Geoffrey B. Small

[zamb]

Although I planned on being at Hotoveli to meet you and also to see friends I haven't seen in much too long a time, .

you should have been a little reckless and skipped the meetings
we would have taken you to Dinner with us

[Faust]

Yep, we went to a fancy restaurant... for burgers and beer.

[rider]

believe me, if I could have I would have. I was def NOT dressed for a meeting but for B.etter things...

[Anomie]

.

And while much attention has been placed on our men's work here on SZ, we would like to make a few upcoming posts about our women's collection too, which actually represents about half of our worldwide business even though it seems to garner far less attention than our menswear.

[/COLOR]

Yes! My wife just picked up a beautiful skirt at IF and an amazing Jacket this past July at Kamille. Beautiful work!

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.

Thank you so much Anomie and Rider for your purchases, support and
recent comments. Thanks Zam and Faust for the night out, I will say
that the burgers were very good indeed (sorry we missed you, Rider).

In continuation of the women's collection posts, I would now like to
introduce photo images of the Paris show shot by Guido Barbagelata
with some brief descriptions and the names of the people who walked
for us and pulled off the amazing choreography (see video post #779).
Hope you like it... cheers, Geoffrey & the Team







"Forests and Trees"
Paris autumn/winter 2015 presentation
photoraphed by Guido Barbegelata






Barbara

Italian deluxe pure merino luxury wool jersey asymmetric Vercelli
double-zip cardigan with special technique structured knit details.
Luigi Parisotto exclusive wool and cotton corsair trouser. G. Rebesco
handmade Vicentina calfskin trainer.




Nastia

Italian pure merino luxury wool jersey Vercelli double-zip cardigan
with special technique structured knit details. L. Parisotto exclusive
winter cotton & wool Bondone cloth skirt. Giuseppe Rebesco
handmade Vicentina calfskin trainer.




Tamara

Italian deluxe pure merino luxury wool jersey asymmetric handsewn
buttonhole and Fontana horn buttons (Parma) cardigan with special
technique structured knit details. Handmade fully-lined pleated twisted
lining skirt dress with square neck in L. Parisotto silk, cashmere &
wool with Tessitura Mauri viscose linings (Como). Giuseppe Rebesco
handmade goodyear-welt construction Concerie '800' (Toscana)
vegetable tanned women's calfskin derby.




Vassiliki

Italian deluxe pure merino luxury wool jersey handsewn buttonhole
and Fontana horn buttons (Parma) long point cardigan with special
technique structured knit detailing and pure linen details. G. Rebesco
abstract form calfskin glove, handmade Vicentina deluxe calfskin trainer.




Marya

Extreme assymetric long point double-opening cardigan with special
technique structured knit details in Italian deluxe pure merino luxury
wool jersey with extensive handsewn buttonholes and Fontana horn
buttons (Parma). G. Rebesco fully-lined handmade Vicentina luxury
calfskin trainer.




Vali

handmade 5-special button sweater jacket with handmade buttonholes
in hand dyed Italian Extrafine Merino Wool Jersey and L. Parisotto
Bondone Winter cotton & wool herringbone with Como viscose linings.
Handmade assymetric point fully-lined skirt with special Fontana horn
buttons (Parma) in hand dyed L. Parisotto Silk, Cashmere & wool
special weave cloth with Como viscose linings. G. Rebesco handmade
Vicentina calfskin confezione ago construction classic chukkha boot.




Karina

handmade single-breasted one button-front peak lapel jacket with
handstitch buttonholes, working surgeon's cuffs & special buttons from
Claudio & Cinzia Fontana in hand dyed L.Parisotto Silk, Cashmere &
special weave linen with Como Viscose & Bemberg linings. L. Parisotto
super 120's double-twist Venezia luxury cotton handmade shirt.
Women's G. Rebesco vegetable-tanned Concerie '800' Toscana leather
chukkha boot with goodyear-welt sole construction.




Kristina

hand dyed Fratelli Piacenza 1733 angora, cashmere & wool handmade
single-breasted assymetric 3-button tailored jacket w/special horn
buttons (Fontana) and handstitch buttonholes with pure Como silk
(body) & Bemberg (sleeve) linings. Pure hand dyed Como raso silk
satin handmade ladies tunic dress with round neck, handmade welt
pockets & extensive handstitch detailing. G. Rebesco authentic
Montebelluna handmade Vicentina calfskin deluxe mountain shoe.




Julika

Handmade single-breasted peak-lapel jacket in hand dyed Lanificio
Moessmer pure mountain tweed wool with 100% silk raso satin linings
(Como). Double-breasted peak lapel 6-button waistcoat and assymetric
pleated skirt in hand dyed L. Parisotto silk and cashmere special
weave tweed with Ezio Ghiringhelli special jacquard weave viscose
lining story. Vicentina calfskin confezione ago construction chukkha
boot handmade for us by Giuseppe Rebesco.




Joanna

handmade single-breasted 6-button notch-lapel fully-lined jacket and
skirt in L. Parisotto hand dyed wool & linen special weave suit with
Como viscose & Bemberg linings, handstitch buttonholes & special horn
buttons by Fontana (Parma). Pure hand dyed Como raso floral silk
satin handmade ladies round neck blouse. G. Rebesco authentic
Montebelluna handmade Vicentina calfskin deluxe mountain shoe.

.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.

Nastya

handmade modified 1950's European 3/4 length single-button 3-button
raglan split sleeve coat and fitted tailored assymetric back-pleated
fully-lined skirt in hand dyed L. Parisotto wool & linen twill with Como
cotton & viscose and Bemberg linings. Extrafine Italian deluxe merino
wool knit arm-warmer. G. Rebesco handmade Vicentina calfskin
deluxe trainer shoe.




Rhana

handmade single-breasted leaf abd flower-collared coat w/handmade
buttonholes and buttons in L. Parisotto heavyweight linen, wool, silk
and cashmere coating twill. G. Rebesco 19th century handmade
Vicentina calfskin women's laceup boot.




Jill

handmade loden lattice patchwork long jacket coat with Fontana horn
special buttons in hand wash 100% Biella wool twill with Tyrolean
pure wool Loden cloth panels & special Como Viscose linings.
handmade 1940's french working women's patchwork skirt in
handwash Biella Extrafine Tasmanian stripe wool, Varese herringbone
linen & L.Parisotto wool & indigo cotton combination. handmade G.
Rebesco goodyear welt construction toscana vegetable tanned Conceria
'ottocento' leather women's derby.




Anja

Piacenza super 150's Emotions micron wool handmade relaxed living
coat with Tekstina Hapsburg royal family cotton and E. Ghiringhelli
jacquard linings. 1940's french atelier reproduction work coat dress in
L. Parisotto indigo cotton & wool. G. Rebesco 19th century handmade
Vicentina calfskin women's laceup boot.




Julia

handmade 3/4 length single-button 3-button raglan split sleeve coat
in hand dyed L. Parisotto Bondone winter cotton & wool & linen
herringbone with Como cotton & viscose and Bemberg linings.
L.Parisotto wool, cotton, silk, ailored fully-lined skirt. Extrafine deluxe
Italian Merino wool knit arm-warmer sleeve. G. Rebesco handmade
goodyear welt construction Concerie 'ottocento' vegetable tanned
leather bostonian saddle shoe.




Karina R

1940's reproduction lined smock coat with yoke and handmade
buttonholes & special buttons in hand dye 100% Biella micro check
pindot wool with E.Ghiringhelli jacquard viscose and Bemberg lining
story. handmade gathered waist L. Moessmer lanacotta boiled wool A-
line jumper Dress with venetian cotton lace trim and E.Ghiringhelli
jacquard viscose linings. G. Rebesco handmade Vicentina calfskin
confezione ago construction bostonian saddle shoe.




Nicole

handmade single-breasted 3/4 bell sleeve shawl collared 1950's opera
coat reproduction in hand dyed L.Parisotto silk, cashmere, wool &
cotton special weave w/silk & cotton Super 120's double-twist luxury
fabric lining. 3-in-1, removable flower, classic & mandarin 2-collar
fitted handmade L. Parisotto silk & cotton Super 120's double-twist
luxury striped tailor's blouse with handstitch silk buttonholes & pearl
buttons. L. Parisotto silk, cashmere, wool & cotton curved pleated tulip
wrap skirt with bemberg linings. G. Rebesco handmade Vicentina
calfskin deluxe trainer shoe.




Selena

hand dyed L.Parisotto Silk, Cashmere & wool diagonal twill 19th
century modified pattern long D-B 12-button handmade coat with pure
Como silk & Bemberg linings. Biella Extrafine striped Tasmanian wool
dress with E.Ghiringhelli jacquard and venetian lace trim. G. Rebesco
handmade Vicentina calfskin deluxe trainer shoe.




Tanya

Hand dyed silk, cashmere & wool (Luigi Parisotto) diagonal superlux
twill handmade 4-button single-breasted round lapel topcoat with
special buttons and Tessitura Mauri (Como) viscose linings. 1940's long
tailored work undershirt dress with handsewn buttonholes and detailing
in hand dye L. Parisotto 100% superlight organic linen w/Varese pure
cotton velvet pinwale details. Giuseppe Rebesco Vicentina suede and
calfskin 1910's side-button high top deluxe trainer.




Jessamine

handmade single-button peak-lapel fitted jacket and tailored jumper
dress in hand dyed L. Parisotto silk, cashmere & wool pindot weave
suiting. Super 120's double-twist luxury stripe cotton (L. Parisotto)
handmade ruffle front shirt with pearl buttons. G. Rebesco handmade
goodyear welt Concerie 'ottocento' vegetable tanned leather
bostonian style saddle shoe.

.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.

Louise

hand dyed Fratelli Piacenza 1733 angora, cashmere & wool jacket,
waistcoat and trouser 3-piece handmade suit. L. Parisotto superlux fat
silk yarn and special weave linen chenille velvet d-b 19th coat with E.
Ghiringhelli jacquard linings. Como silk & cotton striped chiffon and
pearl button handmade blouse. G. Rebesco handmade Concerie
'ottocento' Toscana vegetable-tanned leather deluxe trainer shoe.






- - - - -






"Forests and Trees"
is available in the world exclusively at


Kamille, Paris
Hostem, London
Persuade, Bilbao
Eth0s, Shanghai
Noodle Stories, Los Angeles
IF, New York
Hotoveli, New York
Arts & Science, Tokyo & Kyoto
Journal Standard Luxe, Tokyo & Osaka
24th of August, Osaka
Permanent Modern, Kumamoto
Farenah, Sofia
Axsum, Bordeaux
Raffi, Treviglio





N.B.
we remind readers that our collections are expressly
prohibited from being sold on any e-commerce sites. We are also
unable to accept any direct personal orders from individuals. Please
contact or visit our exclusive authorized dealers directly for any
further information or assistance regarding the collection.
thank you so much for your viewing and understanding.

.

[porthidium]

A dear friend of mine introduced me to your menswear work a long time ago - incredible the amount of detail, care, and respect that is put into every garment.

Now...that [Nastia] Italian pure merino luxury wool jersey Vercelli double-zip cardigan with special technique structured knit details - has caught my eye. I really really need to get my hands on it.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Thank you porthidium, you can try IF in New York, we made 2 pieces for them this season... best wishes, Geoffrey

[clay]

It was great meeting you also Geoffrey! The clothes looked and felt amazing. Interestingly, I met another designer today whose work and dedication to the art I admire. It was Ralph Rucci. So sad he had to walk away from his label due to financial deals that led to him losing control of something he loved and built. Testament to keeping the the corplantation's out of your life.

[Ahimsa]

It was a pleasure to meet you as well Geoffrey! I admire your views on fashion so much. It was great being able to speak with you at dinner.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

Thanks again Clay and Ahimsa, the pleasure was truly mine to see and meet you both! With another thank you to everyone at SZ and Hotoveli for hosting the event during my visit. Now a link to some coverage and images on our AW2015 women's collection in Paris by Cecilia Musmeci at leparadox with thanks:

http://www.leparadox.com/fashion/geo...ter-2015-2016/

Coming up soon: a look in more detail at selected pieces from the collection.
Best wishes and thanks again to all,
Geoffrey & the Team

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.

Following runway images and video from previous posts, I will now try to give readers a look in more detail at selected pieces from the women's 'forest & trees' collection. As an SZ reader, I am feeling there is a lack of posts lately about specific designs relative to several years back and a little too much leaning perhaps towards celebrity/ marketing/ promo/ selling issues etc-- so I would like to try to do my part and start posting more pieces from our collections and workrooms as they come to fruition and become available in stores.

The super limited edition WSWK05 cardigan sweater dress design below is one of only 6 pieces made by hand in the entire world. It was created as part of our “Forests & Trees” Paris collection on deforestation and the importance of trees today as the key solution to stop and reverse global warming. The design uses a new long pointed cardigan sweater dress pattern, with special new tailored knitwear sleeve, pocket and detail techniques that resemble leaves, branches and tree forms and shapes. The new techniques developed from our extensive research, were performed by hand in our workrooms in Italy at Cavarzere Venezia, using a pure deluxe Italian pratese extrafine luxury Merino knit exclusively for us in Tuscany by the Landi family in Prato.

A forgotten treasure, Merino wool's basic natural properties have provided amazing thermal control, insulation, moisture management, odor control, fire safety, easy care and of course, incredible comfort & softness for millennia. Along with odor control, the complex structure of the Merino fibers provide a unique ability to both absorb and repel moisture. Merino fibers bend against the skin providing a level of comfort not found in other types of wool garments, heavier fibers can press against the skin and cause itchy irritation, but Merino will feel soft, super fine and comfortable. In wet cooler, climates the moisture interacts with the chemical properties of the wool generating small amounts of heat that prevent the wearer from feeling cold… air is trapped next to the skin by the natural crimp of the fibers, making the Merino garment warm. Superb odor control during heavy activity and sweating are found in Merino fibers unlike synthetic fibers or even cotton. And the Merino made for us by the Landi family is super... the best we have ever found (more preferable to us than many cashmeres) with substantial weight, volume and ultrasoft feel, naturally resistant to wrinkles and shrinkage, and naturally flame retardant, unlike synthetic fibers or cotton.

The piece also features a beautiful new button design in real horn created only for us by the legendary Fontana buttonmakers in Parma. Each one is double-backed with a real mother-of-pearl button on the inside for extra strength and durability. The design also has no less than 10 hand stitched buttonholes done in luxurious pure silk Bozzolo Reale Milano Seta threads and hand sewn pressure snap under the front-placket closure for maximum comfort and wearability as a cardigan sweater or knitwear dress (each buttonhole requires 8-10 minutes to cut and sew, so figure about an hour and 40 minutes of work just on buttonholes for 1 piece). The interior is also beautifully finished and detailed using special Italian bias raised twill tapes from Padova, then specially hand dyed in our studios using a painstaking process that required over 8 hours of work for each piece to achieve its unique color, patina and yes, incredible softness. 6 pieces of the WSWK05 were created for the entire world this season, available exclusively at IF and Hotoveli in New York, Al Select in Kichijoji, and Permanent Modern in Kumamoto. 2 different special modified versions were also created for Raffi in Treviglio (2 pieces), and Eth0s in Shanghai (3 pieces).

Thanks for reading, best wishes,
Geoffrey & the Team






















.

[Faust]

Thank you, Geoffrey. Indeed, it would be nice to right the ship in the discussion of more technical/aesthetic direction than shopping.

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.
Thank you Faust for the encouragement, we will do our best...

Now for another example, here below a special version of the WSWS02 tailor’s blouse design also from our “Forests & Trees” AW2015 women's Paris collection. It has a slightly modified fit and cut from the original as shown in Paris and is one of only 2 pieces created by hand in the entire world exclusively for Noodle Stories in Los Angeles. The removable “3-in-one” large ruffled flower, classic men's, and mandarin collar fitted tailor's blouse pattern developed from our extensive research allows its owner to wear the piece in three totally different ways, maximizing its investment value for money. Cut by hand, single-ply (no layers), in an incredible new fabric masterpiece developed and woven only for us by the master research weaver, Luigi Parisotto in Sarcedo, Italy that combines both silk and cotton organic grezzo (unfinished using no chemical treatments) Super 120’s double-twist yarns. An ultra-luxury shirting cloth so rare in its technical composition, weave structure, and amazingly natural and wonderful hand that words and photos simply cannot do it justice. The design also features some truly beautiful real mother-of-pearl shell buttons made for us in Padova, Italy, and a whopping 18 of our signature real handsewn buttonholes (each one requires 8-10 minutes to create… a total of over 3 hours of expert work on the buttonholes for this piece alone), all done in luxurious pure silk Bozzolo Milano Seta Reale threads, then specially hand washed for extra aging and softness. Only 2 pieces in this modified body fit were made for the world exclusively for Noodle Stories in Los Angeles, and 2 pieces in the original body pattern for Farenah in Sofia. So a max of 4 pieces in the entire world. We hope you like it, thanks for reading.

Best wishes, Geoffrey

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.

[Lohikaarme]

Hi Geoffrey,

A lot of/most of the designs you've shown here all have a sort of old-time look, somewhat similar to Paul Harnden for lack of better phrasing.

However, looking at your past stuff, both on your website and elsewhere, your style has very greatly changed, for instance,




What prompted this sort of huge change? (unless of course there's another Geoffrey B small floating around somewhere )

[Geoffrey B. Small]

.
Thanks Lohikaarme for your question, but with all due respect, I think you need to learn a lot more about our work. There is no other Geoffrey B. Small floating around. You also need to change your phrasing. So to clear some things up, I am going to be frank at a time 3 days before our next Paris show, when honestly, I feel have a lot better and more important things to do, nevertheless I cannot have your statement as it is written sitting here for all to see without some direct reply to it from me...

So first, let's get a few things straight.

We don't "look like them." They look like us.

A person that can't sew cannot be equated with what we are and what we do. For the record, we were doing our kind of clothes years before the brand you refer to. If you really know the 2 products (which you clearly do not at the moment), you will know there is a huge difference between them- what is behind them, and certainly, what goes into them. They are nothing like each other in any way. The fact that certain interests have managed to promo a certain "story," or perhaps better worded, lack of story--is not our problem. We don't care about reaching people who are too lazy or too dumb to do their homework. We don't have to. We are too busy selling to smarter, more-informed customers who do, and creating new ideas, new techniques, and new work… to even look at one-hit wonders content to keep banging out the same old models and concept in the same old fabrics year after year in the guise of being something important. That's a lame excuse these days for not having real creation capability and it just won't cut it…

If I wanted to become the Brooks Brothers or J.Crew of the 21st century, I might consider going that route, especially when my real creative capacity lay in people who worked for me at one time, but are now long gone. But understand that by the time "Racer-X" even started a label, we had already been making clothes at the Paris level for a decade (that's around 40 collections) and making (and I mean really making) clothes by hand for people for almost 2 and a half decades. Please don't equate a real tailoring house, (one of the best in the world right now), with merchants who subcontract production out to factories and manage to convince people that an industrial product is an artisanal one when it isn't. Our clothes have always had an 'old-time look' as you phrase it, because they have always been made in an old-time way. It's the process. The fact that others, have manufactured their products to look like they were made with that type of process, is what you are now seeing in the marketplace today-- and frankly it's a fake--and anyone who really knows their stuff can see it from a mile away.

We are not interested in fakes, we are the real thing, and have been so for almost four decades. You write about our "past stuff" so lightly. You have no idea how much of it there is, and how much of it has been bought, studied and turned over inside-out and upside-down by so many designers in this game it would make your head spin. But you don't hear that from them, or the magazines or the blogs or the interests who are more interested in selling something else for their own selfish and commercial reasons. So I understand that what you know and have access to may be limited. But please, try to have a little more respect for who we are, and what we do, and yes, what we have already done for so many, many years. And try to get off your screen and out into the real world. Visit one of our dealers and experience in your hands and on your body some of our real clothes and real work along with all of the others you seem to feel are so 'similar' to us--and maybe then you will wake up and begin to get the reality.

Always copied and never credited, that is the heavy price that we have had to always pay as a result of making the bold decision to commit ourselves to really designing and creating things, instead of going after hype, public relations and pushing product. While we are totally tied up dealing with the extreme and risky difficulties of the successful realization of new ideas, there are always others who avoid these risks and are free to spend their time and efforts schmoozing, getting their names more out there and better known, and getting both the credit and the sales in far larger circles than we have been able to, so that people in your position can get duped. So be it.

Our aim has always been to be a designer's designer, and we've been ahead of the game and ahead of the pack since we started almost 40 years ago in an attic outside of Boston with nothing but an old Singer sewing machine and a dream to put the human being back into the clothes in every aspect possible. And we have never looked back. You can't be a survivor let alone a leader for over 90 collections at the Paris avant-garde level without changing and renewing yourself and your work continuously. And that is a lesson that is being, or going to be, learned now by some names here on SZ, who haven't put out something new, and I mean anything new, in almost, and in some cases...over, a decade now.

Change you see, is a fundamental part of our work and our metier- always has been.. and always will be. In the words of David Geller the great master agent of New York, "you must always be 6 months ahead of your customer." So that's what we do, we stay ahead of everyone by at least six months.

That is why the Paris runway, not the just the showroom, is the acid test for the real creative designer in this game, especially now. The hidden secret anonymous showroom-only-presentation-thing is done and over for the time being. And unlike so-and-so ad infinitum, who have never done a single defile show in their entire career, we have been in that vicious and grueling arena for decades.

Please don't mix us up with all of them.

We don't farm out our production to factories, we don't need outside firms or streams of unpaid interns to create prototypes for us like 99 percent of the firms in the game including a vast number of so-called "artisan designers." And we never stand still and rest on our laurels and try to milk the market by continuously reselling the same old thing we once got famous for... ad nauseum. We don't have to do that. We like creating new things. And unlike so many of the fakers and posers out there, we are good at it. We own our production 100% and we have the world's greatest prototype creation team, all in-house to do just that. We put a ton of money from our sales and deliveries into our people and their training and development for the long haul, because we know that that is where the real gold is. In the people who work with you. The firm is owned and run by a real designer (not a finance person or a holding company) who knows how to perform every single aspect of the creation process from front to back, from making a pattern to sales and distribution--and is dedicated to raising the bar of creation to levels never seen before.

We change our work, because we like to create. In fact, we love it. That is our passion, that is what we do this thing for. Unlike others who do it for money, or power, or ego, we do it for Art- and the never ending quest to reach higher… and compete with ourselves and the best people doing the best work out there season after season, year after year, in the toughest design arena in the world- the Paris avant garde.

So anybody who thinks that what we do looks like someone else, does not know what we do and what this metier is all about.

They are fundamentally clueless when it comes to the real game, and what goes on behind it- a brutally tough game that we have been successfully a part of now for over 3 decades. And that is all I have time to say, as I am racing with my team today to finish our new women's collection which is really going to show some change next week, not sitting around and bitching about the world around me and raising my prices without raising my quality or yes, my creativity, correspondingly. We have no time or patience for that kind of thing.

To make that point even more clear, I will also quickly inform you that the 2 pieces in your photos are recycle production pieces of designs from the 1990's which are almost 2 decades old- years before anonymous had even ventured to put a shingle out on the lampost to make shoes (not clothes). You need to note that each of those two designs were first-in-the-world concepts from our phenomenal recycled design collections period in Boston that presaged dozens of our esteemed and respected colleagues and competitor's copies or interpretations that came out later (like the use of all those metal zippers for example). While they may appear old and common place to you today, their look and their techniques were absolutely unique, and cutting-edge at the time they were created and shown in Paris. And they each have their own special stories, which, if you know the true history of our work and our firm, hold a totally logical and correct place in a vast body of extensive (and still growing) art and design work...




January 1998 Paris coverage of the R126 zip trousers from our landmark "Revolution" collection which established a
new benchmark in recycle and deconstruction technical mastery for the industry and led to our licensing deal in Italy
a few years later (MFF, Book Moda,Gap Collections).


So much so in fact, that IF in New York has just recently asked us to recreate a selection of these types of pieces exclusively for their store next year in yes, 2016. 20 years after their first introduction. And if you think that is a big change, you should see what we were doing in the 1980's. Change is what we do. That's what designers in Paris are...

[Geoffrey B. Small]

...called upon and expected to deliver. Consistently. And we stand by our record of our works. Every single one of them. 36 years worth of them. For almost 4 decades we have been a world leader raising the art and science of making clothes by hand and are now finally getting known among both retailers and collector's of serious designer clothing the world over. In 1992 we became the first American designer to go to Paris and show an independent avant-garde collection to the world press and buyers at the highest levels of design. Before Jeremy Scott, before Marc Jacobs, before Tom Ford, before Rick Owens, before Thom Browne, before In Aisce, before them all. Before us, American designers did not show in Paris. It was unheard of. If you were a designer in the United States, you showed your work in New York. Period. Not anymore.




This article in early 1994 in Women's Wear Daily written by Mary Ellen Gordon
on our first Paris runway show created a shock wave in the U.S. designer
industry, proving that for the first time in history, a relatively unknown American
independent designer with little money could actually present original avant-garde
work successfully in Paris instead of New York, and went on to inspire and pave the
way for a whole new movement of American designers to cross the Atlantic and
present their work to a global audience in the world capital of fashion.


Since then, we have led the research end of our industry and shown 93 collections in Paris- more than any other American designer in the history of metier. While we are not for everybody, our collections have pioneered and spearheaded a long list of industry trends and movements that I cannot even begin to spell out for you in full detail from reviving bespoke clothing (1984), recycle design (1993), designer streetwear (1995), Napoleonic style (2004), medieval style (2006), global warming (2007), to sustainability & hyper-quality (2008), nuclear issues (2010), civil liberties & activism (2012), and yes, even some decent tailored clothes for people in a depressed perpetual war global economy (2004--present) that have and continue to influence and inspire other designers and brands across the industry and around the world. Just look around at all the tailored designer collections out there right now and consider that before we launched our collection in that direction over 8 years ago, nobody was doing tailored classic clothing in avant-garde. All those jackets, suits, waistcoats, tailored trousers, shirts and neckties all came after we started doing it in Paris first and it stuck out like a sore thumb. Same with all that Napoleonic looking stuff. Same with the medieval stuff. Same with the recycle stuff. Same with the sustainability stuff. And on and on. Over 6,700 original and different prototype design pieces created and presented at the highest levels. Over 26,000 handmade individual pieces created to order for store clients and individuals across the globe. All from a collection and a name that has focused itself on being first in the field at whatever risk and price necessary- to research, propose, and lead, advanced clothing design in directions that the rest of the industry can follow. You may not know about us in this regard, but key people at every major design label in the business do, and they watch everything we do. I am not going to name any names, but believe me, they are all on the list.

So as always, we have to stay ahead of them too. And we do, especially now as our creative capacity, technologies, and human resources are reaching extraordinary new heights. It brings to mind a bit of the 13th century in Italy, when centuries of stiff, unchanging, emotionless Byzantine painting were suddenly being challenged by the new art of Giotto, Simone Martini and Ambrogio Lorenzetti which brought emotion, volume and 3-dimensional form and shapes using perspective to the viewer and began to change the world as it was seen and portrayed from the centuries old monotony of an old regime. Huge change? You bet. We believe in change, and we embrace it and promote it every day.

Comparing us to a you know who, is like comparing the house of Ferrari at Marinello and all of its accomplishments to a single Triumph Spitfire. The Spitfire is a nice machine, and has its merits and its fans. But we are worlds apart. In thinking, approach, technical capacity, quality of product, track-records of design accomplishment and commitment, and, perhaps most importantly, human spirit and how we view and treat our fellow human co-workers, associates and customers. And believe me, if we are going to have a little go at it on the same piece of roadway, it's not even going to be close.

Apples and oranges. It's not correct, or smart, to mix them up. Please do your homework more thoroughly. And change your phrasing. Next time you post on this thread, try to show a little more respect and preparation for who you are talking to, along with an apology to all the people I work with, and the other designers you think you can just lump together into some "look" you feel you can just make up to categorize us with. Then maybe, we will be more open to discuss our design work with you in more detail and openness. But as you saw fit to write what you wrote for all the world to see, some things have to be straightened out first before we can get anywhere. I hope you understand where we are coming from.

Thank you very much.

With respect, and best wishes,

Geoffrey
for all of the people with whom I have the honor
to work, and collaborate with, on our collections.










P.S. delivery ad for the new WSJ10special super suit in Biella pure hand dyed virgin wool Prince of Wales glen plaid cloth just created for Hostem in London with fully hand-padstitched canvas front and collar construction, our exclusive double-breasted hidden stitch handsewn fly-front closure and the spectacular 5-button working handsewn buttonhole sleeve cuff with Fontana's 3844 pure horn button which takes us over 2 hours just to create the buttonholes and button story for the sleeve cuffs alone. All elements that 'whoever-they-are' cannot even touch or get close to pulling off. To give you an idea, that sleeve design alone is unique in the world--just the sleeve cuff--and is not to be confused with any machine-made, plastic look-alike version banged out in about one seventh of the time in some factory. Apples and oranges. If you are going to be serious about this field and where it is going, you need to learn to know the difference.



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[byhand]

Mr. Small, do you still make the "4 shirts in one" with detachable collars? I know you debuted that particular piece years ago, but it seems to be a design that can be a staple item year after year in your line. I suspect you make it in a variety of fabrics? Can it be special ordered through your retailers or from you directly?