Puppets and Puppets designer Carly Mark made waves in the industry last week when she told The New York Times that she could no longer sell enough clothes to afford to live in New York, so she's moving to London to focus on its most stable accessories. business.
The response to the article, she said backstage before her final show at New York Fashion Week on Monday night, had been amazing, and many of her peers came up to thank her for telling the truth about how difficult it was. It's for independent designers. to survive right now.
“It's sad,” said Hillary Taymour of Collina Strada, who came out Monday night to support her friend.
Simply offering a space to display the Puppetry and Marionette collection was more difficult this season, with rental rates skyrocketing; One place Mark looked at was asking $25,000, double last year's price, for a 24-hour rental.
Samples have become more expensive because New York factories don't get as much work as they used to, he explained. “I wish there could be an incubation program where LVMH used its factories to help young brands and small quantities could be added to theirs.”
But it's not all New York's fault, Mark clarified amid the pre-show hustle and bustle backstage. “There are parts of the system that are really hard on young designers,” he said, noting that large e-commerce websites that regularly put things up for sale have forced many specialty retailers that previously supported Puppets and Puppets to close.
“It's not that I wanted to leave, reality just hit me,” he said.
He has also received many questions about why he thinks London will be better.
“I know London is an expensive city and I know a lot of designer friends in London who are also struggling, but for now I'm leaving ready-to-wear aside and will only make bags. “I’m much luckier than many of my contemporaries to have a really healthy accessories division, so I can work on that and break even by making accessories,” she said. “And the fact that I can take a train and be in Paris in a few hours and have meetings there, you can't beat it.”
On the runway, the clothes were simply things she wanted to wear, she explained, mentioning distressed hoodies and oversized T-shirts with blurry graphics as her everyday staples, along with dressier, more eclectic sheer lace skirts and stoles. of leather that evoke a more dreamlike quality. .
There were some clever concepts, too: skirts with long trains pulled up to become veils, hooded scarves crisscrossing over the shoulders, apron dresses with delicate side ties, and sheer nylon pants tucked into high-heeled pumps. And what better place to discover smart fashion concepts than independent designers? Without their creative spark, won't the industry become much duller and more marketing-driven? All questions to reflect on.
Meanwhile, Mark traded in novelty for more practical elegance when it came to accessories, including a clutch bag with a metal handprint handle, an oversized black hobo, and a gold tote. Great looking faux crocodile.
While they will be produced, the clothes will not, because Mark can't afford them. However, she thought it was still important to show, because in addition to being a business, as she said, “this is my art.”
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