Vena Cava is launching a collection for Bloomingdale's in-house brand, Aqua. FabSugarTV got a chance to talk to the designers, Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock, about must-have pieces, their collaboration with Bloomie's, and what trends they're looking forward to for Fall.
Alexander Wang released his first ever video campaign for his Fall 2010 collection, FabSugar is teaming up with Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen at New York Fashion Week for Fashion's Night Out, and Victoria Beckham tests her skills at designing handbags with Marc Jacobs designer Katie Hillier. Plus, catch our exclusive interview with the designers behind Vena Cava talking about their newest collaboration!
Vena Cava is outrageously amazing, but sadly, so are its prices. So you can imagine our excitement when the brand announced a cheaper line, dubbed Viva Vena. The collection just released, and designing duo Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock went above and beyond our fashion expectations. The line features Vena Cava's signature hand-drawn prints and neo-Dada photo collages made into organic jersey dresses, tees, and cute skirts. Did we mention each piece retails under $200? Get it before it's long gone . . .
Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai’s resort collection for Vena Cava is full of the wearable, easy looks we love to see in a pre-spring lineup. Their mesh tanks, overall-inspired jumpsuit with zippers, menswear button-downs, and adorable handkerchief hemmed dresses and skirts are fresh takes on spring sportswear. We want it all.
>> Vena Cava Launching Lower-Priced Basics Collection: Viva Vena —Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai are the latest young designers to foray into basics with Viva Vena, a lower-priced line of organic and cotton jersey tees, tanks, and dresses, all produced in Los Angeles with a twist: Vena Cava's signature photo collages and hand-drawn prints. “We looked around and noticed that almost nothing was printed,” said Buhai. The collection, “priced so you didn’t have to think about it” — or under $200 — launches in July. [WWD]
Vena Cava designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock are no strangers to designing on the cheap. Remember their collaboration with Gap/CFDA? Now the designing duo has announced a lower-priced T-shirt line called Viva Vena. The fabrics will be jersey and organic cotton, but unlike many basic tees out there, they will include Vena Cava's signature prints. "We looked around and noticed that almost nothing was printed," Buhai said. The collection, retailing for under $200, will debut in July at Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Shopbop, and La Garconne.
>> Vena Cava was the first of three shows today (the others being Rachel Comey and Erin Wasson + RVCA) to boast live music. Ear plugs were left on every seat, as The Like was situated front and center on the runway.
In the show notes, Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai explained that after a long weekend in a house in Woodstock, they immersed themselves in the '70s craft movement and "designed a collection for the Vena Cava woman to wear in her cabin upstate: pieces that read more minimal, American, '70s tinged, and somewhat classic." Stylist Kate Young helped Buhai and Mayock translate those ideas onto the runway with raccoon tails pinned to dresses and streaks of purple, green, and pink through the models' hair. The designers are known for their hand-drawn prints, but there were noticeably less this season — only appearing on the sleeve of a top or two.
Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai christened the second floor venue at Milk Studios to show their spring 2010 collection for Vena Cava in front of a packed house, including fellow designers (Patrick Robinson) and Vogue fashion editors (Sally Singer and Lauren Santo Domingo).
The Brooklyn-based design duo presented what has become their signature look, along with a few new tricks, in a collection that will undoubtedly please their fierce cult following. Acid washed rayon pieces in shades of brown and black made a major statement, best when paired with an orange laser-cut blouse or a black silk crepe sleeveless blazer. Also of note were pyramid studs on chiffon, a cropped bustier and the metal safety pin details seen on a short black dress.
Fans of Vena Cava’s one-of-a-kind printed fabrics will not be disappointed in the star print silk georgette shorts and dress, nor the green and black ancient mask print used in a mid-length chiffon gown. Styled with oversized black sun visors, armfuls of Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. bangles and Persol eyewear, the collection was a perfect mix of edgy clothes made for vintage shopping in Brooklyn and classic uptown accessories.
Best summed up by the show’s stylist Kate Young, “The Vena Cava girl is wearing luxury accessories like a quirky art dealer, not like a lady who lunches.”
Source: Getty
>> Fall 2009 is "the make or break season" for small designers, according to Eric Wilson of The New York Times. Stores are reducing their orders by 20 percent or more for Fall, and some are already trying to cancel their Spring orders, which puts small businesses, especially those without independent financial backing, in a tenuous position. Basically, Wilson points out, "The more stores that close, the more designers will follow." And in show season, the cost of samples and putting on a show doesn't help with the strain.
