San Francisco Independent Fashion
Our very-visual, (almost) chatter-free snap judgment of the day: inspired by Swedish paper Valentines, the oh-so-festive and entirely handmade, one-of-a-kind red and maroon Love Turban, $278, made of fur felt by San Francisco-based milliner Jasmin Zorlu.
Photography courtesy Karly Larson for Jasmin Zorlu
How do you grow a fashion brand on sustainability? This question was the purpose of the E Factor Sustainability in Fashion panel discussion at the Flood Building last week.
Five panel members took the stage on Wednesday to talk about their brands and sustainability. Sally Rosen of Discarded to Divine fosters sustainability by allowing people to give clothing a second life through charitable student competitions. Joslin Van Arsdale researches the environmental impact of garments sold in Eco Citizen, and Jasmin Zorlu sews her headwear from found fabrics to ensure that her production process doesn’t create unnecessary waste.
Together these women, along with Platinum Dirt founder Dustin Page, who produces leather jackets from reclaimed vintage auto upholstery, are representatives of true sustainable fashion here in San Francisco, according to keynote speaker Connie Ulasewicz of San Francisco State University.
“People, processes and the environment must be considered at every step to build a sustainable brand,” she says.
There was a considerable amount of inspiring and useful information that we took away from this event. No matter the amount of experience you have in the San Francisco fashion industry, Wednesday’s words from the wise will set you in the right direction. The following are tips we think will be useful for any sustainable fashion brand’s future:
We happened to run into local milliner Jasmin Zorlu at the Harputs Union opening late last month (oh, November, already ye seem so far away), and when she mentioned she’d been experimenting with handbags made of repurposed and reclaimed materials, we had to take a closer look.
Luckily, Zorlu had a few of her in-progress creations on hand and let us take a peek. Would you believe the bag shown here was formerly a leather Banana Republic skirt Zorlu told us she snagged for $1? We implore you to look past our rather shoddy iPhone photography and note the bag’s rough-edged charm, slouchy pleats and center stitched detail. Among Zorlu’s other bags were several soft totes made of men’s blazers.
While the fur felt and cashmere cocktail hats for which she’s best known will no doubt take center stage, we hear several of Zorlu’s finished handbags are also among the offerings she’s showing at Local Patron this month during the North Beach pop-up shop’s two-month run. A great time to stop by? This Friday, when local band Potion plays live in the shop from 7-9 p.m.
Sometimes you feel like a nut. In other news….
Nola Bella just debuted new fall and holiday 09 styles, including the Bold and Beautiful necklace shown here. We love. See them all at Seeking Designers.
If you love embroidery (we do), then you won’t want to miss the crafty-cool Open Source Embroidery exhibit launching today at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art.
Jasmin Zorlu is debuting her new fall winter 2009 hat collection this weekend in a studio sale with Ocelot Clothing. If you’ve been looking for a show-stopping outfit-topper, we’d highly recommend a peek at Zorlu’s work.
As you’ve likely heard from our friends over here (who just happen to be sporting a very nice new look), Christopher Collins opens his first boutique today in lower Nob Hill. Stay tuned for more on that from us in the coming days.
It’s been a while (by our calculations), so we’re glad to see The Warehouse Sale is back in the city this weekend. It has been a go-to of ours for several years now for its ability to condense requisite jeans-buying missions into rapid-fire try-on sessions that allow us to blow through 20 odd pairs to find the right ones. If you plan to go, be sure to RSVP to get in free.
Kathy Kamei will be having a trunk show tonight at dress boutique at 2271 Chestnut St. Along with showcasing this local San Francisco jewelry designer’s new fall collection, dress will be donating 10 percent of all sales during the event to Susan G. Komen in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Fans of street-inspired apparel take note: there’s a new search engine just for you. San Francisco-based Street Apparel helps you find clothes from designers such as WeSC, Hellz Bellz, Volcom and others in a slew of online shops.
Looking for more fashion fabulousness in the City this weekend? Visit the SF Indie Fashion Calendar.
Plenty of people spend years striving to stick that special feather in their caps. An easier route? Head on over to San Francisco milliner Jasmin Zorlu, whose sculptural creations have been topping the tresses of local fashion fans since the designer settled for good in the City by the Bay in 2004. With fans that range from Erykah Badu (she once commissioned three Molecular Mermaid Hats) to Barneys New York, Zorlu has spent recent years designing hats and bags for Bay Area hat company Goorin Brothers, working on her own collections inspired by the 1920′s-40′s and scooping up honors like Best Accessory Designer from this year’s San Francisco Fashion Awards. Next up for Zorlu is a men’s collection of caps constructed from rescued men’s wool suiting fabric, due out this fall.
You can keep up with Zorlu on her blog and peruse her work in person at this Friday’s Show Me a Hat Show, Sugar!, a hat-centric event showcasing San Francisco’s wealth of millinery talent. In the meantime, read on for our recent chat with Zorlu, in which she dishes on her forthcoming collection, unveils her love for Myrna Loy and reveals her secret hip hop career.
If you could magically place one of your creations atop the head of one person you’ve never met – living or dead – who would it be and why?
Myrna Loy. She wears the most amazing hats in the ‘Thin Man’ movies.
Tell us one thing we’d be shocked to find out about you.
I write, memorize and perform spoken word with a hip hop tempo here and there. I’ve experimented with making tracks in Garageband. You can hear some of my work here.
We hear you’re working on a new collection. Give us the details.
I’ve been amassing a collection of men’s wool blazers that are slowly taking over my closet. I’m working on an eco line of men and women’s soft caps from them (with a few styles of bags!). I’ve been making hats out of rescued cashmere sweaters for nearly 3 years now and am excited to use a new material that is gentle on the Earth and sustainable too! I can sell these hats at less expensive price points in a response to the economy. Plus, you can sit on them, let a friend wear them and then wash them!
We love the beauty-marked mannequin modeling the hats in your etsy shop. Is there a story behind her? Does she have a name?
Lucy came into my life in 2001 on the hippest street in Brooklyn: Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She’s half human, half mannequin, actually.
You describe your hats as sculptural headwear. What are some of your favorite sculptural elements included in your recent work?
I’ve been making cocktail hats inspired by aquatic life and quantum mechanics lately. Finally I’m getting into wedding hats for the avant-garde bride. I’m creating them out of horsehair (100 percent nylon) combined with rescued nylon mesh fruit bags, handmade abalone shell buttons and feathers.
Pardon us, sometimes we get confused. Can you educate us on the ways a haberdasher, milliner and hatmaker are different?
To me, a Haberdasher is an antiquated term for a person who sells men’s clothing. A Milliner is a person who designs, makes and sells hats primarily for women. A Hatmaker is a person who makes and sells hats. Depending on who I’m talking with, I will call myself a milliner, hat designer or hatmaker.
Seniors are familiar with the term. So are the English, since it’s a strong artform there. A lot of people aren’t familiar with the term “Milliner” or “Millinery.” Millinery refers to the art of hat design. When I was in high school in Iceland, I wanted to be a fashion designer. By some crazy precognition, I made a joke to the school paper that I wanted to be a “Milliner” since I had just learned the word and thought that sounded cool. They printed that I wanted to be a “Millionaire.”
What do you find to be the biggest challenge of being a fashion designer in the San Francisco Bay Area?
You can’t be insular if you want to grow your wholesale business. You need to get yourself to New York City and Los Angeles to show your line. Or get a sales rep or showroom in those cities.
On a Sunday afternoon when you were otherwise unencumbered with work and chores, where would we find you?
In nature! At the outdoor Mission pool swimming or in Golden Gate Park biking.
More after the jump….
