Odilon
Backstory: Stacy Clark recalls creating patterns for garments when she was as young as eight. “I would lay down my clothes on paper, trace around them and allow for seam allowance,” she says with a laugh. But it wasn’t until after she graduated from the University of Victoria with a degree in the arts that the Canadian began considering a career in fashion. In 2006, she enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles and received a degree in product development. Clark created her first collection last year; fall 2010 is her first season going into production.
Collection: The label is named for the French artist Odilon Redon. “He still had that Impressionist technique but painted very morbid subject matters,” says Clark, 23. “I found him refreshing.” Her line takes a dark tack as evidenced by her recent collection, inspired by postapocalyptic images. To wit, the flashes of orange — seen in vests and jackets, some hooded — come from hazard signs, while textured nylon-coated jersey leggings are meant to mimic burnt flesh. “I’m influenced by horror and zombie movies, too,” says Clark, who also notes an affinity for juxtaposing natural and synthetic materials.
Stats: Wholesale prices range from $45 to $680. The collection will be available at Forty Five Ten in Dallas.
Johan Ku
Backstory: What a difference a year makes. In 2009, Johan Ku was just another young designer from Taipei who had enrolled at Central Saint Martins. Now, he’s a buzzed-about name in his native Taiwan — he dressed popular Mandopop group S.H.E for the cover of its March “Shero” album and was the subject of a recent show at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, called “Breakthrough: Johan Ku Wearable Sculpture Exhibition.” Not bad for a 30-year-old who fell into fashion because he failed the test for his first career choice: graphic design. “I didn’t get a high enough score, unfortunately — or fortunately enough,” remarks Ku, who received his B.A. and M.A. in fashion and textile design from Shu-Te and Fu-Jen Universities, respectively.
Collection: The designer has a one-track mind: Ku is crazy for the knitwear. “I always wanted to create something in three dimensions,” says Ku, whose aesthetic skews toward the experimental and arty side. “Even as a kid in art class, I would enjoy doing real sculpture instead of 2-D drawings. That influenced me a lot.” For his collection, he uses mainly raw wool, which gives his designs that ultrahefty, rough-hewn feel. “People use that material for spinning, not for knitting. That’s how I can create my chunky garments,” he explains, while adding that a more commercial collection may be in the pipeline once he gets enough financing.
Stats: Retail prices start at $800 and run upward to $30,000 for his one-of-a-kind designs.
Kal Rieman
Backstory: Cleveland-born Cally Rieman caught the fashion bug while studying abroad in Taiwan. “I was teaching a gentleman English, and he owned a textile manufacturing company,” says Rieman. “I was surrounded by a world I had never been in before and thought it was really cool.” Rieman, now 39, studied poli-sci and East Asian studies at Denison University and graduated in 1993. After a four-year stint in finance, she enrolled in the fashion program at the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating in 2000. She has since worked for Rubin Chapelle, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and H by Tommy Hilfiger, the last two in the men’s department.
Collection: Given her men’s wear background, it’s no surprise Rieman works a masculine vibe — crisp shirting, vests and loads of tailoring. “I’m fascinated by the suit,” she says, noting she works with a men’s wear tailor for her blazers “so they’re made like a men’s jacket with canvas construction, horse hair….” New York-based Rieman adds that her stint at de Castelbajac proved influential. “What I pulled out of my time there was a sophistication — this dandy look for women, with high collars and structured jackets,” she explains, “but without the kitsch.”
Stats: Wholesale prices range from $150 to $550. The collection is available at P45 in Chicago.
Alexander Koutny
Backstory: While a philosophy student at the University of Cape Town in 1997, Johannesburg-born Alexander Koutny launched a men’s wear collection, named Aka. In time, he would add a women’s counterpart to the line, which he describes as “structured and utilitarian,” before closing up shop to move to London in 2000. “I thought, if I’m going to continue and take it to the next level, South Africa wouldn’t be the place to do that,” says Koutny, who went on to work for Marjan Pejoski. The experience couldn’t have been more different — Pejoski is best known as the designer responsible for Björk’s 2001 swan dress. At Pejoski’s suggestion, Koutny enrolled at Central Saint Martins, graduating in 2003.
Collection: New York-based Koutny notes that his current collection, which he launched last year, straddles the line between Aka and the “extreme” one-off garments he created during his London years. “I started out on the commercial side,” he says, “and then pushed the boundaries of [avant-garde] fashion. This is the balance between the two.” For fall, Koutny found inspiration in earthquakes, plate tectonics and the underground, which explains the abstract lava prints throughout the collection. But the core vibe here is the collection’s sense of ease — even the more tailored jackets and coats come slightly slouchy and draped. “The lifestyle element we’re pushing is something more robust,” explains Koutny, 37, “something you wouldn’t mind throwing on the floor, picking up and still loving.”
Stats: Wholesale prices for the line range from $150 to $400. So far, Eva in New York and Una in Portland, Ore., have picked up the collection.
Charles Henry
Backstory: Charles Henry is already act II for Kentucky native Meredith Fisher. The University of Southern California alum — she graduated in December — launched her first collection, WAYF (Where Are You From), as a junior in high school. At the time, Fisher was spending the summer in Los Angeles, interning for Jennifer Nicholson, when she caught the eye of the buyers at Satine. “I walked in [the store] wearing one of my dress designs and they noticed,” recalls Fisher. “So I started making things for them on the side.” She eventually signed with a showroom and, later that summer, launched WAYF, which sold at retailers such as Barneys New York, Shopbop.com and Intermix. Last year, Fisher took a break from design to “finish college,” she says.
Collection: Fisher named the line after her maternal grandfather, a clothing manufacturer in Tennessee, and it’s more grown-up-looking than WAYF. “The core is there,” she says, “but [my girl] isn’t just wearing sweet little dresses. She wants leather, she wants fringe, she wants a little of everything in her wardrobe.” The fall Charles Henry debut ranges from silk blouses and skirts, with tassel details, to velvet burn-out dresses, featuring custom prints by Fisher.
Stats: The collection ranges from $85 to $270 at wholesale, and will be available at Madison and Switch in Los Angeles and Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong.
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