in honor of Barney Rosset

alexismaida — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:49:27 +0000

For MUSE #29, I was honored to interview Barney Rosset as a feature for our Independents section. It was an amazing opportunity to delve into the world of a master in the literary field. His life and story are beyond inspiring. You can read the profile and learn more here, but here is the intro:

The early 1950′s, post-WWII America,was the era of conformity and materialism, a time of expanding suburbia with the women in aprons at home and the men in suit and ties in the city – quietly maintaining the ideal of the perfect family and, more importantly, the American dream. It was during this same time that Barney Rosset was buying a floundering publishing company in New York called Grove Press for $3000. He had finally found his outlet for his creative energy and his lifetime goal of going against the grain…

Rest in peace, Barney – thank you for what you fought for in journalism and literature. We are all reaping the benefits.

Click to view slideshow.

Milly Fall & Winter 2012

alexismaida — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:05:01 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

photos: LOFT22 & NY Magazine

We love supporting our clients, so we were thrilled to be able to attend the Milly Fall & Winter 2012 fashion show! Naturally, some of the prints on the clothes were recognizable from projects we have done with them for invitations, etc. this season.

The show was a packed house with an engaging crowd – Milly successfully refined the concept of elegance with an edge. Bright hues of heliotrope, clover, shocking pink and chartreuse creating a bold, exciting contrast to a base palette of black and white.

Signature Milly – the show and new collection was smart, sexy and feminine.

Benetton Spring/Summer ’12 windows

alexismaida — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:29:11 +0000

written by Madelaine Coyle

Click to view slideshow.

BENETTON SPRING/SUMMER 2012 WINDOWS

We recently had the pleasure to work with Benetton on their Spring/Summer 5th Avenue Windows.

The Goal?….Bring their campaign to life. The Challenge?…Build a 30’ tree under two weeks, and suspend 6 30lb mannequins on swings from the ceiling. The Result?…Great success, happy client, and an amazing 5^th ave window display.

No matter how crazy the task LOFT22 in ready to dive in to any project to ensure that our clients’ visions come to life.

art direction & production: Madelaine Coyle

man behind the brand: Salvatore Ferragamo

alexismaida — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:30:05 +0000

written by Bettina Bati

Salvatore Ferragamo had one of the most intriguing stories I’ve researched in awhile. What really stood out to me was that he was only 9 years old when he made his first pair of shoes – amazing! These first pair of shoes he made were given to his sister for her confirmation. It was then at such a young age, he knew he found his calling because of his fascinating love for shoes.

Ferragamo grew up in a large family, he was the eleventh of fourteen children, born in 1898 in Bonito (a Province of Avellino). After he discovered that talent of his at such a wee little age of 9 – he started studying shoemaking in Naples for a year. Shortly after studying he opened his first store based out of his parents’ home. In 1914 he decided to move to the US and continue none other than making shoes. Ferragamo had a short lived moment of working in Boston at a cowboy boot factory, where his brothers worked as well. He then convinced his brothers to move to sunny Southern California (where by the way, I’m from!). It was in Hollywood where Ferragamo found success. Initially he opened a shop for repairs and made-to-measure shoes, which became prized items among celebrities of that era. This lead him into a long period of designing footwear for cinema. Ferragamo’s reputation became “Shoemaker to the Stars”. This only satisfied him partially because he couldn’t even fathom the thought that his shoes were so beautiful, but yet painful to wear. Because of this he decided to study anatomy at University of Southern California. Ferragamo’s drive to perfect elegant and comfortable shoes is so inspiring to me and makes me even more of a fan of his brand.

After living in the states for thirteen years, he returned back to Italy in 1927. Ferragamo then settled in Florence, where he began to design fashion shoes for the wealthiest and most powerful women of that time such as, Eva Peron and Marilyn Monroe. He opened a workshop concentrating his efforts in experimenting with design, applying for patents for ornamental and utility models and some related inventions. Although he filed for bankruptcy in 1933 due to bad management and economic pressures, Ferragamo overcame and expanded his operation in 1950 to a workforce of around 700 expert artisans that produces 350 of hand made shoes a day.

Ferragamo was recognized as a visionary, and his designs ranged from strikingly bizarre haute couture to traditional and classy elegant. He was an inspiration to other footwear designers of his time and beyond. Salvatore Ferragamo died in 1960 at the age of 62, but his name and brand lives on world wide. Since then his brand and name expanded its operations to include luxury shoes, handbags, eyewear, accessories, perfumes, and ready to wear clothing lines.

At his death, his wife Wanda and six children ran the Ferragamo brand. Until this day the Ferragamo family still runs the company, which in November 2006 included Wanda, 5 children, 23 grandchildren, and a few other relatives. The brand Salvatore Ferragamo held their 80th birthday exhibition in Shanghai and continues to live on internationally.

AUGDEN F/W ’12 lookbook

alexismaida — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:17:07 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

We are thrilled to have just finished working with Franceska Earls on the Augden Fall & Winter 2012 collection! We organized a fabulous team for the photo shoot – Tim Barber & Susan Winget make everything so easy, creative and enjoyable. Their aesthetic is perfect for the Augden brand of nature mixed with a city girl vibe. Irina Vodolazova was a gorgeous Augden girl and she played the role perfectly to show the line and lifestyle.

The best part about working with Augden is that we can collaborate on everything from the art direction to the choice of the team to the lookbook design and production – it gives us such pleasure to be involved in all possible aspects of the project because it allows us to elevate the brand to new levels. We look forward to many more seasons with Franceska and Augden – here’s a little introduction to the collection and brand:

Augden is about celebrating the craft of fashion by offering handmade pieces fabricated from the finest and rarest yarns and materials, and brought to life by craftsmen and artisans indigenous to the majestic mountains of the Andes. The collection for Fall 2012 is expanding beyond our luxurious hand knit sweaters into coating, hand-screen printed pieces, accessories and home accessories, while staying true to our brand promise.

We are passionate about empowering our artisans to showcase their traditions and skills on a global scale while fostering a positive impact on the quality of their lives, families and communities.

photographer: Tim Barber

stylist: Susan Winget

art direction & lookbook design: Alexis Maida

model: Irina Vodolazova

the woman behind the brand: Lanvin

alexismaida — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:42:03 +0000

The profound label, Lanvin was founded in 1889. Jeanne Lanvin started designing amazing dresses for her daughter. By word of mouth and the site of her daughter’s amazing dresses – women started requesting that Jeanne start making pieces for their daughters and themselves. Shortly after, Jeanne was able to open up her first boutique on one of the most fashionable streets in Paris, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore. Until now there is a Lanvin store, which makes Lanvin one of the oldest Parisian fashion houses. Lanvin then joined the Syndicat de la Couture, which made her formal status as a couturiere (also known as haute couture) in 1909. The early 1900′s is where Lanvin really shined and made her mark. She opened home decor, menswear, furs, unique fragrance, and lingerie dedicated shops as well as a dye factory in Nanterre.

Intricate trimmings, flawless embroideries and beaded flares in clear, light, floral colors became a Lanvin trademark. When she passed away in 1946, ownership of the brand was taken over by her daughter and niece. Twelve years later, ownership was then passed along to the niece, Yves Lanvin due to Jeanne’s daughter’s death. In 1989, Britain’s Midland Bank bought a stake in the company from the family. Midland kept the company for 2 years and decided to back out and sell Lanvin to Orcofi, which was led by the Vuitton family. From 1994, Lanvin was 50% owned by Orcofi and 50% L’oreal. Under L’Oreal’s diverse umbrella, an array of CEO’s circulated within the French fashion industry that have directed Lanvin.

In 2001 the brand was privately taken over by investor group Harmonie S.A., headed by Shar-Lan Wang, whom is a Taiwanese media magnet. Art direction for all bases of Lanvin was appointed to Alber Elbaz – he created and introduced new packaging, featuring a forget-me-not flower color which then became Lanvin’s color trademark. Since then, Lanvin has received an enormous amount of international press and open their first boutique in the US (Bal Harbour, Florida) in 2009. The fast-fashion giant, H&M announced their collaboration with Lanvin for the Winter 2010 collection, which turned out amazing. Lanvin has opened a number of boutique locations around the world and continues to successfully maintain their prestigious brand image.

Welcome B!

alexismaida — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:07:00 +0000

We are thrilled to welcome Bettina (otherwise known as ‘B’) to our LOFT22 family! She is going to help us rock out 2012. Here are some fun tidbits to introduce her:

Born and raised in sunny Southern California (Beach bum at heart, but definitely a city girl)
Friends and family call her ‘B’
Studied business management at Cal State University of Northridge and Merchandise marketing at FIDM in LA
Worked in the finance world for about 4 years, but decided to pursue a creative niche and tackle fashion styling
While in the fashion styling industry – she worked with the amazing and talented stylists, John and Wynn whom she met Alexis through
worked with Alexis for MUSE’s fashion week events for Spring/Summer ’12 – planned an amazing dinner, concert & party
Fully enjoy: a good glass of vino with a tasty dinner, anything creative, sun bathing, people watching, laughing until my tummy hurts, traveling outside of the states, and of course spending some quality time with family and friends
She is excited to finally be in NYC permanently and become a part of the LOFT22 family!

our nyc

alexismaida — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:43:40 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

We are going to begin to post photos of things that we see and enjoy around the city – painting a picture of NYC through the eyes of LOFT22!

Vogue Italia for Luxottica

alexismaida — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:23:18 +0000

Alexis Maida in Vogue Italia for Luxottica

Watch the video on Vogue.it here

LDV Imports: web design & development

alexismaida — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:24:28 +0000

Click to view slideshow.

We just launched the new LDV Imports website – which is an extension of the LDV Hospitality brand. It is a coffee, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, etc. import business that is in partnership with the Aneri brand from Italy. The products are amazing, and will definitely have customers wondering how they survived on mediocre products for so long…hopefully, e-commerce is the next step for the brand!

LDV Imports was created from the concepts that La Dolce Vita (the good life) and La Passione (passion) could be achieved by embracing the pure, man-made fruits of the earth.