Electrified but it's not feathery...
What to do when a label is physically unable to meet the demand of mass-production? Actually, not even mass-production but a run of 100 pieces? I am posting this quite late and yes I am beating myself that I didn't take note of this earlier on but I guess as a concept, it's an interesting one to keep in mind for the future. On April 26th, auction house Phillips de Pury introduced a new category to their Saturday @ Phillips auctions; contemporary fashion and jewellery. They chose New York designer Electric Feathers, designed by Leana Zuñiga to start them off and Zuñiga in turn created 32 lots for the auction house to sell exclusively.
Electric Feathers is a label that previously sold at one or two boutiques in New York and also did made to order and so for a small indie designer, creating pieces purely for auction seems to be an ideal way of selling (of course, the heartbreak comes for the bidders who have the one chance of nabbing a piece...). The word 'auction' doesn't mean the prices went into stratospheric heights as the name of the designer is still rather unknown and almost none of the pieces went over $500 which for a one-off piece that is laboured over for a designer isn't bad going. The curator of the auction Phoebe Stephens is supposedly doing this to encourage the idea of contemporary fashion as a collectible but for any passing-by consumer/bidder such as myself, it's a different way of buying a unique designer piece to wear as opposed to investing in.
Anyhow, the clothes are rather beautiful but not in a delicate or fragile way and the fabric choices seem to go against what you'd conventionally pick out for the sort of 'pretty' dresses that are being portrayed here...
Irina Lazareanu helps the cause a little too...
Somehow even these ponchose are looking appealing with the use of pastel Aztec influenced fabrics...
This brass chain vest was the one piece that went a little mental price-wise going for $900... I'm thinking the other more ornate dresses are worth that sort of money but that could just be me...
*gasp* those pieces are absolutely gorgeous! i really like those dresses and ponchos. and $900 for some chain is..... mind-boggling! (O_O)
Posted by: gilda | 22 June 2008 at 22:42
Love these.
Posted by: The Clothes Horse | 22 June 2008 at 23:33
The whole $900-for-some-metal thing definetly got to me, but the other pieces are nice. I definetly agree that Irina helps make the clothing look that little bit more desirable.
Posted by: Jill | 22 June 2008 at 23:34
What the...I'd pay $900 for a sterling silver vest. Well, I wouldn't, but I'd be more likely to pay it for silver than brass.
Posted by: WendyB | 22 June 2008 at 23:48
What a wonderful concept! I think that if you talked to many independent designers, production minimums are their #1 headache. Even when I was working for smaller canadian design houses this was a huge problem, and the clothing was MUCH more simple. Kudos to Phoebe Stephens for organizing this auction. The photos and styling sure don't hurt the images of the garments either, but when it comes down to it, all the items (the ones you posted at least) are all gorgeous!
Posted by: AnigieMontreal | 23 June 2008 at 00:04
that feathery ruffle thing reminds me of your jacket attachment!
Posted by: jo | 23 June 2008 at 00:20
i like the metal chain piece the best of all.
im a little thrown my irina right now, i saw some random bizarre music video where she strangles pete. it was just like a head scratch huh?
Posted by: Prêt-à-Porter P | 23 June 2008 at 01:42
The chain vest looks like an etsy project waiting to happen...
Posted by: Sister Wolf | 23 June 2008 at 03:26
I like the chain vest very much, but 900 dollars is a little too pricey:/
Posted by: Nanó | 23 June 2008 at 06:30
i really like the straps or whatever you might call them on those dresses
Posted by: evie | 23 June 2008 at 09:36
i love the way the ruffles just hang. Irina is wonderful. She makes EVERTHING look good.
Posted by: a dreamer | 23 June 2008 at 11:21
wow interesting collection
Posted by: The Fashion Assistant and her Camera | 23 June 2008 at 13:28
wow... these are gorgeous. i guess when it comes to unknown designers, once you find something good... the quality is usually much better for the money spent.
Posted by: lady coveted | 23 June 2008 at 14:46
oh wow. i would like that pastel/oyster/shell pink poncho so very very very very much.
Posted by: Meeshy | 23 June 2008 at 16:47
These pieces are gorgeous and make me have hope for the independent designer. Production costs can be maddening and I would love to see fashion get back to grassroots. Maybe one day I'll sell dresses out of the boot of my car (cause I'm a classy girl :). . . actually my friend is a designer and she never has anything less than 20 samples in her car boot. It cracks me up.
Posted by: Aja | 23 June 2008 at 22:03
OK IRINA IS SICKLY LOOKING . LIKE A SKELETAL, SHE DOESNT MAKE THE CLOTHES LOOK ANYTHING BUT LIKE THEY ARE HANGING ON HER :(
IT IS STRANGE TO ME THAT PEOPLE JUMP ON SOME OF THE STRANGEST TRENDS. THEY COULD BE SO UGLY BUT BECAUSE SOME FAMOUS DESIGNER CREATED IT IS IS THE NEXT BIG THING.
IT IS OK TO HAVE SOME DISCRETION WHEN IT COMES TO FASHION. INIVIDUALISM. SOM EOF THESE CLOTHES AND FADS ARE RIDICULOUS AND CLOWNISH LOOKING!
Posted by: Stylista | 24 June 2008 at 08:59
Stylista, I guess different people's perceptions of what is and isn't 'ugly' may vary, but you don't have to use all caps to get your point across.
IMO the clothes look great, though the chain vest for $900 is insane- and Irina generally manages to make anything she wears seem interesting (I love the second shot of her, it's the perfect atmosphere for that dress).
Posted by: Drusilla | 24 June 2008 at 09:47
the colours are lovely and the whole collection looks great im definately going to keep my eye out for them!
Posted by: vintage clothes | 24 June 2008 at 13:04
sylista, you're being ironic. preaching individualism when what you're doing is limiting it.
so what if someone wants to look like a clown. like what you said, it is someone's personal discretion. not everyone who chomps on designer clothing wears/ buys it just because it's designer, some people are better than that. live and let live.
irina does make the clothes look great.
Posted by: mara | 29 June 2008 at 10:44