In 2002 — with no formal fashion training — British transplants Marcus Wainwright and David Neville formed the Rag & Bone label (an old English term used to describe a man who collects unwanted items). Marcus and David’s first priority was to learn how to make jeans, as they believe jeans represent history, authenticity, and fundamentals. They had a simple mission for Rag & Bone: to create clothes that they and their friends would love to wear everyday. Commenting on their lack of fashion training, Marcus stated that starting with a blank slate has been a great experience – one that has enhanced their creativity because they were not constrained by what they had already been taught.

Having begun their work in Kentucky using U.S. factories, Marcus and David surrounded themselves with people who had been making patterns, cutting fabric, and sewing for their entire careers. Working with these experts taught them the importance of quality, craftsmanship, and attention to detail early on. These principles soon became the foundation of the Rag & Bone philosophy and the definition of what clothing can and should be. With these principles in mind, Marcus and David chose to have all of Rag & Bone’s manufacturing done in U.S. factories that still make clothes in the same way that they did fifty years ago. Marcus and David want their garments to be timeless and for the Rag & Bone label to stand for quality.

After debuting their menswear collection in the fall of 2004 with much success, Marcus and David quickly expanded their label to include a complete womenswear collection in the fall of 2005. By the fall/winter of 2007, they added a Rag & Bone accessories collection for both men and women. The label has grown even further, to include children’s clothing and shoes – which is all available in their West Village store.

Rag & Bone was a 2006 CFDA/VOGUE Fashion Fund finalist, and won the 2007 CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear.

Please click here to view Marcus and David’s complete CFDA Member Profiles.

Recipient of the 2009 Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award
The career of Anna Sui is a classic American success story. “You have to focus on your dreams, even if they go beyond common sense. How could this young girl from the suburbs of Detroit become a success in New York? It was always that dream,” she says. Today Anna Sui has 32 boutiques in 5 countries and her collection is sold in 300 stores in over 30 countries. Anna still has the same love of fashion that she did when she was a little girl.

At age four, she decided that she would become a designer and started to make her own clothes. She mixed a very serious approach to learning her craft with eccentric ideas, such as vowing not to wear the same outfit twice in one year. “I was completely obsessed,” she says, “I don’t know how my parents put up with me.” Before the end of her senior high school year, she was accepted to Parsons School of Design in New York. After two years at Parsons, Anna styled with friend Steven Meisel and designed for several sportswear companies before launching her first collection in 1980.

In 1980, Sui presented six original pieces at the Boutique Show and immediately received an order from Macy’s, which in turn featured one of her designs in a New York Times advertisement. That same year, Anna Sui launched her own business, operating out of her apartment, where she would work from for the next decade. In 1991, Anna Sui premiered her first runway show, featuring her signature “head-to-toe” look and prompting the New York Times to proclaim it a “pastiche of hip and haute styles.” In that same year, Sui moved her business and showroom to its current location in the Garment District.
In 1992, Anna won the CFDA’s Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent.

Between the years of 1999 and 2006, Anna Sui launched 5 fragrance lines, a cosmetic line, a limited-edition phone with Samsung, a limited-edition Anna Sui boho Barbie, and her signature collection became globally distributed.

Called a designer that “never panders” by The New York Times, Anna Sui continues to design and manufacture her signature Anna Sui Collection in her New York City headquarters. Her runway shows continue to set trends and inspire designers everywhere. Sui’s signature wit and original designs draw legions of devotees to her pieces.

Anna Sui will be awarded the CFDA Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award on June 15, 2009 at the annual CFDA Fashion Awards.
To view Anna Sui’s complete profile please click here.

Last month, Richard Chai debuted a Mens line for Fall 2009. The move is a first for his almost four (4) year old label, but Richard is in fact quite seasoned in men’s wear. Whereas his Womens designs are a synthesis of ideas, moods, and spirits, he says his menswear reflects his own style and those of his friends. “I played a lot with luxe fabrics and distressed them so they feel more approachable” says the designer. The line is decidedly more casual than his women’s wear, but also quite technically advanced in construction.

This past summer, Richard released a limited edition Womens collection for Target’s Go International program. The collection offered an assortment of exquisitely tailored separates and chic dresses, all featuring his signature craftsmanship. Graffiti rose prints and paintbrush stripes were splashed across satin dresses, georgette skirts and jersey tanks, while fine finishing and classic tailoring were displayed in the jeweled woven patchwork blouse and sateen sweetheart dresses

Since the debut of his eponymous Womens collection in September 2004, Richard has been recognized for his sophisticated, yet elegantly understated collections with their clean structured lines and touches of classic craftsmanship. In 2005, Richard was honored with the annual Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award, in recognition of his emergence as a new talent in fashion design. In 2006, he was selected as a finalist for the Rising Star Award given by Fashion Group International. In 2007, the designer’s achievements were further recognized when he was inducted as a Member of the CFDA. Most recently, in 2008, Richard was chosen as a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist.

Richard Chai began his career in fashion with an internship at Geoffrey Beene, while still an undergrad at Parsons School of Design. Upon graduating, he moved to Paris to continue his education at the Lissa School, during which time he worked as a sketcher at Lanvin. After a year in Paris, he returned to New York to become an assistant designer at Armani Exchange. He then joined the design team at Donna Karan as a designer for the DKNY and D collections. From 1998 to 2001, Richard held the position of Design Director for the Marc Jacobs’ men’s and women’s collections, and helped to launch the Marc by Marc men’s collection. In September 2001, Richard was appointed Creative Design Director of all TSE brands, including TSE men’s, TSE women’s, and TSE Say. As a designer with a strong background in luxury goods, he was an invaluable asset to the continued growth of TSE worldwide. His appointment marked the first time in the company’s history that one person oversaw every line under the company name.

To see Richard Chai’s complete profile please click here.

Tory Burch launched her luxury lifestyle brand in February of 2004 out of her Upper East Side apartment in New York City. The line, which is defined by classic American sportswear and an eclectic sensibility, continues to grow and now includes womens ready-to-wear, handbags, shoes, jewelry – and a soon-to-be-launched eyewear collection.

In 2005 Oprah Winfrey asked Burch to appear on her show after receiving a tunic from her collection as a gift.  The day after that show aired, the Tory Burch website received 8 million hits – and Tory’s career skyrocked!

It takes most fashion labels decades to find a signature style, but for Burch it has taken merely a few years.  In addition to her ever popular tunic, her Reva Ballet flat with Tory’s oversized “double T” logo, is a popular “staple” in womens closets. The Los Angeles Times reported that by June 2008, 300,000 pairs had been sold – and each season the flat continue to sell out and people are placed on a waitlist.

Burch believes women gravitate toward her clothing and accessories because she found a hole in that market that her designer clothing could fill. “I believed there was a void to be met in the market — classic American sportswear that was chic and simple, and also well priced. I wanted to give women wearable and stylish clothing that fell somewhere between the contemporary and designer markets” Burch told Women’s Wear Daily.

Tory Burch became a Member of the CFDA in 2007.  In 2008, she received the CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year award.

Tory was also the recipient of the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award for best new retail concept in 2004 and Accessory Brand Launch of the Year in 2007 from the Accessories Council.

To see the complete CFDA Member profile of Tory Burch please click here.

For more than thirty (30) years, Carlos Falchi has shown the world his talent for designing and creating exceptionally luxurious and unique handbags.

The Brazilian-born designer first began producing his patchwork creations out of necessity, since the remnants were all he could afford. In fact, when he first started, he used to create the eccentric dyes for the unique colors of his bags himself, by filling up his bathtub in his home in the East Village.

Today, he has made his mark as a successful high-end handbag designer, featuring his signature vivid color combinations on exotic materials. Continually evolving his handbags over the years, he has experimented with luscious fringe and fur, bright colors, and metallic snakeskin. He has also designed bags in a fixed sculpture form with sophisticated shapes that evoke images of bats wings, flower petals, and even a harlequin’s cap. Each bag is hand-made and is a collectible item due to the fact that only a small quantity of each style is produced. Falchi has described his bags as “serious function with great form.”

Falchi has said that his varied background plays an important role in his designs. The Brazilian side of him explains the color, the music, and the sexiness exhibited in his bags. Falchi lives in New York, a city which rouses the exciting and vibrant feel of each design. His Italian heritage inspires the craftsmanship, high quality, and care used in creating each piece of his collection.

Falchi is featured in the new must-have book, American Fashion Accessories — commissioned by the CFDA and edited by Candy Pratts Price with writings by Jessica Glasscock and Art Tavee. To read more, or purchase the book please click here.

Falchi has been the recipient of some of the most prestigious fashion awards, including the 1983 Coty Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Accessories Council in 2004. He was nominated as the CFDA Accessory Designer of the Year in 2002 and 2003. Additionally, Women’s Wear Daily has named his unconstructed, unlined buffalo satchel “the most copied bag in the industry.” Additionally, Mr. Falchi served as a CFDA Board Member from 1992 to 2008, was a member of the CFDA Admissions Committee and several other Accessories Committees.

To see Carlos Falchi’s complete CFDA profile please click here.

John Bartlett, born in Cincinnati, Ohio, launched his signature collection in 1992. John is a two-time CFDA Award winner – in 1993 he was bestowed with the Perry Ellis Award for Menswear, and in 1997 took home the Menswear Designer of the Year Award.

In 1997 John Bartlett premiered his first womenswear collection. “Designing for men is about subtlety; but women want fantasy. And I don’t want to follow someone else’s lead,” Bartlett said of his first collection. This aptly-named “Butch-Femme” collection mixed men’s tailoring and sexual femininity featuring fitted leather shirts, cashmere Shaker-knit sweaters and slender Chesterfield coats. Bartlett’s entry into the womenswear industry received rave reviews and left women wanting more of his flattering fashions.

Bartlett was hired by Donatella Girombelli in 1998 to design Byblos, an Italian label that had begun to lose popularity in the wake of more aggressive brands like Prada. ”It was a dream come true to fly first class and have my clothes made in Italy”.

Ghurka, the 30 year-old American luxury brand, specializing in handcrafted leather goods and accessories, appointed designer John Bartlett as its new creative director in 2005. “I’ve been obsessed with Ghurka since I went to school in Massachusetts. It’s been under the radar for years, but it’s a classic, authentic brand, and is something I’ve always been fascinated by.”

By 2007, he opened the first John Bartlett store in the West Village – New York City.

In January 2008, it was announced that John Bartlett would join the Liz Claiborne team as the Creative Director of the flagship Claiborne men’s sportswear line. The new line will be called Claiborne by John Bartlett and will hit the shelves in the spring of 2009. When asked about the line, John has said “I am excited to infused Claiborne with a strong DNA and lead the brand in a new and exciting direction. My goal is to create an enticing line at affordable prices that men will find irresistible. The Claiborne name has a strong legacy and I intend on honoring that while transforming the men’s line to address a great opportunity in the better men’s market”.

Dave McTague, Executive Vice President, Partnered Brands for Liz Claiborne has commented on the merge of John Bartlett and Liz Claiborne and has said that “John is known throughout the industry as a talented, cutting edge menswear designer and we feel that he is the perfect partner to help Claiborne give this customer exactly what he needs”.

To see John Bartlett’s complete CFDA profile please click here.