THE NEW AGE OF GILD

(Lower East Side, New York) Gilded Age, the casual luxury brand deeply committed to socially conscious and artisinal methods of production and design draws inspiration from great New Yorkers of the past as it introduces its fall 2008 collection; encompassing a capsule tailored collection, an accessories launch, and luxury specialty items such as a super premium denim.

Inspiration for this collection was drawn by exploring the lives and achievements of great American merchants and pioneers of commerce from the early 20th century such as Frank Woolworth, Andrew Carnegie, and Benjamin Altman. Each of these great American visionaries, art collectors, and philanthropists not only built some of the greatest business concepts, but left permanent marks on New York city’s architecture, arts, and lifestyle.

The mood of the collection is quintessential New York City, with a range of rich, saturated Fall/Winter colors such as blacks, grays, lodens, indigos, and slate blues juxtaposed with pops of lighters greens and burgundies. In denim, Gilded Age stays true to organic and Natural dyed vintage selvages in variety of self edge finishes from purple to yellow and white. A key item of the collection is the hand made 1950s inspired Levi’s fit selvage denim jean done in a organic Supima cotton with natural indigo dye. The top selling vintage Lynn Jean will also be hand done in a rare compact purple selvage Japanese denim. Fabrications include exclusive cotton jaspés, shuttle loom selvage canvases and cords. For outerwear, key items will include a washed wool pea coat and plaid bomber style jacket. Sweaters will include a super fine Mongolian cashmere hand knitted cardigan and a pullover with woven wool plackets.

Newly launching this season will be the high end tailored “Gild Collection” including a four button wool and cotton suit, cut in the spirit of the turn of the 20th century. The ultimate in luxury suiting, the suits and topcoats within the collection are made from fine Japanese and Italian wools and the competitively priced capsule collection offers formal options to fit the lifestyle of the Gilded Age man. Also new this season is an accessories collection featuring hand crafted vintage duffels, weekenders, and messenger bags. As a whole, the Gilded Age collection defines casual luxury, and is driven by classic styling and hard to find artisanal luxury fabrics.

Founded by Stefan Miljanic, principal designer and creative director of the brand, Gilded Age is an environmentally conscious, casual luxury brand deeply committed to organic, handcrafted, and artisanal approaches to fabric and product development. The brand is inspired by the early industrial revolution textile production techniques and craftsmanship of old New York and the North East from the turn of the 20th century, predating the era of mass production. The line is a consistent mix of premium selvage jeans and luxury sportswear, and is sold at high end specialty stores and premium department stores.

Yellow Fever #20
Whether warm, cool, bright or subdued, shades of yellow lit the runways this season. There’s no doubt that yellow is the new white for spring.

Stay tuned for #19

G’Day USA’s celebration of Australia Day will end in style when the red carpet is rolled out for their Black Tie Gala on January 26, 2008 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Australian designer Jayson Brunsdon will be featured during the Gala’s fashion show, saluting the 200th anniversary of wool trade, Australia’s second largest export industry.

“I am extremely honored to be part of this event, as it celebrates the anniversary of the birth of my nation and its very first export industry,” says Brunsdon, whose exquisite use of Australian Merino wool highlights how this dynamic natural fiber is transformed into luxurious, modern fashion.

“I love working with this luxurious fiber, as it is not only the world’s finest wool, but is sustainable, biodegradable and ecologically friendly,” remarks Brunsdon.

Australian designer Jayson Brunsdon’s eponymous label is aimed at women who take an emotive pleasure in the appreciation of modern elegance with a whiff of cinematic drama. Inspired by the lives and looks of iconic women of great individual style, the label encompasses day and evening wear creating an aura of contemporary glamour.

The collection is available at the flagship Jayson Brunsdon boutique in Sydney, Australia, and in 17 countries including upmarket department stores such as Neiman Marcus- USA, David Jones- Australia, Selfridges & Co- UK, Far Eastern Department Stores- Taiwan, and Elizabeth Charles Boutique- New York and San Francisco.

Celebrity fans of the line include: Naomi Watts, Hilary Swank, Linda Evangelista, Gemma Ward, Dita von Teese, and Melissa George.

Amari Avera, the hottest up-and-coming brand in town, is the product of a couple of talented young designers/artists: Adrian Rivera and Anibal Marin. Quality, attention to detail and cutting edge techniques and designs are too few of words to describe what Amari Avera is all about.

The designers have made it an objective to import the highest quality materials for their designs. From Italian shells to Japanese linings their latest collection is all about using fabrics “that have stood the test of time…fabrics that have defined royal families in France, Italy & Portugal”, as was mentioned during our interview. A fusion of these fabrics with modern silhouettes and some classical elements and we get a hit collection from these talented designers.

Their latest collection (pictured above) is called Azullegro. This collection is inspired by the blue Caribbean sea, which turns black as the sun sets, it features an amazing combination of just the right colors and materials. It was very refreshing to hear during our interview that they will continue to produce their signature black jacket (pictured on slide one when you click on the picture above) for future collections but with different patterns such as hound’s-tooth and different materials such as tweed. You can see this really, really hot blazer being worn by celebrities such as Bon Jovi and LL Cool J. Don’t feel left out you can get one of these fabulous blazers at stores such as Work In Progress and Define.

This past year has been a hectic one for the designers, from hosting fashion shows in The Hamptons and New York City to exhibiting in Las Vegas, Anibal and Adrian are all over. Lately you might have seen them at the MetroFunk launch party as the official designers of the MetroFunk shirt or on the runway of our Launch party. They are most likely at the most happening events. In the meanwhile check out their collection pictured above or visit their site at www.amariavera.com.

As if it was taken from a fairy tale, Institut knows how to make its customers happy ever after. The whimsical decor, combined with the most stylish designs and an overly nice staff make the shopping experience a dream come true.

Institut is far from being your typical SoHo shop. The candled ceilings, the whimsical wall drawings and the purposely worn out floor are unique, especial in their own way and definitely memorable. The drawings on the wall particularly caught my eye as they tell a story that every girl wants to be in: shopping all day, just having fun and, of course we must not forget, being accompanied by our best friends, diamonds.

As for their clothes, well, my words are too few to describe how much I wanted to turn my interview into a shopping spree. I just loved the unique and stylish designs. The store mostly features styles from European and Brazilian designers such as Serena Kay, Twin Set, Principesa, Sanchita, Sonia Fortuna and Walter, which is great for those of us who hate to find our favorite dress being worn by somebody else the same we are wearing it.

This family owned shop, has been in the area for many years and if you have not gotten a chance to visit, then what are you waiting for?

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