Irish designer Bernice Kelly launched Macha jewelry (named after her hometown in Northern Ireland) in 2007. Pretty without being too precious, the London-based line offers incredible rings and humble necklaces in simple materials like silver, gold plate, and gemstones. To craft her accessories (many of them unisex), Kelly antiques and textures the pieces for a worn-in look. It’s an aesthetic that sometimes renders pieces a little imperfect; a few designs are even fashioned by starting with an accidental shape or a carving mistake. But Kelly calls her vintage-inspired jewelry “classics of the future”.  And some of these handmade pieces are even a little whimsical: crab-claw cufflinks, molar-shaped pendants, sterling silver rings shaped like string knots. Kelly’s own photography reveals the intricacies of the pieces. One ring boasts a huge nugget of a gemstone – or does it? Upon closer look, the stone is actually a ridged chunk of metal, set like a diamond. Past collections have drawn on diverse, historical contexts, more industrious than elegant, from the American roadtrip to Victorian mining. And as a label, Macha is truly about the work, quality over an image or a pretense. The modern brand regularly posts its newest, modestly hewn pieces on its Facebook page. Lately, Kelly has been advertising her chunky-stoned rings for Valentine’s Day.

In his three decades of designing, Paul Smith has teamed up with everyone from Oakley and Burton to Triumph Motorcycles. Now the British designer has released a collaborative partnership with Apple. The Paul Smith for Apple “luggage and accessory “ capsule collection includes leather iPhone and iPod cases; Mini Cooper Macbook sleeves and shoulder bags; and knit iPod socks with Smith’s signature multistripe pattern. The bags, cases, and sleeves are available in different sizes to accommodate different kinds of Macbooks and iPods, and sturdy materials and stitching keep your valuable electronics safe. Impressively, the menswear icon has found another way to keep his designs relevant for a new generation. Smith stays true to form with this small line, utilizing classic shapes and simple leathers, and injecting his own personality with bright colors. 

One glance would make you think Los Angeles-based designer Austin Sherbanenko specializes in outfitting metal bands or partying with Andrew W.K. His clothing does indeed carry a strong goth-rock influence; but that flavor, mixed with good old-fashioned skilled design, makes for a mature collection that’s more haute than Hot Topic. Sherbanenko’s brainchild since 2007, Odyn Vovk officially launched with its Spring/Summer 2009 collection. Now with his Spring/Summer 2010 collection, Confined Translation, Sherbanenko is a designer with a solid aesthetic; he knows his audience because he is his audience. This season in particular tells the story “of past events: distant, near, and natural.” Symbolism in the collection includes “dirt-ridden streets, industrial landscapes, and sounds of music.” Odyn Vovk, Ukrianian for “One Wolf”, suggests strength, independence, and resourcefulness. Odyn Vovk’s site states that in “Celtic tradition, Wolf represents learning, loyalty, intuition, and the shadow … cunning, wisdom, searching, dreams, magic, transformation, death, rebirth, and protection.” Sherbanenko chooses black to dominate his collections because the solid color allows design intricacies to shine through. Structure is key, whether it’s the subtle drapery of loose, asymmetrical hoodies or the stronger contour and weight of a leather-sleeved jacket.  The familiar and looser shapes ground the pieces, while classic shapes with minor twists – a zip-up jacket with a collar that could cover half your face, or a dress-length zippered vest – add elements of character, creativity, and construction.

Minimal Dress, perhaps the most aptly-named collection I’ve ever seen, is the creation of conceptual Dutch designer Digna Kosse. Her final project at the Design Academy Eindhoven, Minimal Dress is a commentary on the grouping of clothing collections into seasons that renders fashion obsolete after just a few months. It’s also a two-fold meditation on materialism, with a focus on the actual “material” aspect. A little artistic, a little satirical, the pieces are mere sketches of dresses, a few strands of yarn or string knotted together to draw lines across and down the body. Of course, the average shopper probably wouldn’t wear the pieces as the look book shots depict. For practicality’s sake, the “dresses” might be more apt for an accessory or even a wall decoration. While the dresses are barely there, the presentation seems to avoid sexual provocation. Lisa Klappe’s photos feature the Minimal Dress pieces of women of average build, not vamping it up, just letting the dresses hang on them. 

Zurich-based Freitag has just added two new messenger bag styles to its collection of industrial accessories: the F76 Leo bag (for 13” laptops) and the F77 Ben bag (for 13” and 15” laptops). Each unisex style is available in eighty different colorways, and the bags’ versatile design allows the user to carry it as a tote, a shoulder bag, or a crossbody messenger bag. Like the label’s other styles, the boldy-colored Leo and Ben are handmade from used seatbelts and truck tarpaulins. They continue Markus and Daniel Freitag’s legacy of durable, water-resistant messenger bags. Freitag’s longtime dedication to repurposing materials will appeal to the eco-conscious customer, while the new bags’ efficient shape and size will please computer-users from bloggers to businessmen. Great bags for bicyclists and commuters, using the Leo or the Ben is a reliable and trendy way to take your work home with you.

Photography by Kristin Vicari

Ever intrigued with the female body and diverse sources of beauty, London-based Hermione de Paula aptly named her Spring/Summer 2010 collection Las Venus: An Unconscious Elegance. It’s a departure from her darker debut collection (S/S 2009), for which she drew inspiration from Elizabeth Berkley’s character in Showgirls, but it’s an equally masterful and equally fun collection. For Spring 2010, de Paula outfitted her models with dense floral designs in staid palettes. Still body-conscious, but more ethereal, this collection balances the delicacy that spring demands with the playfulness of de Paula’s own laser-cut crowns and high hemlines. From intricate, trompe-l’oeil-printed leggings, dresses, and bodysuits, to simply-draped silk jersey fabrics and delicate cuts, these pieces are both wearable and artistic. De Paula’s modern Venus is beautiful but impish. Drawing on the symbolism of the Anatomical Venus and tabloid-fodder starlets, de Paula calls the aesthetic “a celebrity autopsy of sorts.” The new collection will be stocked exclusively in London at Browns Focus, and in Rome at Le Fate Ignoranti.  The 2006 Central Saint Martins grad has also worked with Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Christian Dior Couture, and Diane Von Furstenberg.

Photography by Cameron Krone

Through her history and artistry, half-Chinese, half-Irish Parsons grad Bliss Lau embodies “the juxtaposition of culture, design, and aesthetic.” Her eponymous jewelry line consists of feminine, minimalist chainmail: thin, body-spanning chains and delicate harnesses that can be worn multiple ways. A necklace forms the bones of a dress, a belt braces the body like a vest, and a bracelet fastens around the bicep, encircling the forearm as well as the upper arm. Despite the chains and straps, the slight weight and fluidity of Lau’s pieces prevent the line from resembling gothic or bondage designs. Quietly conscious of overall anatomy, the oversize, draped chains serve as both “the garment and the accessory.” Worn over clothing or peeking out from under a sleeve or collar, Lau’s handmade pieces are at once discreet and bold. True to the aesthetic of versatility, most of the pieces (with names like Lovetriangle Dress, Diamond Dress, and Tuxedo) are available in a few different colors of leather, chain styles, and finishes.
 

Limi Feu’s Autumn/Winter 2009-2010 collection solidifies the label’s position as an icon for the everywoman: cerebral design of definition and refinement rather than flair and innovation. Limi Yamamoto (yes, daughter of Yohji) launched her line in Tokyo in 2000, and debuted in Paris with the Spring 2008 collections. Her last Paris runway show revealed forty-one characteristic looks, less punky than some past seasons. This season is a bit cleaner: the almost-Dickensian looks avoid provocation and instead teem with class. Yamamoto steers the monochromatic palette away from severity by incorporating the relaxed fits of blousy pants, asymmetrical hems, and slightly oversized – but never sloppy — white collared shirts, vests, and outerwear.  Yamamoto interprets women-doing-menswear in a way that’s more elegant-sophisticate than sterile power suit. The easy layers and drapery of knitwear in some looks suggest the energy and activity of a woman — even when oversized, pieces retain functionality. Other looks effuse 1920s American elegance. A few looks even boasted bolts of color, like furry fuchsia and yellow tights, or a harlequin print, while still looking polished. Yamamoto says she crafts her savvy tailoring with Japanese women in mind, and her runway models are typically from Tokyo. She summarizes her distinction from her father’s designs simply: “He is a man, and I am a woman.” 

Fashion, Jewelry and Shoes by Julie Eilenberger. Photography by Yves Borgwardt. Model. Kati from Seeds

A student at Universität der Künste, Julie Eilenberger debuted her designs in early July in her school’s presentation at Berlin Fashion Week. My Inner and Outer Space, a take on astronomic inspiration, combines structure with the ethereal.  Eilenberger, who is 24, says of the collection, “I wanted something dark and unnatural yet elegant…the outfits are somewhat futuristic but with a feeling of history.” 
     Indeed, the Space collection exhibits multiple contrasts: the intricacy of tiny eyelets and veils of asymmetric black Swarovski crystals against simple chiffon and jersey; flowing drapery elevated by exaggerated shoulders sculpted from hand-cut foam.
     The Danish-born Eilenberger lives the role of artist-as-observer, processing influences and letting her pieces develop on their own. She says she doesn’t, by nature, engineer her creativity: “I’m just giving it way and am always surprised by the outcome, as if it’s not mine.” Appropriately, Eilenberger rarely designs with herself in mind. Instead she draws from art or a mood, or she fleshes out and dresses a fictional woman. The muse she cast for her first collection is “strong and ready to take off for space…to protect Earth,” she says. She also looked to classic science fiction films, like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barbarella, and Logan’s Run for inspiration. The future might as well be fashionable.