CURVE NY Recap: Rad Colors & Perfect Fit at Claudette

Rad Colors and Perfect Fit at Claudette

I stopped by Claudette's booth yesterday at Curve NY and talked to Bok Goodall, Claudette's designer, to learn more about the line and why Claudette stands out. With bright hues like these, how could they not?

"So Claudette is a fashion line that goes from an A cup to a G cup we are working on up to a K cup at the moment, and the idea behind it was to make something that was really fun, fashionable but fit and gave support all the way up to a G cup but didn’t look like a traditional large cup product, so color is very, very important to us and you can see the neons, and we always contrast everything, so you never get a purely nude bra, it would always have a contrast trim. Fit is the most important thing to us—we always start at a G and then we work down if it’s going to work at a G, then we know it’s going to work at a B. so we go that way instead of trying to go the other way.

And the company is based in Los Angeles. Robin Levitt, who is the president of the company, I was introduced to her a couple years ago through a friend and I worked in the UK in lingerie the last 10 years and I sort of specialized in large cup. And we just got talking and decided ‘let’s do it’. There is definitely a niche in the market in the States for large cup product that’s fashion. We just launched in the UK where we thought it would be much more difficult since the market is so saturated—everyone loved it. And so we’ve had a great season so far.

I think the neon pieces are amazing I just think the colors are fabulous, but this is a new style, that we’re just doing for fall, which is fantastic. So it’s satin with mesh. Everything is very supportive, even these which look like there’s nothing to support you, but they do really work—we work more on fit more than anything, really."

Cool Dyes & Mystical Elements by Clare Bare

Clare Bare at the Lingerie Designer Showcase

"I did fashion for two semesters then I dropped it, then I did fine art and printmaking and I was really into doing a lot of texture-based artwork, whatever it was; mosaic, printmaking, etc. So when I first started making underwear, it came about kind of through a printmaking project that I was doing so it was really nice to get back into that this time around and this is one of my prints that was made from a fabric collage that I made, it was actually layered pieces of fabric that I scanned and then manipulated & flipped. I’m really inspired by symmetry and mystical elements and things like that. And then I have another print that’s really subtle, it’s just black on black it’s like a nice texture. And you can’t even really see it when it’s on, so that’s something that I thought was really cool—that you can’t see it from very far away. And then everything is hand dyed, so this teal color is made from Caribbean plants that are ground up and then I learned about all these unusual processes and hand dyeing things and using aluminum as a mordant to allow the dye to adhere to organic fabrics. So I’ve been doing a lot of tie-dyeing and dip-dyeing so this is the Caribbean plant dye, and this is logwood from Brazil mixed with lac from India, it creates kind of like a pinkish color. Pinkish purple. And then the other colors that I’m using—this is logwood just by itself. So it’s a nice purple. And I’m using a lot of nice heavy silks and a lot of different fabrics than last time. So it’s fun, it’s been a lot of experimental pieces this time that I’m really excited about.

I think this [Anatomical Harmonia Bodysuit in Rubelite Dye/Hyper Floral] is my favorite—it’s really cool layered and I’ve worn this out and gotten a lot of response from this. The way I line it up is you know, very anatomical—even these lines kind of almost act as darts or shape you in a way without the actual darts being there and then the V is strategically placed, you know [laughs]. And just the way it lines up from the side is really nice ‘cos the flowers are kind of like a mirror. I also really like this set [Calliope Bewilder Bralette and Sheer Panty]—this teal color is really amazing. The fabric soaks it up. I only really dye it for 2 minutes and then I have to fish it out otherwise it gets too saturated. So that one is really fun but functional at the same time."

 

From top to bottom in order: Eternal Daze Cut Out Romper in Cloud Dye; Eternal Daze Cut Out Romper mesh print detail; Anatomical Harmonia Bodysuit in Rubelite Dye/Hyper Floral; Veda Totem Garter Tank in Hyper Floral; Ouvert Open Back Tank Dress in Logwood Dye; Calliope Bewilder Bralette and Sheer Panty

Visual: A Little Bridal Lingerie Inspiration

Beegee Margenyte by Hunter & Gatti for Vogue Spain Brides

Just a little visual bridal lingerie inspiration for a Monday holiday afternoon before the craziness of CURVE NY starts tomorrow! I loved how lingerie takes the focus in some of these photos and there's one with a bodysuit as an untraditional wedding... dress? Makes you think, right?

More photos after the jump. Enjoy!

Fashion Friday: Sunshine Dreams

I haven't posted a Fashion Friday in awhile and I'll admit this one's on a whim. Haven't been feeling well between losing my grandmother this week and what I think is probably food poisoning (sorrryyyy, TMI), but this light, breezy editorial perked me up a bit. I love the shorts and hints of lace here and there—and I'm so, so excited for warmer weather to come.

Emilia & Hannah by Cara O'Dowd for Fashion Gone Rogue

All images via Fashion Gone Rogue. To view more images from this editorial, click here.

ARI DEIN Fall/Winter 2012 NYFW Presentation

I had the pleasure of attending ARI DEIN's Fall/Wintter 2012 presentation for NYFW last night at Cellar Bar (Bryant Park Hotel), and it was pretty amazing. The location couldn't have been more perfect—Cellar Bar has a really dramatic medieval-esque design to it, and combine that with mood lighting and a LIVE opera singer? Well, as my boyfriend so astutely summarized, "It's kind of like that scene in Taken."

Great movie, but definitely no virgin trafficking going on here. Just an incredibly expanded offering of Ari's classic silk pieces. There's new bralette designs, reworked robes and ready-to-wear! Including a bodysuit! There's some new cuts and details for F/W '12 but the feeling of contemporary luxury is still there. It's classic without being stuffy, yet still appeals to all age ranges. It's magic. 

P.S. Boyfriend, I want a set of those pajamas. Or the printed top on the second photo, on the second model from the right. Kthxbye.

  

All photos mine.