We would say Alexander Wang is having a moment, but he's a bit too established for that, no? The New York-based designer has just taken this year's prestigious Swiss Textiles Award in Zurich at Stella Fashion Night.
Wang, with his American sportswear-influenced collection, bested Brit designers including Peter Pilotto and Erdem, as well as New York labels Ohne Titel and Thakoon, and Alexis Mabille of Paris. As winner of the prize, Wang will take home 100,000 euros, or about $150,000. "There’s always more to do!" the designer told Grazia after the event. "I can do so much more with my business now – I’m very lucky."
Besides joining the Swiss Textiles Awards high-ranked winners list (previous honourees include Rodarte, Marios Schwab, Raf Simons, Bruno Pieters and Haider Ackermann, Wang has a pretty good stretch of recent awards to his name. He has been named the CFDA Womenswear Newcomer and took the Vogue CFDA Fund prize last year. At this point, is there anything Wang can't win?
If fashion were like gym class, then Alexander Wang would always be picked first for dodgeball. The San Francisco-born designer (and former Teen Vogue intern) has already won the 2009 Swarovski Award for Womenswear and the 2008 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, and now he's up for more recognition as a nominee for the 100,000-euro Swiss Textile Award.
Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte were the first Americans to take the award when they won last year, and now, half of the six nominees are from the US. Thakoon Panichgul and Ohne Titel are also up for the honour, along with Erdem, Alexis Mabille and Peter Pilotto. The winner will be announced Nov. 12.
Flora Gill and Alexa Adams of Ohne Titel; Waris Ahluwali of House of Waris
It's a pretty huge pat on the back for designers to receive the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Past winners of the cash award and mentorship include Proenza Schouler, Doo-Ri Chung and Alexander Wang - without argument, some of fashion's (freshest) big names. And the Fashion Fund has just been tipping us off to great designers for six years.
This year's 10 finalists have been announced, so now you'll know who to keep on your style radar. Try Flora Gill and Alexa Adams of Ohne Titel; Waris Ahluwalia of House of Waris; Monique Pean; Natalie Chanin of Alabama Chanin; Patrik Ervell; Wayne Lee of Wayne; Sophie Theallet; Gary Graham; George Esquivel of Esquivel Shoes; and Simon Spurr of Spurr.
A big congrats to all of them, and we'll keep our fingers crossed for Nov. 16, when the winner is announced.
It’s official: I’m addicted to leather. After seeing Mary-Kate Olsen wearing leather trousers to the Chanel show last season I was convinced. Growing on the success of last season’s leather trousers and wet-look leggings, leather has made a huge comeback. Every designer worth their retail space showcased leather on everything from trousers to floor-length coats to hats. Not to miss out on trend, Stella McCartney showed a fabric similar to leather.
We all know the recession is pushing fashion-lovers to buy pieces that last: classic and well cut are now the chicer cousins to trendy and notice-me-now. That could either work for Ohne Titel or against it. Designers Flora Gill and Alexa Adams, former members of Team Lagerfeld, sent out an edited collection of almost exclusively black tops and dresses, often accentuated with cowl necks, leather jackets and grey or black skinnies. Their garments were certainly keepable, but the question is whether consumers will see them as special enough to buy.
Karlie Kloss shows off one of the signatures of the latest Ohne Titel collection: major black boots. Last season's sheer trend continues on top, and the overall look keeps an Alexander Wang-style rocker vibe.
