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Unmentionables You Want to Mention
By JENNIFER TUNG
Published: December 5, 2004 -new york times
SINCE Rei Kawakubo showed her first collection of deconstructed clothes in Paris in 1981, the fashion establishment has regarded her, as founder of Comme des Garçons, as an avant-garde visionary, an artist whose sculptural approach to clothing defies all conventions.
That opinion is shared by Jean Yu, the New York lingerie designer. "You see her impact and legacy everywhere," said Ms. Yu, 36, an admirer since high school. "Rei's a modernist in the way that Coco Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet were."
So two weeks ago Ms. Yu was virtually "tongue-tied" when Ms. Kawakubo offered her a space in Comme des Garçons' much-talked-about new London store, Dover Street Market. The raw six-story fashion bazaar (the company calls it a think tank) stands amid the luxury antiques and jewelry stores of Mayfair and houses an mix of radical designers, each hand-picked by Ms. Kawakubo. The roster includes Azzedine Alaïa; Hedi Slimane, selling his limited-edition furniture collection; and Levi's, in collaboration with Junya Watanabe.
Ms. Yu's work was a definite fit, said Adrian Joffe, president of Comme des Garçons and Ms. Kawakubo's husband. "When we saw her samples in Tokyo, we simply loved them," he said over the phone last week. "We thought they were unlike anything else on the market, and we immediately said yes. We like things that are new and unusual, and her lingerie is so lovely."
Those words capture Ms. Yu's spare, meticulously constructed designs, which make their point through architecture, not embellishment. The designer's cool aesthetic has earned her a high-profile clientele of photographers, artists and models who typically get things free but pay for her pieces.
Free of lace, wires and padding, Ms. Yu's underthings are made from silk chiffon, charmeuse and georgette, often layered to vary transparency. "There should be no distinction between the lining and the outer fabric," said the designer, who began making lingerie two years ago to complement her body-skimming silk dresses. "That's almost a fetish for me." Other signature details are self-finished edges crisscrossing to form provocative triangles and grosgrain in place of elastic.
But appearance is only half the equation. "Traditionally, sexy lingerie constricts and controls, but mine feels as close to nothing as possible," said Ms. Yu, sitting on a stool in her Crosby Street shop and studio, 37=1. Dressed in a black bomber jacket, jeans and boots, with slashes of fuchsia pencil under her eyes, she exuded a punk-grunge chic. "This glorifies the body as it is. It's smart sexy," as opposed to smutty.
Ms. Yu was born in Korea, grew up in Los Angeles and studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology for five years. She clearly isn't interested in cheap thrills: her panties and bras start at $238.
Her clients say they are happy to pay. "Jean makes spectacular little nothing pieces that are mysterious," said Ikram Goldman, who sells the designs in her Chicago store Ikram. "I don't even consider it lingerie. To me it's the first layer of clothes that you want to touch your body."
The director Sofia Coppola, who wears Ms. Yu's made-to-measure pieces, echoed the sentiment. "It's so delicate and simple," she said. "It's very feminine, but not frilly.`
Natalia Vodianova, the model, joked that she's spent enough money in Ms. Yu's shop to buy a small car. "Everything is well cut," she said. "She made a beautiful dress for me, and I'm saving it for a special occasion because it's almost too sexy."
To Ms. Yu, that is high praise. "It's easy for New Yorkers to feel jaded," she said. "I've felt that way since I was 12."
By JENNIFER TUNG
Published: December 5, 2004 -new york times
SINCE Rei Kawakubo showed her first collection of deconstructed clothes in Paris in 1981, the fashion establishment has regarded her, as founder of Comme des Garçons, as an avant-garde visionary, an artist whose sculptural approach to clothing defies all conventions.
That opinion is shared by Jean Yu, the New York lingerie designer. "You see her impact and legacy everywhere," said Ms. Yu, 36, an admirer since high school. "Rei's a modernist in the way that Coco Chanel and Madeleine Vionnet were."
So two weeks ago Ms. Yu was virtually "tongue-tied" when Ms. Kawakubo offered her a space in Comme des Garçons' much-talked-about new London store, Dover Street Market. The raw six-story fashion bazaar (the company calls it a think tank) stands amid the luxury antiques and jewelry stores of Mayfair and houses an mix of radical designers, each hand-picked by Ms. Kawakubo. The roster includes Azzedine Alaïa; Hedi Slimane, selling his limited-edition furniture collection; and Levi's, in collaboration with Junya Watanabe.
Ms. Yu's work was a definite fit, said Adrian Joffe, president of Comme des Garçons and Ms. Kawakubo's husband. "When we saw her samples in Tokyo, we simply loved them," he said over the phone last week. "We thought they were unlike anything else on the market, and we immediately said yes. We like things that are new and unusual, and her lingerie is so lovely."
Those words capture Ms. Yu's spare, meticulously constructed designs, which make their point through architecture, not embellishment. The designer's cool aesthetic has earned her a high-profile clientele of photographers, artists and models who typically get things free but pay for her pieces.
Free of lace, wires and padding, Ms. Yu's underthings are made from silk chiffon, charmeuse and georgette, often layered to vary transparency. "There should be no distinction between the lining and the outer fabric," said the designer, who began making lingerie two years ago to complement her body-skimming silk dresses. "That's almost a fetish for me." Other signature details are self-finished edges crisscrossing to form provocative triangles and grosgrain in place of elastic.
But appearance is only half the equation. "Traditionally, sexy lingerie constricts and controls, but mine feels as close to nothing as possible," said Ms. Yu, sitting on a stool in her Crosby Street shop and studio, 37=1. Dressed in a black bomber jacket, jeans and boots, with slashes of fuchsia pencil under her eyes, she exuded a punk-grunge chic. "This glorifies the body as it is. It's smart sexy," as opposed to smutty.
Ms. Yu was born in Korea, grew up in Los Angeles and studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology for five years. She clearly isn't interested in cheap thrills: her panties and bras start at $238.
Her clients say they are happy to pay. "Jean makes spectacular little nothing pieces that are mysterious," said Ikram Goldman, who sells the designs in her Chicago store Ikram. "I don't even consider it lingerie. To me it's the first layer of clothes that you want to touch your body."
The director Sofia Coppola, who wears Ms. Yu's made-to-measure pieces, echoed the sentiment. "It's so delicate and simple," she said. "It's very feminine, but not frilly.`
Natalia Vodianova, the model, joked that she's spent enough money in Ms. Yu's shop to buy a small car. "Everything is well cut," she said. "She made a beautiful dress for me, and I'm saving it for a special occasion because it's almost too sexy."
To Ms. Yu, that is high praise. "It's easy for New Yorkers to feel jaded," she said. "I've felt that way since I was 12."
