Back from Roma...

Ciao tutti!  I am back from Roma but I've been working non-stop since I landed.  It is a busy time of the year for fashion designers like me who don't have the luxury of having a ton of employees working for them.  It is production time and this is the time when the designers have to scramble to fill their customer's orders for the "Resort" or "Cruise" collection.

Production is really quite a nightmare as you must manage the whole process of grading the patterns to ensure a perfect fit, sourcing all of your fabrications and trims, making sure your factory in on schedule, checking the quality of the finished work then finally shipping the orders to the boutiques.  It seems pretty straight forward but there are so many variables that can affect production that you must be ready for anything!

See my "International Travels" page for more pictures, restaurant reviews and other interesting information on Roma, the eternal city!

Anna Wintour

Okay so unless you've been living under a rock for the past 10 years or are just totally clueless about fashion, you know who Anna Wintour, Editor in Chief of American Vogue is!  For heaven's sake, they made a whole movie on her...hint "The Devil Wears Prada"

Anyway, I had met her once before when I was a lowly intern at Zac Posen and she was as gracious then as she was when I met her at fashion week this season.  I think all of that talk about her being the "devil" or a "diva from hell" is all an exaggeration, although she did ask me (albeit politely) to go fetch her a cappuccino at Zac Posen. 

I was able to give her my Spring 2009 look book which she is holding in the picture. My wish?  That she calls me and asks to pull one of my pieces for the cover of American Vogue!!  Okay, so that probably won't happen but one can always dream can't they?

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week

Friday September 5th marked the start of a much anticipated Spring 2009 New York Fashion Week sponsored by Mercedes Benz.  Depending on where you work or live in New York,  you may catch a glimpse of impossibly thin models scurrying about running from one show to the next, sometimes still wearing the elaborate runway make-up from the previous show.  Editors, buyers, starlets and fashionistas all teetering by in their beautiful stilettos and carefully thought out designer duds. 

Fashion week in New York is definitely an exciting time and if you can get to the tents at Bryant Park, you will definitely feel the buzz of excitement and energy surrounding the shows. 

Although the show's main purpose is to get buyers and editors to come buy the designer's creations for their stores/boutiques and get the powerful editors such as Anna Wintour of American Vogue to feature items from their collections in such magazines as Vogue, Bazaar, Elle & W magazines, lately it has become more of a spectacle where stars such as Victoria Beckham or the Olsen Twins garner more attention than the designers themselves!

The designers do not mind though as the more celebrities that are seen at their shows or wearing their clothing, the more their designs will sell to the general public.  Sounds like a pretty symbiotic relationship to me! 

Stay tuned for behind the scenes fashion show pictures from the designer Tuleh!

 

Ishii New York Spring/Summer 2009 Collection

After months of researching fabrics, searching for inspiration, sketching design proposals, editing and re-editing the collection, I have finally finished the Spring/Summer 2009 collection. 

The photo shoot was held in a beautiful wooded area of Central Park and thank God we had beautiful weather as there had been storms throughout the weekend.  Weather is always major concern especially when shooting on location. 

The shoot took approximately 7 hours and we even had an adorable pomeranian as a prop named "Teddy"  Here are some of the pictures from the shoot...enjoy.

Spring 2009 Collection Update

After what seemed to be an eternity, I finally found some things that gave me inspiration for my new Spring 2009 collection.  My inspiration consisted mostly of fabrics, some design details that are sort of an Ishii New York trademark as well as the sexy Italian screen sirens of the 1950's (think Sophia Loren, Monica Vitti, Gina Lollobrigida). 

The fabrics that inspired me most was a beautiful abstract floral silk georgette from France and some beautifully delicate cotton eyelet from Switzerland.  The silk floral is a beautiful impressionistic print filled with virbrant shades of red, green, and purple.  Jewel tones that I thought would uplift someones mood. The eyelet on the other hand is in soft shades of light celadon, blush and pale blue for people who prefer more muted colors.  

The style icons that inspired me this season were the sultry Italian screen goddesses as mentioned above.  I loved the silhouettes back then of their nipped in waists and full circle skirts which I find so feminine and romantic.  I wish more women would dress like that!

Anyway I spent the whole weekend with my pattern makers and seamstresses to turn the sketches that I had worked so hard on into reality.  The process of turning a designer's sketch into an actual garment is pretty tedious and time consuming.

I first describe my design vision and details to the pattern maker who then makes a paper pattern.  We then cut  and sew a sample with a cheap cotton fabric called "muslin."  We then try this garment on the model to see how it hangs and drapes on a an actual human and make adjustments and changes from there.  When the pattern and muslin is finally perfected, we will cut the actual fabric to make the first sample. 

So now you know exactly how a designer's collection comes together!

Searching for Inspiration...

Today I am still trying to gather up my thoughts and imagination to create a cohesive Spring 2009 collection.  Most designers focus by creating something called an "Inspiration Board" or "Mood Board" which the designer uses to collect their thoughts.  On my inspiration board I always have images, fabrics, trimming and other items that might influence or bring my collection together.  Right now the board is pretty bare except for some beautiful fabrications in printed chiffon that I picked up in Northern Italy.  I want to go visit the Metropolitain Museum of Art this week to  look at the  "Superhero's " costume exhibit  and also walk through the Grecian and Roman wings which is always a source of great inspiration.  I will let you know what I find later this week!

An Exciting Partnership with The Cove Atlantis!

As a young fashion designer in New York, where there are thousands and thousands of other fashion designers from all around the world competing for your client base, it is often a privilege to be able to align with a more established commercial enterprise to help your design company move forward.

Creating my Spring 2009 Collection

For many people who are not directly involved in the fashion industry, being a young fashion designer in a great city like New York might seem like a very glamorous, stimulating and evenexhilaratingjob. Sometimes it is just that but let's not forget about the day to day duties involved in being a fashion designer and creating a collection.

Ishii New York on Entertainment Reporter Aubrey Aquino

Beautiful and talented entertainment reporter Aubrey Aquino is wearing the "tuxedo top" by Ishii New York while interviewing Will Farrel and co-star  John C. Reilly for their comedic film "Step Brothers."  Please check out the clip below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFAW3O9Rygg

About Tamae Elizabeth Ishii

Tamae Elizabeth Ishii was born in Tokyo, raised in Northern California and now resides in The Upper East Side of New York where she is a fashion designer with her eponymous line of high end women's ready to wear called "Ishii New York."