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Geoffrey B. Small

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  • justin_bridou
    Member
    • Feb 2015
    • 40

    Originally posted by byhand View Post
    This characteristic is required in any entrepreneurial pursuit.
    got it, but others are able to do it without leaving me with this kind of feeling. anyway, no bad feelings, just delivering my thought on the moment

    Comment

    • Arkady
      Senior Member
      • Apr 2011
      • 957

      Maybe that's because others are commonly full of shit about the principles they espouse vs the ones they actually hold when it comes to entrepreneurship, whereas Geoffrey is of the breed who takes pride in integrity and authenticity and sacrifice above all else.

      Comment

      • justin_bridou
        Member
        • Feb 2015
        • 40

        Originally posted by Arkady View Post
        Maybe that's because others are commonly full of shit about the principles they espouse vs the ones they actually hold when it comes to entrepreneurship, whereas Geoffrey is of the breed who takes pride in integrity and authenticity and sacrifice above all else.
        man, again, I totally agree with it, and I admire it, but there is no need to
        shout from the rooftops on every single post...
        I promised to myself not to be driven too far into a discuss on this topic, because G. clearly does not deserve it, so i'm fine with it. if i'm the only one to feel this way, then the problem comes from me.

        Comment

        • Geoffrey B. Small
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2007
          • 618

          .








          . Julia Makso leading off Geoffrey B. Small's radical "Examen Reginae" show in Paris Sunday night which examines the idea of the Queen from many different angles. The collection launched a bold and already controversial new direction that an unprecedented new interpretation of classic is now becoming the new avant-garde. And from fabric to construction, represents the world's most extensive development and investment in extreme handmade technologies for a Paris designer ready to wear collection to date. The surreal performances of the modeling team from studio KLRP, the installation set design of black plastic, cement rubble, corporate food trash and black pearls by Venice Biennale exhibition producer Paul Bradley and the raw soundtrack of late 1970's Misfits, Sex Pistols and Ramones high-speed original live punk performances contrasted sharply with the incredible fabrics woven entirely by hand only for us by the Colombo family in Badoere di Morgano Italy, the groundbreaking handwork constructions of our world-leading GBS Sartoria team at Cavarzere Venezia, and the undeniably provocative new directional look of the collection as 21st century queens walk their new lands... an inheritance of corporate destruction, waste, rubble and trash completely that surrounds them. With many thanks to everyone who helped to make this presentation and game-changing collection possible.

          Best wishes, Geoffrey



          .
          Last edited by Geoffrey B. Small; 10-10-2015, 01:05 PM.

          Comment

          • newp
            Senior Member
            • Feb 2013
            • 631

            It looks absolutely gorgeous from the very first shot.
            I can't wait for a video and hope for sz-mag coverage, I enjoyed a Radicalissimmo one!

            Comment

            • Lohikaarme
              Senior Member
              • Jul 2013
              • 624

              Geoffrey

              First, congratulations on another successful show.

              Second, I sincerely apologize for offending you (and your team). At the time I was not sure which word to use to describe your current aesthetic (none of them, from povera to old style to historical felt proper). Calling it classic is something that works, though nothing I would have thought of. I compared the superficial details to the other designer simply due to the context of the website we're on; it was not meant to imply you are lesser or even derivative to him (or anyone, necessarily).

              Furthermore, thank you for the very detailed posts, including answering my question. Unfortunately, I am not able to see your work in person. There are simply no stockists in any reasonable location near me. Barring that, I figured (and by your request/advice many pages ago) to check out what sort of work of yours is available in second-hand markets. What caught my eye were those two garments as they were very different from your current classic-turned-avant-garde style, hence me posting those, specifically (and by extension also referring to them as a different aesthetic than the current pieces). And it is very true that I am very ignorant of the fashion world, largely because I cannot visit and explore "in person" so I am forced to see things almost purely through the web (that, or spend money to buy and keep things, but that's hardly economical). On a good day, I can go through the 40+ pages in this thread, but places with a constant designer-consumer back and force are far and few between...

              Comment

              • Cantara
                Member
                • Mar 2015
                • 62

                Love the new collection Geoffrey! Excited to see some of the pieces when they arrive in New York.

                Comment

                • TabulaRasa
                  Member
                  • Jun 2014
                  • 69

                  That one shot looks soooo good! Can't wait to see more.

                  Congrats on a successful show. Here's to many more.

                  Will be in NYC this weekend and am looking forward to checking out what is left at Hotovelli.
                  The music I make.

                  Comment

                  • Mojo1990
                    Member
                    • Oct 2015
                    • 31

                    Hi Geoffrey,

                    After having read and seen your beautiful clothing, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to contact you so directly via this open forum. Thank you for sharing your passion and craftsmanship to the world.

                    I am currently In talks via email with Hotoveli for a pair of Super 150’s Emotions Wool trouser (From the AW15 collection) . I would like to know if you could perhaps share some pictures of the trousers, or if you have any runway pictures that would be ideal.
                    Last edited by Mojo1990; 10-23-2015, 05:15 PM.

                    Comment

                    • Geoffrey B. Small
                      Senior Member
                      • Nov 2007
                      • 618

                      Originally posted by Mojo1990 View Post
                      Hi Geoffrey,

                      After having read and seen your beautiful clothing, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to contact you so directly via this open forum. Thank you for sharing your passion and craftsmanship to the world.

                      I am currently In talks via email with Hotoveli for a pair of Super 150’s Emotions Wool trouser (From the AW15 collection) . I would like to know if you could perhaps share some pictures of the trousers, or if you have any runway pictures that would be ideal.
                      Dear Mojo1990, thank you very much for your very kind post. I am in process posting a reply and story to some previous posts that have been up for awhile, so I will need to try to answer your requests in a separate one later or via PM or through Hotoveli. Thanks again, your patience and support are greatly appreciated. Best wishes, Geoffrey

                      Comment

                      • Geoffrey B. Small
                        Senior Member
                        • Nov 2007
                        • 618

                        A look behind a radical new directional collection in handmade design technologies

                        .

                        Thanks so much Cantara, Tabula Rasa, and Mojo1990- (I will try to
                        respond to your post later in a separate post or PM)...

                        and dear Lohikaarme,

                        Thank you so much for your very kind and sincere reply. Apology accepted but no longer in order, and I wish to extend my own to you for getting so emotionally involved in my answer. Where do you live? If you are ever in Paris during one of the designer weeks, I would be happy to arrange a visit to our showroom and an invitation to our show for you, and meet you in person and take you through our collections myself. It is truly hard for anyone to fully understand the level of our work without viscerally seeing it, feeling it, trying it on and learning about it from someone who really knows what went into it. This a problem even among many of the world's most famous and supposedly talented and legendary retail store owners, buyers and/or journalists, who only want to buy or see "looks" and fail to see the incredibly unbalanced superficiality of their approach and their view of what we do and what we think clothing is really all about.

                        And believe me this week, they were everywhere in Paris. So I can understand where you are coming from now. It is a problem with the internet that as close as we can get to communicating with each other from all parts of this planet, nuances and meanings still can be misunderstood at best. When Instagram becomes the primary information and promotional vehicle for so many once visionary hands-on store owners and buyers who now so clearly have lost their way… a new level of shallowness, vapidity, total lack of substance and yes, vision, takes over. And so I apologize to you as well, and hope that you can also understand the particular fragility of the moment at which we posted previously.

                        I can tell you that the week in Paris was a game changer for many many collections and stores. You won't see or hear about it from them or in the press of course, but many things that have been selling and working very well have suddenly been slowing way down, and budgets and collections were being cut drastically everywhere except for a few very important exceptions.

                        We knew about this before we came to Paris. We knew it was a time to change. That is our legacy and what someday will finally be recognized by the mass fashion spectator or student: timing, change and staying one or even 2 steps ahead of the rest of the pack for over 35 years and counting.

                        When everybody is zigging, that is the time to zag.

                        And this week in Paris was one of those times. So when you first posted, we were in the process of building what we call a "directional collection." Only a very, very few practioners in the game can create a directional collection, let alone a succession of them. Let me begin to try to explain why…

                        First off, with a directional collection you risk everything. Everything you have and everything you have done and built up over your lifetime. It all goes on the line. A full bet at the table. Your business. Your reputation. Your skill, talent and capability as well as everyone else's with whom you are involved with.

                        You must look at what everyone else including yourself is doing, and then feel, sense, and see, where they should be going next. Like the mythical hockey player Wayne Gretsky always said, "I am able see in my mind where the puck is going to be, a split-second ahead of everyone else on the ice, and that's where I go…"

                        We do the same. We bet everything we have on a vision of where things are going to be next. But it is not easy. Even with our exceptionally unique and massive research, at a certain point we step off, no in fact, we leap off… a cliff which once felt of solid ground and safety- and jump out into that pure dense white fog over the abyss-- never knowing exactly if we will take flight, let alone how and where we will land -- to reach and find a new place of creative sanctuary, exploration and growth.

                        Emotionally, it can be a time of extreme insecurity, vulnerability and sensitivity. To find this absolute truth, this "zen" of where the forces of direction are truly moving, we must open ourselves completely from inside the soul and inside the mind. We are naked to both ourselves and the world around us, as is necessary for any type of birth or rebirth in both physical and spiritual things. As such, we become like a raw nerve, we feel every presence, both positive and negative… and when negative energies and vibrations come within even the slightest range of our sphere of consciousness, our creative and immune systems rise immediately to the defense of our minds and spirits which must remain totally focused solely on the channeling and creation that must find, maintain and follow that singular energy source which emanates from that single solitary path and trajectory that lies ahead of us… in the fog where we are hanging… either in free fall or soaring flight.

                        Any deviation or distraction particularly by negative forces and energies emanating from sources of negative power or spirits-- must be blocked and challenged swiftly and dramatically to prevent risking our loss of way on the true path and hence our own complete creative failure and destruction. Losing your path in the fog over the Abyss is not an option, no matter how much negative energy and chatter from how many voices are around you.

                        This is part of the process and the path of building and launching a directional collection in the most competitive designer arena in the world, and arguably one the most brutal businesses in the world as well.

                        After you have expensed every ounce of resources, thinking and soul to finally find a way to build your pieces- your prototypes,- the journey then continues through a myriad of hoops, and obstacles and traps that line the way to reach your destination. First there is your show and all that entails which I cannot yet get into in any detail for this post due to time constraint. And then your showroom, where the rubber begins to hit the road… and the new idea, the new direction, must take the first steps to get itself out into the stores where the people, and the public, will have an opportunity to see, experience and (if they decide) acquire, and begin to wear and use it in their lives.

                        Bear also in mind, that nothing is more difficult or risky than introducing a new directional collection to buyers in Paris when the collections you have been already doing are already doing well for them. It's against human commercial nature. "Why fix it if it isn't broken, right? Let's just keep on doing the same thing. It's working." And so, buyers and designers can easily fall into the habit of staying longer and longer in a perceived comfort zone. But for any true master of this game who is in it for the long haul, that is the deadliest trap of all. Both buyer and designer get increasingly content, overly confident with themselves, and lazy. And unless the designer can increase their production numbers enormously and or move their production out to cheaper venues (which many do eventually by selling out to the system in one form or another and becoming another megabrand), basic operating and material costs and therefore, prices in this end of the game, inevitably go up over time. So, the customer who bought before comes into the store, and sees the same thing as before, but priced ever higher, and so begins to decide not to buy anymore, because honestly there is nothing to buy for him or her. Only the new customer who has not bought the same thing earlier will buy at the new higher price. In many cases, as a brand gets more exposed and more known, there are plenty of new customers out there to feed growth for both store and designer. But if for one reason or another, there are not enough new customers to make up for the lack of the old customer to continue to come back and buy, the store's business goes down- oftentimes, dramatically. They have lost their original customer. The core customer. They have lost the repeat business that is so fundamental to a retailer's long term success. Why? Because they simply have failed to move themselves forward enough to be in a position to be able to provide a sufficient reason for their older customers (and all of their friends and family members as well) to continue to buy from them. Remember the quote from David Geller: "you must always stay at least 6 months ahead of your customer." It's an old fundamental in this game. And it's still the truth today.

                        So here is the rule of the game for the true creative designer. Either you keep creating and redefining yourself with all of its risks and dangers and stay ahead of the pack to guard your independence and integrity, or you get bigger fast by selling out and feeding on new customers who don't know about you yet and give up on the older ones who will eventually get bored with you and go elsewhere--or you die over time as a collection or a brand. In the last 2 cases you lose your creativity and oftentimes your integrity as well.

                        We set out this season to stay ahead. Our goal was to create the most extreme hand built women's collection ever presented in Paris for ready to wear, and once again break the barriers in handmade clothing technology.

                        And we did.
















                        Here is the place where the fabrics that launched the new collection came from,
                        and the very room where all of the them were made,
                        the Colombo family's authentic 18th century wooden hand-looms at Badoere di Morgano,
                        where the story of our groundbreaking women's collection begins...


                        .

                        Comment

                        • Geoffrey B. Small
                          Senior Member
                          • Nov 2007
                          • 618

                          (continued from above) A look behind a radical new directional collection...

                          .
                          -With a new exclusive relationship with the Colombo family in Badoere di Morgano which began right off with nothing less than a revolution. You see, the Colombos don't just weave great fabric. They weave it by hand. All of it. On original 18th century looms that they have carefully kept and maintained for generations. And while it takes 2 days working on one of these looms to make enough cloth just to make a single suit, what can be done on those looms is simply another world when it comes to fabric. And as we stepped into this new world, it led us into an entirely new way of looking at things, and yes, making things, especially the prototypes for this new collection- which rises so much higher in time, skill and sartorial artistic excellence that it takes all other recent artisanal designer collections and their pieces, including our own, and simply leaves them back on the ground.

                          So while the classic appearance fooled both the superficially-minded buyer and the superficially-minded journalist (there were in fact, some very good reasons to go in this direction with a classic concept)- the collection we presented in Paris was a revolutionary one. And it has set a new standard in women's classic luxury tailored clothing that now challenges any major couture house in the world. There is now something better for this customer. And way cooler. And that customer is growing. And while those so-called luxury houses are busy buying and selling each other and trying to rebrand and relaunch one bogus "heritage brand concept" after another, we are steadily and aggressively building a real new heritage brand from scratch. A real one, with a real person behind it. And one that will be one of the greatest of the 21st century because it is not run by financiers or accountants, it is run by people with one singular vision- to make the best clothes in the world possible today by human beings, bar none.

                          And nothing represents that vision today more than the pieces that can be found in this new collection. They are totally new technology pieces-- the most handworked collection ever done for a Paris ready to wear collection... again starting with the fabrics which following an exclusive new agreement with the Colombo family (Tessitura La Colombina) in Badoere di Morgano, were all totally hand woven on a series of original 18th century wooden hand looms that the family has maintained for centuries. This fabric took us into totally new territory for complexity of hand technologies. For example, it took 2 days of work for a person working on the hand loom to create enough fabric for a single 2-piece suit. To achieve the extraordinary dark colors we presented in Paris, after extensive trials and testing in our workrooms, we found we had to hand dye the fabrics not just once, but twice to get the yarns to go dark enough and hit the amazing patina and softness that was finally achieved. So another 2 full days due to double-hand dye baths were needed just to dye a single suit. Because the hand loom techniques result in looser weaves than with power looms, the fabric was also very different to work with in the sartoria (tailoring rooms), cutting had to be done much more delicately and carefully or the fabric will run and yarns will unravel quickly, our initial time studies indicate 2-3 times longer to cut a suit in this type of cloth, and at its already high price and value--we cannot afford any mistakes.

                          Likewise all other operations using hand and machine on this fabric are different, required more care, and far more time. Many operations could not be done with machine at all, forcing us to make these pieces some of the most hand-built pieces in our entire history. 3-4 days to make a single jacket. 2-3 days for one of the skirts. Incredible details that would be impossible to achieve by another design house on this fabric with such extreme technical demands... entirely handsewn pockets, lace and trim details all around jacket fronts-sleeves-pockets, interior hems on bodies and sleeves, buttonholes (which initially appeared impossible to achieve on the loosely woven fabric) and loops, buttons, labels, lining attachment seams all around and the exquisite interior metal chains attached to the bodice hemlines--all by our extreme skill handwork.

                          All linings were done in pure silk from Como and match the blouses presented in the collection. Different from other woven fabrics, the silk raso satin from Como is also far more demanding and less forgiving a fabric to craft clothes with. Its fluidity and movement under the needle make it particularly tricky to sew accurately, seam after seam, as the piece is being constructed. Likewise in cutting, the silk has a mind of its own... it slides, it moves, like water. So to work with it you not only need to be a great technician, but you also need a special "zen" to go with the flow of the fabric as you execute your operations with it. On top of that due to the super high yarn count, superfine weave of silk, it is almost impossible to make a stitch in a silk fabric like this without making a hole with your needle. So unlike other fabrics, you cannot make a single stitching mistake on the silk. Because, like leather, if you take out the stitch you will leave a hole. On other fabrics this is not the case, stitches can be removed without making holes in the cloth. So working with the silk also requires more time and extra care when performing the work, and to match the blouses and linings and handwoven fabric, all the silks were also double-hand dyed.

                          In addition to the amazing fabrics, other detail elements like the laces and trims used on the pieces are vintage Venetian linen and other specialty fibres and were very difficult to acquire and took months of time to procure prior to our own building of the collection in record time (under what would be agreed as totally impossible conditions for any other design firm in the world), to be delivered in time for our October 3rd presentation in Paris. This is a part of the design story that you will never see or hear about from the usual industry mouthpieces and media. But thanks to this forum, it is a story that I am now able to share with you directly.

                          In our showroom in Paris at the legendary Espace Saint Martin, "Examen Reginae" not only set a radical new direction for Paris fashion at the avant-garde level, it also established the beginning of an entirely new area of extreme hand creation textile and clothes-making technologies that we are in the ground stages of experiencing. We have soared through the fog and have now found ourselves on the shores of a whole new world of design and artistic possibilities. And it also smashed another new all-time record for sales and order bookings as our top, and our best, visionary dealers around the world continue to understand our mission and offer the most advanced designer handmade clothes available in the world today to their growing clientele. As a result, we are now rapidly expanding our staff, human development, and workroom operations at Cavarzere Venezia in order to accommodate the new demand for our newest and perhaps most exciting work to date. For both men and women, SS2016 will be our biggest season since moving the firm to Italy over 15 years ago. And we thank everyone, from collaborator, to co-worker, to customer, whose participation and support has helped us to get this far. Including you Lohikaarme, for your interest and curiosity from far away somewhere, in what we are trying to do and have been doing now since 1979 starting in an attic, making clothes for friends.

                          With many thanks to all of our clients, staff members, key suppliers and collaboration partners who supported our vision and saw the future with us on this amazing and challenging, and yet, already extremely successful, new voyage in clothing design and wardrobe creation.

                          Best and warmest wishes,

                          Geoffrey for everyone











                          Some views by Yusuke Shiike of our showroom in Paris at the legendary Espace Saint Martin.
                          "Examen Reginae" set a radical new direction for Paris fashion at the avant-garde level and
                          broke a another new record for sales and order bookings as our visionary dealers continue
                          to understand our aim to offer the best and most advanced designer handmade clothes available
                          in the world today to a loyal and growing clientele.


                          .
                          Last edited by Geoffrey B. Small; 10-24-2015, 05:52 AM. Reason: grammar

                          Comment

                          • round
                            Senior Member
                            • Aug 2015
                            • 157

                            After visiting Hotoveli I have become very interested in Small's work and philosophy. Hopefully I can buy a piece or two soon, whenever I have enough money to do so.

                            Comment

                            • Geoffrey B. Small
                              Senior Member
                              • Nov 2007
                              • 618

                              replies to round and Mojo1990

                              .

                              1.) Dear round,
                              thanks so much for your post and your interest.
                              Whenever you are ready, we look forward to hearing from you.
                              Best wishes, Geoffrey



                              ----------------------------------

                              Originally posted by Mojo1990 View Post
                              Hi Geoffrey,

                              After having read and seen your beautiful clothing, it is an absolute pleasure to be able to contact you so directly via this open forum. Thank you for sharing your passion and craftsmanship to the world.

                              I am currently In talks via email with Hotoveli for a pair of Super 150’s Emotions Wool trouser (From the AW15 collection) . I would like to know if you could perhaps share some pictures of the trousers, or if you have any runway pictures that would be ideal.



                              2.) Dear Mojo1990,

                              Thanks again for your inquiry and your patience.
                              Concerning your request about the OCP04N Fratelli Piacenza Super 150's Emotions 16-micron wool handmade trouser,
                              I have now been able to dig up some pages on the design from the Hotoveli AW15 collection storybook we made for the
                              store, as well as a shot from the "Witness" collection show in Paris this past January (photo: G. Barbagelata).
                              Hope this is helpful, please ask the guys at Hotoveli for any further assistance.
                              Thanks again for your interest and post.

                              Best wishes,
                              Geoffrey & the Team

























                              .

                              Comment

                              • Lohikaarme
                                Senior Member
                                • Jul 2013
                                • 624

                                Geoffrey--

                                Thank you so much for yet another set of very detailed posts. If I'm ever in Paris during the designer weeks, I'll let you know. I'm in a tiny town in the US's Midwest. Sadly I have to travel a little bit to even get to a J Crew

                                Also, sorry for the very late reply... I had to read your posts a couple times.

                                Those fabrics (and the pieces as a whole, of course), are quite beautiful. I'll have to see if I can find some of your pieces in real life. The looms and fabrics truly are something special. Your risk taking is also quite spectacular (wrt direction, fabric choice) though it certainly seems to pay off. The silk especially sounds quite dangerous (and perhaps therefore all the more enticing).

                                I look forward to hopefully seeing more images from Examen Reginae.

                                I must ask though... how do your clothes take to being altered? It sounds quite nearly impossible or risky given both the fabric and construction method used (oh, those buttonholes!). Perhaps it's against your ethos?

                                Comment

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