Rags to Stitches, Façon

With the crash of neo-New Wave and its deconstruction, the pendulum swings back to all that is fancily femme: Coco blazers, more natural waists, skirts flouncing below the knee, cardigan sets, et cetera, all in a softly Easter egg palette completely lady-not-the-tramp.

Returning hand in hand with this elegance–classic New Look silhouettes and Fitzgerald-era beading and embroidery–is the revival of made-to-fit clothing, translating into purely custom couture to revamped vintage to simple tailoring; think everything but standard Savile Row renderings, imagine a more New World approach.

“In the years before mass produced clothing was readily available, custom-made clothing was always the driving force in fashion,” says Daniel Kinne, who, along with wife Lynda Kinne, head designs for A La Disposition, a New York clothier. “In England, designers such as Ozwald Boateng and Gieves and Hawkes began as Savile Row tailors but are now at the forefront of fashion, bringing the concept of custom clothing setting fashion trends full circle,” a circle A La Disposition rings in: the company expands into ready-to-wear after launching their Historique made-to-order collection and fashioning a name for themselves as specialty tailors with luxe custom corsets.

Designed to wear over, under, or alone, depending on the cut and courage of the client, the corsets turn from antiquated fashion staple to timeless couture with A La Disposition’s dedication to quality, comfort, and the marriage of past with present.

“Designers have been referencing fashions of the past for centuries, so that concept isn’t necessarily new,” continues Kinne. “What makes our label unique is not only the timeless design and overall quality of our clothing, but also the attention to detail in every piece we produce.”

It’s attention to detail that’s cherished by another contemporary couturier, We Are Lucid Dreaming, very much Los Angeles with their fresh West approach to couture.

“The initial concept for making We Are Lucid Dreaming was to create a purely couture line of jackets and skirts to cater to younger-minded individuals who wanted unique one-of-a-kind clothing that would fit them perfectly,” says Trang Chau, an artist who partnered with hair stylist Anh Co Tran to design and launch the line only last summer.

Chau started out showing sculpture and more traditional fine arts in Los Angelese galleries, but “I always had an interest in visceral elements and the structure of the body, which is apparent in my artwork. As a result, it just made sense for me to explore fashion design and especially to create clothes that were more art-oriented; hence the idea to create one-of-kind custom-made clothing. Therefore, the form and function in our clothing reflects our collaboration which is my art background and Anh’s technical clothing construction skills.”

It’s seeing Ahn’s obvious skill — tiny pleats, revealing darts, well-fitting cuts — that makes clear there’s purpose to hectic hems and barely-fraying edges, keeping deconstruction unsloppy and tense against tailored goods.

“Our design concept was to combine the deliberate clean structure and detailing of clothing construction with a more haphazard and spontaneous deconstructed look,” says Chau. “We were influenced by traditional tailored men’s suiting and wanted to create a break in this tradition by reconstructing as well as redesigning traditional men’s suits to target a younger-minded consumer. Our style is definitely a redefining of the more traditional controlled aspects of menswear versus the more varied and less controlled way women’s clothing is designed.”

Though the statement-style of We Are Lucid Dreaming bears the distinct mark of individual, the clothes are simply tailored to fit clients with little change in design concept. “Our main goal is to commit to the integrity of our design while keeping in mind that all of our clients are different,” says Chau.

Rockin’ Rodeo, on the other hand, stands ready to dismantle decades’ of design. “We’ll completely redesign a dress, working with the client to save the fabric but reinvent the piece,” says the vintage boutique co-owner Mary Ossanna. “We collect pieces with that are quality all over–the condition, the label, the design, but we’re always ready to look at a tee shirt or jeans in a new way. Mostly we’ll just alter to fit, but often a client will want a completely different cut with the same material, and that’s fun for us.” 70’s Rolling Stones tees are altered to fit like the buyer’s favorite tee, Mr. Harley Davidson boots and other leather goods are customized with antique studs and stones, and antique denim is patched with vintage textiles.

With service tailored to fit each customer, Rockin’ Rodeo’s collection parallels that luxury with its nods to clear highs–glammy glasses and bags by Gucci, Dior, Fendi, Vuitton–and less conspicuous costlies: aged Levi’s, Lees, and Wranglers, deadstock concert tee shirts, and Prohibition Era Acme boots. “The collection of vintage clothing is just that–a collection. Every item we put out has been hand-selected and carefully chosen. Our concentration has been on creating a very unique and at the same time very wearable selection,” says co-owner Robin Fauser. With a roughly rich feel, more than a high-meets-low fashion cliche, the boutique plays so casually couture.

C’est tres Americain.

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