Love is Mighty

Everywhere we looked this week, despite ceaseless rain and water-logged streets, girls with tanned limbs were shod – prematurely, perhaps – in summer sandals with pops of “Bermuda Shorts” pink nail polish.

All we can say is get thee to Debut to replace those gold gladiators: Love is Mighty, an artisanal new collection is the new wave of exotic flats. Light as feathers, the shoes have thin, yet durable vegan soles and have been given the works by crafstmen in India. Imagine Ocean reef-blue beads, vegetable died woven laces and individually sourced talisman-like embellishments.

This is a joyous collection, painstakingly sourced and cared for by Founder Monisha Raja. For that extra twinkle to compliment your new white Provencal dress, Raja believes natural is the most beautiful way to go, hence “LOVE is MIGHTY”. Love transcends all, and is represented via preserved techniques, and respect for the earth’s naturally abundant resources. These are good for the “sole”.

 

Why Timo, Why?

He tempts us so. Timo Weiland has executed yet another collection of sure to be seasonal (and seasonless) favorites. We first wrote about this new label for spring 2010, and at the time raved about Weiland’s perfect-fit designs for New Yorkers. The message: the art of dress-making for young at heart sophisticates. 

Little has changed in our thinking since that initial post, yet everything Timo has evolved. Once again there are must-have dresses in identifiably quirky-chic prints, but the cuts and fabrications have greater depth and finish.

A shirt waist forest-printed mini dress comes either with an exposed midriff for tan-bearing, or without for those who wish to pass office codes.  A trim mini skirt is comprised of chiffon over whisper-light silk in contrasting blue and red, with a print bordering on the animal side.  

The hunt for the perfect cardigan concludes with a bang: choose ivory or scarlet backed by forest and wildflower print chiffon. Business in the front, party in the back. A Timo devotee likes to surprise, and should be prepared to humbly accept compliments while coming and going at every event.

Timo Girls -

 

One Original Thing...

It’s all about that one little thing.

The other day a girl uttered this to a friend while shopping the designers at debut. Her phrase seemed at once a justification, an explanation and a call to arms to keep on looking. “That’s it,” we thought! That’s what makes girls tick. Often there is no reason to buy; nothing is so new that it can be pronounced essential. But if a design has that “one little thing”, it’s a done deal.

Take Akshata for example. The collection was founded in 2010 by Akshata Murty to preserve the ancient crafts and inherited techniques of India’s artisans. Akshata is a collective of sorts, gathering fabrics and accessories prepared in India by local experts, and merging the work with a New York-based design team. Production is split between New York and New Delhi, offering balance and opportunity in the process.

Modernity in this case is a good thing, and introduces unique processes and hand-finishing to simply pretty, wearable clothing. The pieces have at once a far away quality and beautiful finish to them, and will invoke many a “where did you find that?” query. Pale, sweet pink silk, Mediterranean blue beading and gold metallic underskirts conjure long summer days during which you don one dress in the morning, and don’t change until the last drop of rose at night’s end.