like Phillip Lim taking creative control. He knows what both the ladies and men want, and could add coolness to an otherwise moribund label.”

BIO: Christopher Wong is a current Men's Buyer for Gilt MAN, the brother site to the extremely successful online sample sale portal, Gilt Groupe. Gilt provides invitation-only access to a variety of men’s, women’s and children’s coveted fashion and luxury brands, at prices up to 70% off retail. Each sale lasts 36 hours, and features hand-selected styles from a single designer. Prior to helping launch Gilt MAN in April 2008, Christopher spent four years as a Buyer for Women’s Designer Ready-to-Wear at Saks Fifth Avenue. Before Saks, he held various positions at Jean Paul Gaultier and Barneys New York.

Jeanine Pesce
Active Sports Editor - Stylesight

“The rise and fall of the collaboration boom has a direct relation to the customization trend that has been evolving over the past decade. As globalized design became more democratic in the late ’90s; consumers were not satisfied with having the same products as everyone else. They needed to feel special, to stand out from the crowd. They began to expect customized apparel and accessories, the same way they could personalize the color of their car to create an identity. The collaboration was born out of this concept, especially in arenas like footwear and action sports, where against-the-grain subcultures were driving the market.

The Internet has played a huge role in the accessibility of hard-to-reach brands that were once only available in major cities to those "in the know." The inner circle of tastemaker is now the must-have stamp of approval, shaping the way consumers purchase products and raising the bar for design on every level. From interiors to accessories, footwear, apparel and even cosmetics, when two brands come together offering a unique interpretation of a hybrid item, the ‘wow’ factor is undeniably increased. Unfortunately, the pendulum must swing both ways; the backlash to the popularity of the collaboration has also had the opposite effect in the last few seasons. There are too many hands in the cookie jar. The collaboration has been exploited to such a degree that it is no longer special; it has lost some of its sparkle. When five brands are working on one product, and the list of credits looks like a small bibliography, that is an indication that we have gone too far.

In terms of contemporary design, moderation is key. We are all too familiar with this concept as we head into 2010, the year of ‘Unconspicuous’ consumption. Consumers will be looking for products that speak to them on multiple levels. They must meet the aesthetic needs of the user, but also promote a healthy atmosphere with ethical and social values attached to them. The collaboration on its own will not be enough to push products as we go forward. I am interested in seeing brands come together on a larger scale, perhaps joining forces to increase awareness of fair trade and alternative means of manufacturing. Ideally, that should be the ultimate goal of designers collaborating on any project. Look to brands like Patagonia, Keen, Icebreaker and Timberland for direction, as they are setting the standard for increasing the value of their goods by decreasing the negative impact they have on their environments.”

BIO As Active Sports Editor, Jeanine oversees all of Stylesight’s reporting on the active sport market, trade shows and street trends. Jeanine is also responsible for the continuous upload of active-inspired content to Stylesight’s new industry blog, Active Ingredients. Active Ingredients funnels the most relevant information daily – including the latest in innovative gadgets, designer collaborations, pop-up shops and eco-friendly initiatives – truly making Stylesight a one-stop shop for Active inspiration and design direction.

Before joining Stylesight, Jeanine worked as a Senior Trend Consultant for Promostyl Americas, where her clients included several major active apparel and footwear brands. Jeanine has also worked as an accessories designer for Toast, Mimi Turner and FAB/Starpoint.

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