COINONIA and AVELON
30 April 2010
When we ask young fashion students what they would like to do after they finish their studies, 9 out of 10 reply: "I would like to have my own brand". It was almost 10 out of 10 a couple years ago, but now - maybe due to the economic downturn, maybe not - more seem to have grown wise. Because launching your own brand is a road of perils, especially when you've just left school and - trust us - you literally have no clue of how ruthlessly things work out there...
The small remaining percentage that is in no hurry to have their own brand and prefers to wait and gain experience through placements and collaborations with other companies eventually get stronger and better prepared to face the task, should they end up still wanting to do their own projects… Three very good examples are ITS#THREE finalist Kiho Kim, ITS#FOUR finalist Momoko Hashigami and ITS#ONE winner of Best Womenswear Collection Erik Jan Frenken.
Kiho Kim and Momoko Hashigami’s story is an incredible one. It is absolutely one of the fondest memories and genuine successes we have. They are a married couple now as well as a design duo, and you can read about them here, since we've written an article about the amazing way in which they met and fell in love through ITS.
In short, after ITS#THREE Kiho was asked by Antonio Marras (who was in the jury that year) to work for him in Sardinia. He met Momoko Hashigami there, who arrived a year later the same way he did. Antonio Marras was again in the jury at ITS#FOUR and loved Momoko's work, so after a while she found herself in Sardinia with Kiho tutoring her when she first arrived there...and they fell in love...
After a very fruitful work experience at Marras (4 years for Kiho and 2 for Momo), they both decided it was time to try and develop their own line, so they moved to Milan and started working on a project together, COINONIA.
The name of the brand is inspired by the Greek concept of "Koinonia", which means sharing, relationship and communication. It's an idealized state of relationship, encapsulating the idea of harmonized participation in a team. In this case, it is the label of two designers who share creativity, passion and a common philosophy. They wish to create "Koinonia" also among their associates and clients and between the garment and the wearer, in a new concept that wants to give a new philosophy and passion for life.
COINONIA creates fresh and contemporary garments and accessories for the creative woman. All the collection pieces are first draped on mannequins, where they are given a life and story according to a seasonal concept. Experimental and architectural shape, dynamic cutting and subtle details and colours are then introduced to define their characters. Narrative and conceptual mood is always there as the essence of their work. Feminine yet masculine, still and at the same time dynamic, tender but hard...These contradictions are the source of their creation that mingle to give birth to a new design.
The first Fall/Winter COINONIA collection is called "Invasion". The inspiration source is the work of Italian contemporary sculptor Aron Demetz. His resin coated wooden sculptures according to Kiho and Momo express a sensitive, dynamic, narrative yet undefined mood, with a particularly strong sensation of silent invasion.
For further info on this wonderful project, log on to their website www.coinonia.com to find all their contact information! You can also have a look at their facebook page.
Dutch designer Erik Jan Frenken was there when ITS began. He was one of the finalists of ITS#ONE. A winning finalist to be exact, awarded Best Womenswear collection. After that he went back to study at Central Saint Martins under Professor Louise Wilson, got his MA (Honours) and was singled out by Alberta Ferretti for a collaboration of a few months. He then went on to Viktor & Rolf, where he fully developed his talent as a designer becoming head of womenswear for 4 years. Erik has always remained in touch with us and is one of our closest friends. We really have seen him grow and evolve, both as a designer and as a man (he has a wonderful family). Definitely an exuberant and positive person to have around! Now Erik has decided to head his own label, and he certainly has acquired enough experience to know full well what he is facing!
After his Viktor & Rolf experience (by the way, did we tell you they will be on the ITS#NINE Jury?), Erik was appointed Design Director for the high fashion brand Avelon, owned by jeans label Blue Blood. But at the end of 2009 Blue Blood went bankrupt and Avelon was about to disappear. In the beginning of 2010 Erik decided to take action and with the help of an investor he took over the high end fashion brand to develop and extend the womenswear and menswear collections. Erik has a very clear idea of where the Avelon brand is headed and is capable of achieving his goals, we have no doubt about that.
The Avelon line describes itself best as fashion forward, simple yet sophisticated. The collections will be a reflection of tomorrow, playing with shapes and proportions, reconsidering the construction of a garment. This results in strong clear ideas mixed with refined details which can be marked as the signature of Avelon.
What Erik has already done for Avelon in the past you can see in these pictures. Now that he has complete control and freedom of expression, we are all very curious to see what his first collection will be like. It will be presented in June/July and at present Erik is working hard to organise distribution and follow contacts with potential buyers as well as with suppliers. This is going to be a challenging experience for him and we think he loves this thrill!
Both COINONIA and AVELON are the result of the long and fruitful career of three finalists of ITS who have grown in strength and in awareness of their means and are definitely ready to stand on their own two feet. We highly suggest you follow these new adventures...
