Most of us can’t imagine working creatively with one of our siblings, day in and day out. Brother and sister duo Jamil and Alia Juma do it, and do it well. Focused on creating high quality, innovative contemporary ready to wear clothing under the name JUMA, Alia and Jamil have been able to tap into a collective consciousness of young urban creatives and produce a perfectly suited collection season to season. JUMA is known for their classic, wearable, but slightly edgy shapes. Those drop crotch / harem / kurta pants that seem to be the go-to item of the season? JUMA first debuted that silhouette way back in 2005!
Before moving to Berlin, people warned of how intensely grey a city this is. After a long icy winter followed by a cold and rainy spring, I'm starting to fully comprehend the warning. On the upside, the dreary weather has me looking to vivid colour and bold prints, something Wendy Wong, designer of Maison and House of Spy does so well.
Erin Considine is a New-York based jeweler making beautiful environmentally conscious pieces from hand dyed cottons / silks and reclaimed / recycled metals.
I've spoken in the past about being a big fan of Osei-Duro, a socially responsible clothing label that is developing small-scale sustainable business initiatives in Ghana. Right now, they're one of two finalists in a competition to win a $50,000 marketing package from flipp. Please take a few minutes to visit the link and vote for Osei-Duro. They totally deserve the prize!
Corrine Grassini named her label Society for Rational Dress after a group of women who, at the end of the 19th century, set out to reform restrictive Victorian era fashion. They wanted women to have freedom in what they worn. Grassini encapsulates that same spirit in her collection today, with a line of clothing that doesn’t subscribe to current trends. She makes clothes that a woman wants to wear; tailored to truly suit a woman’s form, sensual without being overtly sexual, and always with a hint of contrast between hard and soft (like the mix of leather and silk).