Adam Lippes (Q2538)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Adam Lippes is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Adam Lippes |
Adam Lippes is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Adam Lippes is in growth mode. He’s got a salon-style store on Fifth Avenue that’s redefining luxury shopping and a growing list of boutiques here in the US and in Japan. But it’s not just on the retail front where change is happening. With this pre-fall collection he’s experimenting with new pattern-making techniques, cutting shirts and dresses from circles, squares, and rectangles, which adds an element of avant-garde artsiness to his soigné aesthetic. It’s an exciting development.The new shapes were inspired by a trip to Sicily where the summertime heat affirmed the usefulness of roomy silhouettes cut away from the body. There’s also an emphasis on fabrics with a dry, crisp hand, like the cotton organdy he used for a sleek chocolate brown trench and a voluminous honey-colored jacket, shown belted in the lookbook. Clicking through these pictures you’ll notice ruffled skirts with asymmetric hemlines; on one side they dip to the ankles and on the other they inch above the knee—that’s another way to capture the airy feeling he was going for.The painterly flower print that appears on a generously proportioned caftan is inspired by the rhododendron bushes that grow so lavishly in Sicily, while a diamond print motif (not featured in the lookbook) is a reference to the 18th century Palazzo Castelluccio. Lippes mentioned that it’s also a nod to his redesigned logo, which can be seen elsewhere, on a peekaboo evening dress embroidered in a crosshatch of gold beads, the glammest fishing net you ever did see. For those not island bound, he cut some cool baggy jeans in Japanese denim. Next year promises even more big news here; Lippes hinted at a category launch in mid-2025—lots to look forward to.
11 December 2024
Adam Lippes held his spring 2025 appointments in his new salon off Fifth Avenue, steps from Central Park. The space once was occupied by Donna Summer. He’ll live across the foyer in even grander room that used to belong to Adolfo, the designer to Nancy Reagan. In a busy week of shows and presentations up and down Manhattan and across the river in Brooklyn, it made for a delightful interlude. There was a Sant’Ambroeus lunch spread, and for a repeat visit when the fashion month rush is over, a well-stocked bar, a stack of books, and a fireplace. Oh, and he’ll have a sales team and seamstresses on site; though it’s officially a by-appointment operation, he says the door will always be open. He already has a store downtown, launched bravely in the early days of reopening post-pandemic. But this private experience is something new for him—and for New York City. There’s been a lot of talk about a return to retail, but not much in the way of innovation on the sales floor. “I built the brand one-on-one, and this is a luxurious way to shop,” he said.Lippes’s new spring collection looked at home in the beautiful space: serene and lovely, but not retiring. As tempting as it might be to linger in the hushed embrace of his new salon, Lippes’s clients lead busy, active lives, and he designs for them. The first piece he pulled off a rack was a jean jacket, cropped and boxy with gold buttons featuring his freshly redesigned logo, made from hand-loomed, stonewashed Japanese denim. It looked refined but not without a sense of cool. That’s a hard balance, and it’s one that Lippes just keeps getting better at. He had downtown editor types cooing over a black double-satin evening coat with a removable hood, a lean-line silk crepe shirtdress with delicate broderie anglaise, a 1930s-ish dress in butter yellow bias silk with twisted shoulder details, and an exceptional tunic-length tank of hand-cut mother of pearl teardrop beads worn with full-legged utility pants. The most luscious material of all was the mulberry silk he used for both a bouclé skirt suit in palest lilac and a knitted tank, shown in black in the lookbook belted over another midi-skirt. “It’s the finest silk in the world,” he pointed out. Chez Adam Lippes of course it is.
11 September 2024
Construction is underway in a new uptown retail space for Adam Lippes, though retail isn’t quite the way to put it. Rather than opening another store—Houston, which bowed in May, was his second after a boutique in Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan—Lippes is creating a by-appointment salon, a place to engage one-on-one with his clothes and enjoy his well-curated world.Anyone unfamiliar with his decorating sensibilities need only open this month’sArchitectural Digest. If the new space is anything like his Berkshires home, which was photographed for the magazine in its high summer splendor, it will be a place his clients want to linger—if not move in. He reports that the feature in AD has prompted some inquiries about his availability as an interior decorator.Naturally, Lippes has brought his trademark discerning eye to his new resort collection. A spin through the racks reveals, among other things, a dress in a floral print inspired by an 18 century botanical painted by hand in his studio and wide-leg khaki trousers embroidered down the sides with the same motif, high-waisted leather culottes with brass buttons lifted from authentic fencing uniforms, and a leopard jacquard glinting with metallic thread on a full midi-skirt and straight-leg trousers.His focus in this pre-season was sportswear separates. “I wanted to go back to a little more of an easier way of dressing,” he said, adding the caveat that it’s all “as refined and luxurious as we can make it.” Charcoal gray cashmere suiting and the cashmere “denim” in a deep shade of indigo he used for a relaxed jumpsuit both lived up to their luxury billing, while the collection’s many belted paperbag waists had the sense of ease that he was after. An evening column in pale double-face Taroni silk crepe with a drape detail above one hip elegantly combined the two instincts.
6 June 2024
If you think Adam Lippes’s fall 2024 images look different, you’re not wrong. The designer celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his company with a dinner for friends, family, and some notable fellow designers at the beginning of New York Fashion Week, and he’s entering his next decade with big ambitions, starting with the way he communicates about the brand. To do so, he brought on a new creative team, who made a more editorial set of photos. The pictures will do the job for which they were intended: attract people who haven’t been paying attention to this small-ish New York label and raise its profile.For those already apprised of Lippes’s obsession with textiles, the care with which his studio creates their own prints, or the elegant lines of his tailoring, sorry to break it to you: Your fashion secret weapon won’t be a secret for long. But here’s a ray of light: “I pushed fabrics this season to the level where I really feel like I’m a fabric designer,” he said at the photo shoot for this collection. “We keep pushing the construction, too, but in a way that’s understandable. We want to make forever clothes.”A sleeveless dress was cut in a navy double-face cashmere that was last used by Dior Couture in 1999, he said—how’s that for forever for you? Or consider the collection’s sweaters: One was in a gray cashmere brushed to resemble downy mohair and embellished with crystals, like something out of a grandmother’s treasure chest. Another was embroidered Fair Isle–style not with yarn, but with organic feathers (meaning they are found, not plucked).The waterproof wool silk blend used for a trench as well as a double-breasted pantsuit was striking: sturdy in a way that could stand up to the elements and any challenge you may come across. Another suit was cut from a nubby black and white tweed, proper and playful in equal measure. “The collection is the same, our position is the same; I think we really built that,” he said, “but I want to twist it a little bit.” Speaking of playful, the skirts will be sold with lace and tulle underskirts, some studded with crystals that can be mixed and matched or worn solo.
14 February 2024
The Adam Lippes label turns 10 in 2024. It’s a milestone worth celebrating in what’s otherwise a difficult moment for independent brands. The festivities will start with the February opening of a new store in Houston, his second after New York City. Lippes is headed down to Texas before the end of this year; he’s made dresses for both mom and daughters for a deb party there, and he’ll squeeze in some time to work on the new boutique—building a brand is a hands-on endeavor for this designer.That’s a fine segue to talk about this new pre-fall collection. “We’re paring back a little and focusing just on the luxury of the fabrics and the silhouettes,” Lippes said at a showroom appointment. The allure of his clothes really does start with the way they feel to the touch. Here, that goes as much for a summery hand-twisted bra top and matching midi skirt in a dark chocolate liquid silk jersey as it does for a platinum-hued recycled silk duchesse strapless sack gown with hand-embroidered beading.As for Lippes’s pre-fall shapes, they tend to be roomy and away-from-the-body, the kinds of things you reach for on summer’s hottest days. His new pants shape comes in Japanese cotton with an elastic waist and full legs that taper to the ankle. Though there are other more fitted styles, like a calf-length pencil skirt in butter yellow with crystal buttons dyed to match, for women who prefer clothes that hug them. His fine eye for detail and commitment to craft was showcased on the smocked and embroidered neckline and cuffs of a lovely long dress in that same soft shade of yellow.
12 December 2023
Adam Lippes is spending a lot of time in Texas. He’s set to open his second store in Houston in October, the first of 18 openings planned for the next five years, and last Friday he was in Dallas, where he was the guest designer at Neiman Marcus’s annual Crystal Charity Ball and fashion show. It meant he missed the chance to put his new spring collection on the runway in New York, but why not go where the customers are? He toldVogue Businessthat 15% of his client base lives in the Lone Star State.Lippes has long made store visits part of his business plan. Earlier this year, he was on the road more than not, and at a showroom appointment before his trip, he said they’re as much listening tours as they are about selling. “I kept hearing my customers say, ‘Your clothes make me feel so good,’ so we drilled in on that in the studio, asking ourselves how to keep giving them that feeling, how we keep creating what they call their ‘go-to’ pieces,” he said.The answer starts with fabrics, like the double-face duchesse silk from Taroni of a trapeze; the Belgian linen of a timeless shirtdress; the Chantilly lace of an evening number, pleated and gathered and hand-smocked at the waist; and the vibrant madras of a three-piece set consisting of a camp shirt, bandeau top, and smocked-waist skirt (madras being a budding trend at NYFW). The floral motif on a silk crepe skirt was inspired by Danish wallpaper and painted by hand in Lippes’s studio. “It’s a super old-fashioned way of doing things,” he said, delighting in the fact. It will be screen-printed in production.In the showroom, a table stacked with knits was especially tempting, from the loftiest hand-knit cashmere sweaters to charming crocheted shift dresses to slinky silk-and-metal-thread ribbed slips. On the runway, the spirit of the collection was fancier than usual. Lippes said it was because of the setting in which it was shown, and indeed one of the bestsellers was a strapless mint green gown with sprays of flowers hand-embroidered neckline to hem with beads and crystals. “There’s no price resistance for anything unique and special,” he said.That goes for Texas and beyond, presumably, and he didn’t leave his New York–iest clients out of the conversation—see the black radzimir tuxedo worn with a quilted silk vest at the end of this slideshow.
11 September 2023
Adam Lippes opted out the runway this season, like several other New York brands. Speaking to Vogue Business, he said: “My biggest goal is to protect my employees and their jobs... Is now the best time to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a show, or would it be better to put that money into something else?” Lippes is indeed working on “something else”; he’ll open a new store in 2023, and eight more are planned over the next three years.Strategic talk aside, the showroom is a more than satisfactory place to discover the designer’s new collection; his fabrics have to be touched to be believed. This season, the quilted silk of an evening coat, each tiny stitch made by hand, was the most extraordinary fabric on the racks, but there were others that were quite special, too, be it the double-face silk duchesse in a shade or rich bordeaux that he used for a cutout-bodice gown, or the vivid citrine-hued silk wool of a sleeveless sheath punctuated with crystal buttons on the bodice. The striped shirtings may look like cotton broadcloth from a distance, but close inspection reveals that they’re actually silk, some shot through with metallic thread.Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst garden was the loose inspiration, but Lippes is an avid gardener himself; season in and season out, he can be counted on for a lovely floral motif. Fall’s combines roses and delphinium on a black ground and appears printed on easy cotton sundresses and embroidered in subtly spectacular fashion on an evening jacket shown with a high-neck lace blouse and a narrow pencil skirt cut to the season’s trending midi-length. Trends, though, are not really Lippes’s thing; he prefers to think about what he does as “forever clothes.” A coat with short, puffed sleeves in the zibeline cashmere he’s made a signature more than qualifies.In keeping with the gardening theme, Lippes enlisted the New York City milliner Rodney Patterson for a few hats after their spring 2023 collaboration proved to be a surprise hit. Their prodigious shapes added a playful layer to this charming collection.
17 February 2023
Collections inspired by designers’ travels have been few and far between these last two years. When the pandemic closed borders, fashion turned inward; horizons narrowed and we lived in loungewear. Designer Adam Lippes had the good fortune to go exploring again earlier this year, and a two week trip to Egypt provided him not just with inspiration—he sketched the country’s native flowers for this season’s prints—but also with new production partners. The fine cottons he used here were produced by Hesni, the country’s oldest mill, and he partnered with Threads of Hope, a Cairo organization that employs refugees, to create some of the embroideries.This doesn’t read like a destination collection of old, however. Lippes’s vocabulary is well-defined; his work is rooted in American sportswear and he knows his way around a pretty party dress. This outing delivered on both of those fronts. If you didn’t know the exquisite tapestry linen-silk blend of a crop top and full skirt were influenced by Egyptian architectural details, you would’ve simply assumed they came out of Lippes’s avowed love for interiors. Other notably lovely textiles included the ivory silk leno weave of the show’s opening look, a material whose delicacy belies its strength, and the blanket stripe linen of a poncho worn over cuffed khaki trousers, a swaggering outfit. A sundress in a vivid red and a camp shirt and bikini top set in deep brown were hand-crocheted in Kenya.Lippes presented his collection along the Hudson not far from his New York store on a day that threatened rain. With the sun briefly shining, the soft breezes ruffling the hems of an ankle-length dress in peach cotton voile and another in cornflower-print silk crepe reinforced what a pleasure his clothes are to wear. Any one of the white dresses would make a wonderful alternative to the traditional wedding gown, but the embroidered tulle number with the pin-tucked bodice was a real beauty.
13 September 2022
“How can we push our fabrics even further?” That’s the mission Adam Lippes set himself for fall. He’s always prioritized luxurious textiles, but at a showroom appointment earlier this week he rattled off the names of top European mills, an IYKYK list that included Taroni for a wafty hand-pleated coral silk dress, Luigi Verga for a printed silk wool pantsuit, and the cashmere makers at the small family-owned Filati Biagioli. That cashmere is a good place to start. This is not the quick-to-pill one-ply stuff you see at stores up and down Broadway, but thick, lofty yarn, knitted in a three-dimensional basketweave stitch. The sweaters, vests, and short skirts made from the stuff are finished with Swarovski pearls, fitting embellishments for the treasures they are.Lippes is adding to his range at the other end of the spectrum, too. In December, he launched Franger, a collection of fine athleisure, and the turtlenecks used as layering pieces here underneath pieces like a crisp white cotton shirt and a floral print ankle-length dress are pulled from that line. Redefining casual for a post-pandemic world is one of the season’s emerging themes. Lippes’s take on the look includes slightly oversize camp shirts with matching bralettes—the twinset, reimagined—that he paired with banded edge wrap skirts or wide-leg trousers. Though he’s better known for dressier fare, he cuts a smart pair of pants.About those dresses. For the Lippes customer who already has a closetful, he’s dreamed up some new proportions. A long-sleeve, banded seam blush silk dress softly belted with ribbon had a subtle, understated elegance, as did a blue dress in the same silk whose collar was finished with one of those Swarovski pearls. An embroidered slip dress had a more familiar silhouette, but with a special detail in the form of a Chantilly lace lining. “Nobody lines dresses in Chantilly lace,” Lippes laughed. “Who does that?” He does.
16 February 2022
Adam Lippes discovered Natasja Sadi on Instagram. He shares a passion for flowers with the Dutch couturier-turned baker-turned floral designer, and when they hit it off over a two-hour Zoom she agreed to collaborate for his new spring collection. The prints on a button-front shirt and matching full skirt and a tiered trapeze slip dress are collaged from the photos Sadi takes of her arrangements, which feature both real flowers and sugar ones. Lippes won’t let that charming detail go unappreciated when he takes to the road with this collection later this month. He has stores in over a dozen US cities on his itinerary. In the age of e-commerce, that kind of personal attention can make a difference to a shopper.She might also learn that the embroidery of a Delftware vase and flowers on a sleeveless ivory dress took upwards of 150 hours to complete. That the delicate lace collars on Lippes’s menswear shirts were inspired by an antique Dutch bonnet sampler. Or that Albertus Swanepoel is the milliner responsible for the deeply brimmed bucket hats designed to coordinate back to the clothes.Lippes is hopeful for a spring 2021 that is, if not Zoom-free, then at least more in-person than most of 2020 has been. He can make a special occasion out of a button-down—see those Dutch collared men’s shirts. Elsewhere there were exceedingly well-cut cuffed trousers in navy of copper, in a week that has so far been short on that subject. But the collection leaned dressy, and clients with a big event on the calendar will have their pick of pretty frocks. Of particular note is a princess dress in butter yellow silk taffeta worn with flat sandals by Manolo Blahnik. Like his collaborator Nastasja Sadi, Lippes has a gorgeous eye for color.
9 September 2021
We’ve been talking about reemergence for months now, since well before the fall “shows” took place via Zoom appointments and look book reveals in February. Those collections were hopeful, but perhaps a bit tentative. Few of us had been vaccinated at that point and case numbers were still threatening to increase. Fast forward to the resort collections now taking place and the collective optimism is a lot more convincing.New York state’s positivity rate is down, and sales are up. That helps. So does the backdrop of a city coming alive again. Everywhere you go, people are reveling, and they’re dressing up to do it. Adam Lippes tapped into that energy for a resort collection designed for “going out again.” The rack that greets visitors at his new showroom is lined with party clothes: a gold Lurex fringe slip dress as glittery and weightless as tinsel, a draped long dress with a peekaboo bodice in black Chantilly lace, a candy pink taffeta gown with a sculpted neckline. Even the jewelry knows how to have a good time. The rectangular locket in many of the look book pictures holds a pair of dice.Reemerging means more than cocktails and galas, of course. Lippes’s blazers have become a go-to for Dr. Jill Biden since her husband took office; last week she wore an icy blue version aboard Air Force One along with a matching sheath. The first lady sheath dress mingles with corduroy bombers and flares; the silk charmeuse pajama sets he developed during the pandemic that he’s keeping in the mix; double-face cashmere in the form of a tunic, a lapel-less jacket, and a hooded camel coat; and a draped bodice, nipped waist dress he calls the Waterfall that one client liked so much she ordered it in 16 different colors. How could his mood not be up?
3 June 2021
Optimism is a word we’ll no doubt hear a lot about this season, but for Adam Lippes, it’s not just empty talk. He’s optimistic enough to be opening his first-ever store in a few weeks time. Lippes has chosen a spot in New York’s Brookfield Place mall where Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, and Gucci will number among his neighbors, and he plans to stock the space with a selection of antiques, books, and other small gifts, alongside his ready-to-wear and his recently launched jewelry line. Where others see limitations, he’s made opportunities. The new store and an optimized e-commerce site, he says, “have given me the freedom to design more with our woman in mind.”As a function of the pandemic his fall collection is smaller than usual, but it isn’t any less buoyant. He worked with Putnam & Putnam, his favorite florist, on a poppy print—poppies signify hope—and he used the same bright shade of red for both a hand-quilted cropped leather jacket and the men’s trousers in wool and silk that it was worn with. Color played a starring role here; those pants were also cut in chartreuse and accompanied by a bow-neck blouse in thin purple and white stripes.“Knit dressing, it’s been everything,” he said of the last 11 months. Keeping his woman in mind, there’s a marled cashmere turtleneck and a matching skirt, as well as a striped ribbed knit dress in cotton: comfortable but sexy, not sloppy. His tailored jackets have slightly oversized proportions for similar easy-to-wear reasons, and he joked that a double layer silk crepe and silk charmeuse dress was relaxed enough to slip into bed in at the end of the night. The collection’s most hopeful looks were the two ’80s-ish cocktail frocks—one in the poppy print and the other in black silk bouclé—whose hems barely grazed the knees. Bare legs, party dresses! What fun!
16 February 2021
Adam Lippes is opening a boutique in lower Manhattan early this year, reversing the trend of store closures we’re seeing elsewhere. When this collection starts shipping to his new shop in mid June, he’s hoping his customers are going out again—or at least feeling ready to go out.But will they be ready to get out of their sweatpants? That’s fashion’s million-dollar question in 2021. Once we’re finally sprung free from a year in lockdown, will women crave excess and exhibitionism, or will they shrink from it? The answer is probably both, but there’s one thing that Lippes is betting on: “I think women have gotten used to being comfortable,” he said from his showroom, which is a convenient walk from that soon-to-be store. “Our internal challenge is how to engage them.”To start, he met the challenge by thinking differently about materials. A Japanese denim, for example, was dyed an unexpected shade of light pink here in New York, and cut into sailor-front pants and a matching sleeveless peplum top, while a black denim button-down and pencil skirt were treated to Swarovski pearl buttons. An Italian jacquard with no fewer than 12 different colors of yarns—the sort of thing one might’ve once used for a fancy dress—was cut into Bermuda shorts and a safari jacket.Other pieces more straightforwardly emphasized a sense of ease. A pretty printed silk dress in shades of blue and white fell gracefully to the ankles from a softly elasticized waist, and a white silk crepe dress with vintage buttons accenting its single sleeve was caftan-like in attitude. Not a hint of excess anywhere. That said, Lippes isn’t opposed to a flash of legs. His take on the shorter silhouette we’re starting to see around town came in A-line white denim with those special vintage buttons.
8 January 2021
Adam Lippes did not idle away his time in lockdown. His spring lookbook features a new range of semi-precious and enameled 24-karat gold plated jewelry that he made with a small family-run factory in Rhode Island. The signet rings, wrist cuffs, exuberant floral earrings, and pillbox charms worn on substantial gold chains mix and match with his new ready-to-wear, but they’re designed to age well—Lippes calls them “forever pieces.” The enameled pillbox charms, for instance, are inspired by his own collection of antiques.The last six months have reshaped Lippes’s thinking about his label, or at least the way he approached the new season. “Where did we start? What was our ethos? We asked ourselves those questions,” he said over a Zoom call. The concepts he rallied around include refinement and comfort, luxury and ease. “We’re in a business to make and sell more, but the world is telling us to make and sell less,” he added.Think of this collection, then, as “The Condensed Adam Lippes.” Focused mostly on daywear, the 16 looks span tailoring, shirt dresses and slip dresses, and knits. But if these are AL essentials, they aren’t basics; each piece has a special flourish. The jacket is finished with double-face silk ribbons at the waistband to adjust its silhouette, the smocking on a ruffled white shirt features subtle tone-on-tone embroideries, and the slip dress is cut in a heavy French silk and suspended from delicate silk cording.All these clothes reward close inspection. The pandemic may continue to make once taken-for-granted intimacies—lunch with a friend, a dinner party—difficult or impossible well into 2021. But Lippes reports his customers are telling him they want to dress up again, even if only for themselves. In that regard, a top and pants in a blue Japanese sweatshirting material bonded with black guipure lace looked especially well-suited to this moment.
13 October 2020
“When everyone is saying that New York Fashion Week is dead, it seems like the perfect time to show,” said Adam Lippes, who hosted breakfast and his first-ever sit-down show this morning at Veronika, the new Roman and Williams–designed restaurant in the Swedish photography center and museum Fotografiska. It was a lavish spread at a moment when other designers of his ilk seem to be in retreat, but if Lippes has a contrarian streak when it comes to business, he makes some of fashion’s most comely clothes.His new collection was inspired by an enchanted visit to the garden of Umberto Pasti in Rohuna, Morocco. He’s hardly alone in his penchant for flowers, of course; it’s the manner in which he reproduces them that elevates his designs. He used a lovely silk fil coupe—its gold and yellow threads vibrant against a white background—for a frothy evening smock with ruffles at the neck and cuffs, and fulsome blossoms were placement-printed above the hem of a willowy long-sleeve dress. Special but not precious is a good way to think about what Lippes does. A lavish metallic floral jacquard was cut into a hooded coat, a rather unexpected silhouette for so fine a material. He said he was confident it would be one of his best sellers.Lippes spends weeks each season doing trunk shows around the country, where he gets to know his customers and their likes and dislikes. His own design agenda found him advancing his tailoring. His jackets have taken on a bolder, boxier shape with prominent shoulders; these he showed with A-line midi skirts. Or else he cut cropped bolero styles and paired them with pleated full-leg pants. Also new for the designer: a stunning and quite sexy wrap-neck evening column in black, with shades of the beautiful Catherine Deneuve inIndochine. This collection was proof positive that New York fashion is thriving.
8 February 2020
Adam Lippes jetted off to Houston this afternoon to celebrate the launch of his first-ever tabletop collection. His entry into homeware is the capstone of a year that saw him expand his ready-to-wear distribution and move into a larger studio and office space. He said he’s planning his first runway show for February. Things are rosy chez Lippes—which isn’t the case for a lot of American designers of his generation.Pre-fall should keep his business growing at a nice clip. Lippes spends a lot of time with his customers—he made 20 trunk show visits with his spring 2020 collection—so he’s got a handle on what they like and the practical touches that make a piece work. One of those practical touches is the smocked bodices that hold off-the-shoulder tops and dresses in place without resorting to heavy, uncomfortable corsetry. As for what they really like, he reports that clients have begun collecting the floral prints he makes in collaboration with his go-to florist, Putnam & Putnam. This season it’s a print of a handheld bouquet of anemones. But Lippes also believes in novelty and whimsy—he knows they can make a sale as well. The most charming details here were the delicate white lace butterfly collars that snap on and off his cashmere crewnecks. The napkin embroidery that decorated many pieces, from the waist of high-waist Japanese denim pants to the hem of a midi-length khaki dress, suggests there’s plenty more he could do in the homeware category too. For entertaining at home he designed the prettiest hostess dress, an organza cloud with a big bow in back and smocking on the short sleeves in Colgate green.
10 December 2019
A new home in Brooklyn precipitated a studio move for Adam Lippes. He’s in the process of installing himself and his team in the 33rd floor of a tower downtown, perched high above City Hall. He used the place to stage his first show. It’s been stripped down to drywall, and just days ago, loose wires were dangling from the ceiling, but as usual, Lippes laid out the Sant Ambroeus treats and filled vases with fresh-cut flowers, in this case, luscious dahlias from his house in the Berkshires. He creates spaces that people feel good in, and the same goes for his clothes.Discussing the collection he said, “I wanted joy, fun, and color.” All three are very much in Lippes’s repertoire, but he upped the ante here. “Women need a reason to buy,” he said, “there has to be a spark.” He went about lighting it by exploring mid-century couture volumes. Waterproof coats had trapeze swing, a shift dress worn with Bermuda shorts boasted a Watteau-ish back, and a citrine gown looked positively Cristóbalian. Proudly noting that it was sewn here in New York, Lippes pointed out that the pleating detail at the bustline was created by twisting the fabric around matchsticks then tacking it down. Elsewhere, the ivory opera cape tied with a black satin bow had an irresistible flamboyance.His tailoring, by contrast, was more subdued, but the trim blazers and sunray pleat midi skirts looked particularly of the moment. Same with those aforementioned Bermuda shorts worn with voluminous tops. Lippes isn’t a designer who bothers much with trends though. He’s motivated more by his personal passions. Interiors are central among them. He hired the ceramicist Costanza Paravicini to paint this season’s botanical print, which also appeared embroidered in translucent sequins on a floor-length white dress. Lots of sparks. He’ll be retailing the shoes and boots, which he made in collaboration with Sergio Rossi.
7 September 2019
Adam Lippes came across his muse serendipitously this season. At first, he fell for the British painter Hannah Gluckman’s flowers. It wasn’t until he began researching Gluck, as she was called, that he learned she was a gender non-conformist who wore her hair cropped short and sported jackets and ties just as often as fancy lace and jacquard frocks. The chance discovery produced a rich collection that spanned the gamut from menswear-inflected tailoring (more than usual for this designer) to delicate dresses. Lippes doesn’t wear his politics on his sleeve, but he very much believes in inclusivity.These clothes will charm the women he spends weeks on the road cultivating at the country’s best stores. He says customers are savvier than ever about fabrics, and he’s developed some beauties. Consider the variety of lace on offer, from the most ephemeral Chantilly to successively more substantial mohair-embroidered lace and corded lace stitched with silk. Consider the range of knits he’s had made in Madagascar, from fine to lofty, including polo and crewneck cashmeres intarsia’d in a discreet “A” pattern. And consider the long dress made from burnout gold silk velvet re-embroidered with tiny silver threads. There hasn’t been a more captivating material this season.As for the tailoring, which season by season becomes a bigger part of his business, Lippes likes the look of full, slightly flared culottes. He cut them in myriad fabrics and paired them with knee-high boots dripping in silk fringe—a surprising, kicky combination. Volumes were likewise effusive on two other looks: a blush pink jumpsuit paired with a matching pouf-sleeve shirt and an oversize white tuxedo shirt buttoned to the neck and worn with black pants. That last look seems particularly Gluck-ian. In a world that’s increasingly intolerant of difference, it was satisfying to see her through Lippes’s eyes.
6 June 2019
Adam Lippesis working with a Madagascar entrepreneur who’s established a factory that supplies knits to Christian Dior and Hermès. That’s good company to be in. As their names suggest, the sweaters that are the result of the new partnership are extremely fine: tissue-thin cashmeres with pointelle flower detailing and delicate trims, in both crew- and turtleneck styles. Lippes said that the Madagascar factory funds a local orphanage. The knits are a look-good-do-good opportunity, but even absent the charity component they’d be a hit. A retailer at his presentation took a guess at prices, and Lippes surprised her when he said they’ll sell for half of what she predicted.“It all starts with fabrics for me,” said Lippes, as he thumbed through a rack in his elegantly appointed Brooklyn home. That same Madagascar factory is responsible for the elaborate embroidery on a charming red organza dress that looked like heirloom napkins sewn together. As withPre-Fall, Lippes took the cues for his rich materials from Studio Peregalli, the Italian architecture and design firm known for its poetic mix of time periods, cultures, colors, and textures. Of special note was the deep red paisley he used for a pleated skirt with placement prints at the hem and a hooded coat—treated to be water repellant, he noted.Luxury has long been essential to the Lippes aesthetic, but more and more he’s considering the social and ecological implications of his business. The mink collar on his trim cashmere peacoat is made from upcycled fur, for example. But he also has an answer for occasions that call for pure fabulousness. This season that would be the black tie–worthy red silk jumpsuit.
10 February 2019
Adam Lippes visited the Tangier home of interior designer Roberto Peregalli this summer and was instantly smitten. Its poetic mix of textures, deep colors, and time periods were on his mind as he worked on his vivid Pre-Fall collection, which ranged from a boyish cotton jumpsuit to a Met Gala–worthy double chiffon long dress, without a wrong note.The centerpiece of the new lineup is an electric abstract photo print of which Studio Peregalli would surely approve. Lippes photographed a bouquet by Putnam & Putnam—his go-to florist—on expired 35-millimeter film and used the best blurry shot, printing it small on a narrow double silk skirt and blown up on a weightless techno fabric trench. The woman who wears them will be unmissable, but color was exuberant throughout. Most memorable: the warm shade of reddish copper he used for a smocked off-the-shoulder taffeta dress in an easy silhouette that will have his customers ordering in multiples (it’s also available in black). The same hue turned up on a dress with thin shoulder straps and a swingy trapeze volume—another summery winner—as well as on a long, lean pant suit in a cotton-wool blend that reminded the designer of his youthful Brooks Brothers suits.Lippes is expanding his tailoring repertoire. Of note beyond the suiting were the flattering paperbag-waist pants that he showed in black leather and a dark-wash Japanese denim. Also interesting on the more casual side of the offering was a chunky cardigan in a cozy shade of brown with mink pockets upcycled from vintage fur coats. From one end to the other, spot on.
6 December 2018
Not long after New York Fashion Week wraps, Adam Lippes is hitting the road with his Fall collection. He’ll visit 16 cities across the U.S. and also do London. All that legwork pays off. Lippes knows his woman; he’s not chasing trends. In fact, business is going so well he’s shopping around for real estate on Madison Avenue. After he opens a boutique in New York, San Francisco will be next.So, just who is the Adam Lippes woman? The designer says she wants luxury, she loves color, and she has a real curiosity about materials. There was no shortage of very special ones in his new collection, from the substantial satin back crepe of a shift—any heavier and the fabric would become stiff, Lippes said—to the silk and linen milled in England that he used for tailoring. Speaking of color, that silk linen took it beautifully, as evidenced by the deep berry shade of a pair of full-leg trousers and the honey gold of a chicly cut pantsuit.Lippes spent his August vacation in Tangier, Morocco. A photograph of the city’s flower stalls was reproduced on a sleeveless sheath and a short ruffled frock à la Cristóbal, the latter of which was shown with matching over-the-knee boots made in collaboration with Manolo Blahnik. Across the ocean, a festival in the Guatemalan town of Todos Santos Cuchumatán provided the inspiration for shirting inset with macramé lace, usually in contrasting colors. Really, it felt like there was a story behind every piece. That’s going to go over well with Lippes’s women when he takes this collection on a store tour next spring.
8 September 2018
Most designers these days name-check millennials and book them for their Insta campaigns. Not Adam Lippes. Though he recently dressed the very excellent millennial Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the English actress, writer, director, and producer, for the L.A. premiere ofSolo: A Star Wars Story,for Resort Lippes quoted the style of elegant octogenarian and medical philanthropist Deeda Blair. In our youth-obsessed moment that takes a certain audacity, but Lippes has the confidence of conviction; bucking the industry trend, his business is up.Blair’s impeccable style informed his new collection: Her taste in flowers is reflected in the prints, and her favorite color, the palest lilac, turned up on a cashmere sweatshirt and a Chantilly lace gown, among other pieces. But more than her manner of dress, what moves Lippes is Blair’s exacting sensibility, developed over decades of wearing couture. “She’s taught me things about construction,” Lippes said. A similar appreciation for the finer things infused his new lineup, from the Loro Piana wool-silk blend of a plaid sheath to a sharply tailored blazer cut from burgundy double wool milled in Italy at Marini & Cecconi. The bronze panne velvet of a boatneck shell-and-trouser set was deliciously rich while remaining understated. The rare exception to the luxurious austerity of this collection was the rather fabulous fringing on a double trench and a tuxedo blazer, leather in the first case and silk in the second. Cleverly, that fringe is removable, a detail that the disciplined Deeda would no doubt appreciate.
5 June 2018
Adam Lippes held his Fall presentation at his new place in Brooklyn Heights. We won’t reveal too much about the interiors—there are magazines lining up to do that. Just a word about the paint job: The lovely, soft shade of pink on the walls is Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster, and Lippes worked with the paint company on the shade “for months.” That detail’s relevant because Lippes and his team (which other designer calls out assistants by name on his press release?) spend the same kind of time and care developing the exquisite fabrics in his ready-to-wear collections.The focus of their efforts for Fall was Scotland, but it wasn’t merely a reference point. Lippes typically makes much of his clothing in the States; this time he went to the source—or actually they came to him. The Harris Tweed company’s iconic label is stitched below his own on an exceptional coat made from tweed woven with black lace. The lively silk plaid print of a button-down and matching skirt is special in a different way; Lippes trimmed the skirt in a dark-rinse denim, giving it a hardier sensibility than it would’ve otherwise had. His Fair Isles were knit from the loftiest, lightest cashmere; ditto a patchwork paneled crewneck and matching midi skirt. As for the horse print, it was inspired by a tapestry that once belonged to Scotland’s King James V, but it was hand-painted right here in Lippes’s New York City atelier. The wordsofthardly does justice to the touchable, luminous gold silk velvet and pale aquamarine silk of Lippes’s lightly waisted dresses. They’re the sartorial equivalent of his wonderful new home.
10 February 2018
Adam Lippes recently moved house, relocating from Greenwich Village to Brooklyn Heights. His mind has been on interiors of late—those of the French interior designer Madeleine Castaing and his own, which are informed by the legendary grande dame. Castaing, who created spaces for the likes of Jean Cocteau and Roger Vadim, is remembered for her bravado use of patterns (leopard especially, but flowers, as well), a sense of color both fearless and whimsical, and an eccentric personal glamour epitomized by her pageboy wig.Everything but the pageboy found its way into Lippes’s new Pre-Fall collection. A bonded waterproof raincoat in cheetah was overscreened with bright spots, and a lush floral pattern Castaing preferred was reproduced as both a print for a silk top-and-skirt set and a 3-D embroidered long dress. The decorator’s beloved cornflower blue silk moiré became a one-shoulder, tiered party dress, while another frock was cut from a subtle green chartreuse, if indeed chartreuse can ever be called subtle.Not everything was designed for Castaing enthusiasts. There was a shearling-trimmed jean jacket made from strips of soft Japanese denim, a humble black cotton midi dress, and elastic-waist cotton pants utterly of this moment in their athleisurely mien. But Lippes’s point of difference is his decorator’s eye for lush pattern and luxe materials. Take, for instance, a Chantilly lace dress constructed from narrow strips of fabric, each of which were individually dyed in different shades of indigo, or the smock-waisted number made in silk and leopard dévoré hand-painted in soft pastels. Castaing would’ve been in heaven.
5 December 2017
Adam Lippes has recently hired a distributor in Japan; his business is expanding. The new relationship got him thinking: Though he’s never been to the country, he’s long harbored an interest in its culture, from the furniture to the food. Why not celebrate it in a collection? Why not, indeed. The obsessiveness for detail associated with Japan lines up well with Lippes’s own—see the vintage Japanese buttons he’s collected to accessorize his sharp tailoring and shirting, each one delicately hand-painted in enamel.Of course, Lippes is a maker of American sportswear; he likes denim, he coined the termathluxuryfor his deluxe sweats, and he knows his way around a slip dress. So his idea here was to take familiar American codes and filter them through a Japanese lens. The process produced a rich collection with a lot of variety. A satin bomber was quilted (a very American technique) with floral Japonica using vintage kimono scraps, while a 1950s-ish party dress—fitted bodice, full skirt—was stitched with smaller versions of those quilted flowers. A reversible coat and culottes in a jacquard that reproduced a Japanese screen scene (quite grand) hung on the rails side by side with silk jersey bodysuits (athletic). Best of all were the East-West denim mash-ups, among them a fitted skirt made from vintage shibori-dyed textiles from Burkina Faso (which apparently adopted the traditional Japanese process) and loose-fitting pants in checked indigo linen. There was also acid-wash denim (an American invention, surely) on a kimono-style jacket. As for finally making that trip to Japan, Lippes has his sights set on April. “For the flowers.”A word about the sublime white silk dress made from one piece of fabric and knotted at the neck: It would make a lovely wedding dress for a bride on any continent.
9 September 2017
For an independent designer like Adam Lippes without big budgets for advertising or celebrity placement, face time with customers is invaluable. (This is something we’ve been hearing more and more lately, despite the increasing dominance of e-commerce.) For Lippes’s part, he says it’s invaluable not just for the bump he sees in sales when he’s the one advising clients established and new, but also for the feedback. The series of long dresses at the end of his Resort lookbook, for example, are the result of the requests he received for the category when he was on the ground—in Dallas, in San Francisco, in Boston. Up until now, he’s focused his attentions mostly on other areas—polished daywear, cocktail dresses, a strong outerwear offering, something he calls “athluxury”—but why not give the ladies what they want? After all, as he put it, “My job is making pieces that women feel good in. It’s as simple as that.”Regarding those long evening pieces, there was a nice variety: strapless duchesse silk in a vibrant chartreuse, fluid pink chiffon piped in cerise, a sleek one-shoulder jumpsuit trimmed generously with Swarovski crystals. What united them was their timelessness; while relevant to the fashion conversation, they don’t look like they’ll date or age, which is a relevant factor when you’re investing in something. What caught your eye here was the extraordinary lengths Lippes goes to to add specialness to his pieces. A black acid-wash jean jacket boasts Gobstopper-size pearl buttons, and a floral print coat is lined in a different fabric in the matching print. The floral print is a collaboration with Putnam & Putnam, Lippes’s favorite florist, and it’s so vibrant and engaging there’s a high chance that, yes, he’ll get a special request for a gown in it.
9 June 2017
Does American fashion need saving? Adam Lippes takes issue with all the talk surrounding a certain famous Belgian’s arrival at a certain famous New York brand. Lippes’s own American business doubled last year, thank you very much. One look at his new Fall collection, and it’s not hard to see why. Lippes has an eye for divine materials and he elevates his essentials with very special touches.His new collection started as a meditation on the Park Chan-wook filmThe Handmaiden, but took a detour through India when he spent two weeks touring the country over the holidays. He met a pair of brothers in Kashmir who make cashmere blankets, bought as many as he could, and has turned them into the softest robe dress you’ll ever have the pleasure of wearing. A printmaker in Udaipur hand-painted the printed silk Lippes has used for an even more sensational scarf dress; he’s accessorized it with a jeweled shell belt made by jewelry designer Sara Beltran of Dezso. The antique pearl and paste buttons on a peacoat and on a pink and black houndstooth topcoat were sourced in India. There’s not an unlimited supply, so he’s commissioned the shopkeeper for more.Other pieces can’t boast such exotic provenance, but they’re just as lofty. See the chunky cashmere V-neck and matching pants in a pattern lifted fromThe Handmaiden, hand-knit right here in New York City, or the true-blue denim that he’s cut into a shearling-collared jacket and high-waisted culottes. Peeking out from the sleeves of a rosy pink silk velvet pantsuit, or layered underneath a sleeveless leather shift dress, with their deep fluted cuffs, not even his turtlenecks are mundane.An hour or so after his presentation, an editor who follows Lippes’s work remarked, “You know, I think Adam is underappreciated.” This is one homegrown designer whose talent should not be overlooked.
11 February 2017
Interiors have proved rich fodder forAdam Lippesalmost since he started his eponymous label. For Pre-Fall, it was Victorian-era drawing rooms and their layers of tapestry murals, animal prints, and velvets that turned him on. The most exquisite material in Lippes’s new collection is a devoré silk velvet with Lurex jacquard spotted like a leopard. He used it for a pair of shirtdresses as easy in cut and line as the fabric was fine. It was a compelling juxtaposition, one that he explored in other pieces in other ways. Take, for instance, a brushed silk cashmere sweatsuit with Victorian puffed short sleeves, the fabric of which was developed by a Japanese mill. We’ve all heard of athleisure; Lippes called this “athluxury,” and one touch and it was clear why.Amidst the muchness, there were quieter, simple staples like khakis, denim trousers in a mélange of washes, clever asymmetric sweaters, and a cool scarf-neck silk blouse. But Lippes’s point of difference is in his terrific eye for print and texture. Also in the mix: a landscape mural jacquard used on a mini, a black and gold lace slip dress, and a fab spotted tigrado lamb coat (the fur also turned up as patch pockets on a hand-knit cardigan). So, would Lippes consider doing interiors on the side? “I’m available,” he laughed, hinting there may be more news on the home design front in 2017.
5 December 2016
Delicate floral embroidery on a Chantilly lace slip, Rhea americana feathers hand-rolled to achieve a three-dimensional trim on the skirt of a lime green party dress, 14 yards of starburst pleated citron-hued silk on another breezy frock.Adam Lippeshas exquisite taste in materials, and there was no shortage of them in his new Spring collection. He took inspiration from the hand-painted ceramics of the Milanese artisan Costanza Paravicini, specifically a set of plates that were in turn influenced by the botanical drawings that the scientist Sir Hans Sloane made on a trip to Jamaica in the late 17th century.It’s a lyrical backstory that showcases Lippes’s deep appreciation for art and, especially, interiors. It’s resonant also because it set him off in a fresh direction: He took his own trip to Jamaica this season. The deep tiers of ruffles seen on the country’s traditional quadrille dress was multiplied on many of the pieces, spiraling down the outsides of silk trousers, circling the asymmetric neckline of a camisole, and peeking out from the bib of a terrific jumpsuit with generously proportioned pants. Meanwhile, the deep turquoise of a clingy knit dress with verve to spare seemed evocative of the island’s crystalline waters. Lippes’s aforementioned exquisite taste has made him a popular resource for special-occasion clothes; more of the sexy approachability of that knit dress will make him a go-to guy for everyday, too.
10 September 2016
Adam Lippesspent weeks on the road this spring, visiting department stores and spending time with salespeople and customers. He said it put a question in his mind when designing Resort: “Can I sell this?” That sounds straightforward enough as to be obvious, right? Actually, it’s a point that seems regularly overlooked in some corners of the New York fashion world. Years in the design room atOscar de la Rentataught Lippes the importance of brand identity. As concerned as he sounds about the bottom line this season, he didn’t play it safe. Rather, he seemed interested in stirring things up a bit.See: the emphasis on shocking pink and black-and-white zebra stripes. The former was put to electric use on a Chantilly lace dress and matching under-slip; the latter turned up on a terrific intarsia shearling, among other pieces. One look combined a black-and-white zebra jacket with a red-and-navy zebra T-shirt dress—full-on and casually fab. Bright yellow leather pants super-full to the ankle was another brave move that looked good with a navy ribbed knit with bell sleeves. As gutsy as all of those items are, Lippes didn’t ignore the more decorous aspects of his aesthetic. Case in point was a burnout silk and velvet dress dyed a rich panoply of different colors. It’ll sell. In fact, it will be hard to find a prettier dress this season.
6 June 2016
There will come a day whenAdam Lippes’s brand is too big for the presentation he puts on in his beautifully appointed Washington Square home. That will be too bad. Architecture and—especially—interiors are so central to his aesthetic. This morning, he mentioned the British architect Edwin Luytens and designer Gertrude Jekyll, who were known for building and modernizing English estates at the turn of the last century. “What they did still looks modern today,” he said. That’s Lippes’s own trick; he makes luxe clothes that feel of the moment without succumbing to fickle trends.Yes, there were the season’s de rigueur culottes, but they came in a luscious nut brown leather. And sure he had his own spin on the omnipresent bomber jacket, but it was whipped up from a wallpaper floral jacquard. Anyways, the stars of the collection were a pair of dresses that tapped into his singular obsession with interiors. Working off the textiles of the British artisans de Gournay, Lippes designed a black and gold velvet burnout jacquard shirtdress destined for heirloom status. Even more exquisite: a gold-flecked black point d’esprit gown with delicate glass bead wisteria embroidery layered over a black lace slip.As precious as those frocks were, he didn’t ignore his clients’ more quotidian needs. A shearling bonded raw denim coat that was the product of a year’s worth of experiments at the factory would come in handy in the blistering wind of today’s polar vortex. Inside his apartment, with a fire going in the fireplace, you hardly noticed the cold. Other news: A first foray into footwear produced a trompe l’oeil buckle-front pump-slash-thigh-high-boot that sounds complicated, but looked very cool.
13 February 2016
Adam Lippessaid he looked upeaseon Thesaurus.com and was surprised to find its synonym wasluxury. And also:peace,quiet, anda lack of difficulty. “I loved that,” he said. “I hope I’m able to translate that with these clothes.” He presented his Pre-Fall lineup in his sunny new NoMad studio, which is lined, unlike most such designer spaces, with antiques he handpicked himself. Multi-ply cashmere sweaters were stacked on a vanity in one corner, and others were neatly folded on a low-slung credenza.Lippes has a great eye, and he brought it to bear on a collaboration with fashion’s go-to florist Miho. She designed a bouquet, and Lippes and co. photographed it and cut up the image to rescale the print. It appeared in micro form on a leather skirt that he spliced with lace, a style that’s been popular this week, and in macro form on a jacquard coat he threw over a silk-lined travel sweatsuit that was decadent and practical at once.Come to think of it, that’s a good way to describe Lippes’s overall approach to sportswear pieces with a special touch. Take his undyed shearling coat. It’s decidedly not inconspicuous, but nothing would keep you warmer. Or the blouson jacket in a look-at-me tiger print that was actually cotton jacquard. So how’d he do on the peace, quiet, and lack of difficulty front? We’d say he’ll have very little trouble finding customers for these clothes.
7 December 2015
Walking intoAdam Lippes’s Washington Square apartment presentation is a rareFashion Weektreat. From the breakfast spread to his trio of standard poodles to this season’s piano player, you feel instantly at home. At the very least, you want to move in.Against this exceedingly pleasing backdrop, Lippes presented a fine new collection, one that solidified his reputation for effortless chic, but also found him developing new categories. Lippes said an audacious floral-print suit from hisFall collectionhad something to do with his Spring experiments. He figured its bold color and pattern would render it an outlier. On the contrary, it’s been a total sellout, and its success gave him the license he needed to try a glam white jumpsuit with an outer layer in hand-macraméd silk cord. It’s a feat of engineering and easily the sexiest thing he’s done yet. A strapless black silk faille gown was more demure, but an equally convincing foray into high evening.Still, it’s his polished sportswear that’s been helping him double his business each season, so the big emphasis here was on daywear. Pieces like a 16-ply cashmere sweatshirt accompanied by gold micro plissé pants as comfy as pj’s, a washed denim apron dress thrown over an oversize poplin tee, and slouchy linen track pants teamed with a striped shirt, its elongated tails hanging loose in back. Lippes’s m.o. is refined, but not so much so that it compromises his clothes’ casual factor. Extra credit for the generously proportioned slip dresses in an Agnes Martin–inspired abstract print.
12 September 2015
With the opening of Cuba to American visitors, it was inevitable that the island country would have a ripple effect on fashion. Adam Lippes used his Resort collection to explore and express his enthusiasm for the place. He went two decades ago, and the trip still lingers in his memory. But Lippes is not a designer who treads heavily in themes; the clothes wore their Cuban influences lightly.His guayabera, for example, looked utterly feminine elongated into a shirtdress and accented with delicate ladder stitching. And the hand-drawn print of jungle flora and fauna was subtle, not overly ripe on a breezy, double-layer dress. Elsewhere, the references were glancing at most. Crocheted knits had the feel of the homespun but remained urbane, and the same went for dresses trimmed with deep swathes of fringe at the hem. Probably the most covetable pieces in the collection, which Lippes says is consistently his biggest of the year, were the leather separates. Extroverts will like the red leather overalls. This introvert preferred the bottle green jacket that cinched at the waist.
1 June 2015
Since buying back the rights to his name and relaunching his label in 2013, Adam Lippes has specialized in understated luxury. Great cashmere sweaters, clean tailoring, a delicate slipdress for evening, lots of navy, black, and neutrals. It's a testament to his confidence and a healthy bottom line that he strayed from the script for Fall with a luscious floral photoprint.Lippes credited the photographer Philip-Lorca diCorcia, whose career he's followed since the early '90s, as the inspiration. "I worked with the florist Putnam and Putnam, and we used diCorcia's lighting for the photo, which we cut up to create the print." It appeared on a zip-front parka and a matching top and skirt, and, more sensationally, on a long, lean pantsuit with a sheer blouse in the same pattern.A certain exuberance was detectable, too, in a pair of wild and woolly sweaters with piles of fringe at the shoulders and down the arms. Hand-knit in L.A., both the pullover and the cardigan required 10 different gauges of wool. They're bound to be popular; Lippes should let it all hang loose more often.But the collection had no shortage of subtler charms: a navy leather hooded trench with a removable quilted lining, tweedy wool-cashmere pants with a killer flare at the hem, suit jackets featuring an elongated cut and a slightly nipped waist. Lippes has his suits made in New York by a men's tailor, and it shows.
14 February 2015
Adam Lippes, like so many fashion designers, is an architecture buff. He said he was looking at the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma for Pre-Fall. "His work is traditional but modern and simple, like what we're trying to do here," he commented, adding that it's his dream to have Kuma design a home for him. The designer, who relaunched his business 14 months ago, has found fast success; he makes sophisticated American sportswear with a luxurious streak. He treaded lightly on his chosen theme here; the lace back of a cardigan sweater and the ribbon embroidery on a coat echoed the graphic fretwork on Kuma's buildings. Otherwise, this was a collection of elevated essentials. A summery white three-piece pantsuit in quilted trapunto; a sleeveless tunic belted over wide-legged pants with generous inverted pleats at the hem; a long-sleeved sheath dress in midnight blue lace topped by an elongated vest with big, polished brass buttons at the waist. All three looks were elegant, yet retained an easy-to-wear feeling. They had a certain timelessness about them, too, which means they won't date as fast as a lot of the other clothes we've seen for Pre-Fall. In that sense, the collection was very much in the Kuma mold.
8 December 2014
Talk about intimate gatherings. This season, Adam Lippes hosted his Spring presentation at his beautiful Greenwich Village apartment overlooking Washington Square Park. The welcoming setting spotlighted the deeply personal approach Lippes has taken toward his namesake label since relaunching it nearly two years ago. As guests could see, Lippes is an avid interior decorator, and his latest lineup was inspired by North African carpets from the turn of the 20th century. He said, "I recently became obsessed with vintage Moroccan rugs. But the question was: How do you do rugs for Spring?"Reinterpreting those textiles in a modern way, Lippes embroidered tuxedo jackets and topcoats with knotted silk tassels that were a playful take on "summer fur." He paired them with relaxed Berber pants, which came in a variety of luxe fabrications including textured silk linen and supple leather (a hot pink pair was particularly noteworthy). A billowing silk caftan, meanwhile, featured a hand-drawn tapestry print that Lippes created with a Sharpie marker.Elsewhere, the designer continued to evolve his sophisticated vision of American sportswear with updated staples, including crisp, oversize shirts; hand-loomed sweaters; and finely tailored suiting. Hands down, the standout look here was a sporty tank gown boasting an elegant plissé skirt cut from more than 20 yards of tightly pleated silk. Slinking across Lippes' parlor floor, it simultaneously conveyed drama and ease and was a smash hit with the designer's fans. "I never say this, but you're the only person who does collections I want 100 percent of," enthused pal Elettra Wiedemann.
6 September 2014
Continuing to evolve his refined vision of American sportswear, Resort found Adam Lippes in a relaxed mood influenced by French visual artist Willy Daro's decorativeobjets, which fuse together natural metals and stones. That inspiration was reflected in the collection's emphasis on organic shapes, particularly evident in easy pieces such as paper-bag-waisted trousers, fluid silk slip or wrap dresses, and soft double-knit merino ponchos. Daro's works also gave rise to the graphic foliage print found on Lippes' boxy, thigh-grazing shift, which would look terrific with a pair of flats. Keeping in mind the season's early November delivery window, Lippes was sure to offer plenty of transitional outerwear to take his customer into the colder months. Highlights included an unconstructed topper cut from ivory wool, backed in duchesse, as well as "monastic," robe-like coats (in either boudoir-ready satin or luxe, brushed cashmere) with open slits along the sides that imparted a dynamic movement. Elsewhere, Lippes continued to elevate denim—a relatively new category that has met with retail success—in the form of boxy chambray tunics and indigo wrap skirts, which communicated an easy elegance that wasn't too fussy.
1 June 2014
The unexpected inspiration behind Adam Lippes' Fall collection was the Grateful Dead. As a self-proclaimed Dead Head, the designer has seen the legendary jam band live over fifteen times, and views them as quintessentially all-American. This tied in nicely with his signature refined take on classic sportswear. Lucky for Lippes' sophisticated customers, who would likely turn their noses up at the idea of hemp necklaces and festival tees, he treaded lightly with the theme. A heavy georgette shirtdress was tie-dyed with a windowpane check pattern that was more graphic than psychedelic, for example. Elsewhere, Lippes riffed on the idea of bandannas with cowl-neck blouses that came in crisp men's shirting fabrics, and he whipped up luxe intarsia cardigans and cashmere ponchos. The designer elevated bohemian fringe on satin gowns featuring silk tassel accents, and showed a pleated maxi skirt cut from delicate black Chantilly lace. Traditional outerwear styles including toggle coats and moto-inspired toppers were reinterpreted in rich materials like double-face satin and cozy, bottle-green shearling. Overall, Lippes succeeded with this mature lineup that was full of playful twists.
8 February 2014
Over the four seasons since relaunching his namesake label last February, Adam Lippes has carved out a niche in the designer market for his subtle, sophisticated sportswear, and built up a substantial customer base abroad—more than 50 percent of his sales are international. His first Pre-Fall collection was chock-full of refined fabrics that begged to be touched. An enveloping, reversible cape was cut from ultrasoft double-face cashmere, while eveningwear items including a cocktail dress, full palazzo trousers, and a bracelet-sleeve coat came in sumptuous, raw-edged duchesse satin. Loosely inspired by Balthus' paintings of young women in uniforms, Lippes channeled a schoolgirl vibe with a crepe suspender dress featuring bar-tack stitching, as well as a cozy gray crewneck sweater paired with a pleated leather skirt broken up with panels of gauzy organza. But it was the opulent outerwear here that ultimately stood out. Lippes topped a crisp shirtdress (adorned in delicate pearl closures) with a voluminous shadow fox fur, and belted a terrific navy shearling over a floor-skimming column gown.
5 December 2013
Adam Lippes hit the ground running when he relaunched his namesake label back in February. Now on his third collection, the designer has already established a clean and sophisticated, feminine tone for the brand. And so it seemed like Lippes was throwing us a curveball when he claimed this season's inspiration was lowrider culture—big in Mexico, California, and now Brazil—which revolves around tricked-out cars with flashy paint jobs and dazzling chrome rims, and cholo-chic fashion. But Lippes loosely interpreted the barrio street movement in his own restrained way, showing white double-face satin overalls layered over a slim python bandeau, as well as a boxy T-shirt dress that was cut from the same exotic skin. A standout pair of wide-leg denim trousers was fabricated by embroidering together nubby strips of indigo that were influenced by turn-of-the-twentieth-century African shawls. They were styled with a crisp take on the classic men's guayabera shirt featuring a beautiful drape in back.Elsewhere, Lippes got more adventurous with his reference point. Nodding to racy bucket seats covered in animal skins, he whipped up a structured car coat and ladylike midi skirt in a digital leopard pattern. Meanwhile, a giant lion tattoo print was splashed on a sleek shift dress, and the beast's mane was echoed by appliquéing laser-cut pieces of leather onto an organza miniskirt. These statement makers added interest to the lineup's beautiful basics, including delicate cashmere knits, tailored track pants, and on-trend culottes.
8 September 2013
Things are on the up-and-up for Adam Lippes, who relaunched his career last season with a new namesake collection that was picked up by retailers like Net-a-Porter, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. For Resort, Lippes is continuing to hone his elevated vision of American sportswear. Track pants, which appeared in his first outing, were updated in silk twill featuring an allover floral print inspired by Peter Dayton's bold artwork.Blooms also featured on a tuxedo coat in the form of delicate lace that was bonded with neoprene, then re-embroidered to really pop. Fringe inlays appeared throughout, adding a feminine slink to tiered skirts and slipdresses. Other highlights included wide-legged culottes cut from white leather, as well as a crisp, tailored summer suit, also in white. All in all, this was a tight sophomore outing for Lippes.
30 May 2013
Leaving the industry for a year and buying back the rights to his name brought about personal growth for Adam Lippes. Accordingly, the new eponymous collection that he debuted for Fall is decidedly more grown-up than his former ADAM line. "It's a total progression in a lot of ways," the designer said. "I am excited to produce this kind of quality, and proud of the work that goes into each piece."He emphasized ease and simplicity with sportswear staples, including a sweeping navy military topcoat, as well as a sharp vest-and-trousers set shown with a silk tie-neck blouse—all in crisp winter white—that was a new way to wear a suit. To help get the fit just right, Lippes brought in a menswear tailor. ("They know how to make a jacket," he explained.) He also experimented with innovative fabrics like a duchesse satin bonded with French lace, which was cut into a cool skirt that stood away from the body. Paired with a gauzy sweater featuring subtle mesh inserts, the look was casual yet elegant, and suggested a promising fresh start for Lippes.
10 February 2013
Adam Lippes' design offices overlook the High Line, and he can't help but take in and fixate on his view of that "runway in the sky." Perhaps it had something to do with all the buckets of rain that have been coming down lately, but the ADAM Spring collection was in full bloom. Backstage before the show, Lippes explained one of his floral prints—a rock rose that he "blew up and made pointy," which made a convincing statement on both an ivory silk column dress and a slouchy suit. There was quite a bit of flower-screened denim, which looked best on an A-line knee-length skirt paired with a silk polka-dot pajama top. The designer also paid lip service to the ongoing neon trend (has anyone else noticed how many of those electric Cambridge satchels are floating around Lincoln Center this week?) with the trim of a transparent sleeveless trench, as well as a hot pink long-sleeve tee.In the eveningwear category, there were a few looks that flirted with bedazzle overkill (one model had to walk in a heavy crystal dress that probably weighed more than she does). But the finale number—an organza party dress embroidered with hundreds of tiny French knots—made up for any previous bling blips. Later on that evening, we noticed that Lippes' pal Natalie Joos had plucked that stunning closer right off the runway and was wearing it out for a night on the town.
9 September 2011
Adam Lippes had fun with proportions for Resort, showing crisp looks that you'd want to steal straight from the sample rack and start wearing now. An oversize twill jacket was paired with a tight miniskirt covered in hand-stitched micro plissé pleats, while long slipdresses cut on the bias from fluid silk were mixed with chunky knit sweaters. The palette here was quintessential Resort: clean white, cool mint green, and soft blush (terrific in super-soft, shaved lambskin on an easy sweatshirt). There was also a graphic element at play, with Lippes taking his cues from minimalist German artist Imi Knoebel. A graphic crosshatch pattern appeared on a party frock in carnival colors with sweet, suspender-detail straps, and also a drapey sequin tunic, cinched at the waist, with a large cutout back that offered cross ventilation for those hot vacation days.
1 June 2011
A few weeks ago, the small workshop in Uruguay that Adam Lippes uses for his hand-knit sweaters burned to the ground, destroying a good portion of his Fall collection. But Lippes knew the show must go on, so he got resourceful and hired a local ladies' knitting circle at the last minute to replicate the designs he lost in the fire. And yes, the show did proceed seamlessly, chunky knits included. This season was spurred by a recent visit to the National Museum of the American Indian, so an indigenous influence was detectible. There was an elaborate shift dress with a skirt of dégradé feathers sewn over tiny gold sequins for a bit of shine; a mid-calf skirt made from patchworked lamb fur; and a raccoon coat that was simultaneously wild and refined.The Native American theme was more subtle for most of the lineup, where spot-on tailoring took center stage. A long, blush pink vest with leather piping was paired with a matching collarless wool topper for a clean silhouette. And a crepe de chine jumpsuit with crisscross straps was simple, sexy, and flattering. But the blockbuster hit with buyers is sure to be the delicate Chantilly lace T-shirt shown in black and cream—it'll go with everything.
11 February 2011
The return of ladylike dressing is a boon for Adam Lippes. Ladies are who he's been dressing from the beginning—not sexlessly, not uninterestingly, but prettily and with a practiced sense of well-mannered chic. For pre-fall, he took the successful silhouettes from his Spring collection—in particular, the long, wide trousers that caused a stir—and developed them further. The entire look was lengthened: His skirts and dresses hit just below the knee or just above the ankle now. Lippes has also developed a liberal hand with tiny buttons, which snaked up skirts and down the back of blouses. They almost seemed schoolmarmish until you looked again and realized that unbuttoning them one by one could be a fetish unto itself.The entire collection was inspired, Lippes noted, by Wirtz International, the Belgian landscape architecture firm. Looking like the land—is that what women want? But Lippes made it work, with inky, painterly prints resembling wood bark and flowers, and delicate pleating that calls to mind, he said, Wirtz's angular designs. The pleating, as well as quilting (on a cotton vest and leather jacket), will recur for Fall, Lippes hinted. For evening, he whipped up a flowered version of a showstopper from Spring: a sheer bodice that explodes around the bust line into a voluminous, floor-length floral skirt. You might have to be the size of his showroom model to pull off that much fabric, alas, but there's no beating it for drama.
14 December 2010
Before his show today, designer Adam Lippes confessed that he found the recent movieThe City of Your Final Destinationa bit of a snorer. Apparently, though, he stayed awake long enough to glean some quality inspiration, because he cited the film's images of Charlotte Gainsbourg pottering around a remote estate in Uruguay as the sole reference of the collection.We'll quibble with that. The show itself would have been a bit of a snorer if all it had done was retread the look of rusticated aristocracy. Peasant blouses and city trousers and zzzzzz… No, what elevated Spring was the fact that Lippes' constant and cohesive inspiration iswomen—real ones, not movie ones. Real women with all kinds of bodies, who want to look pretty, and sexy, and a little edgy, and also elegant, and very now, but always like themselves, and not like fashion victims. Lippes seems pretty clearly to believe that his job is to help all those real women square the circles of their desires, and show them clothes that are pretty and sexy and edgy and elegant and very now, and that will never, ever make them look like fools.Let's start with the trousers, high-waist flares tailored to a T and shown in navy, gray, peach, and tomato red, among other colors. The fabrics were unpretentious (twill and denim), but the effect was ridiculously chic, coupled with smart lace blouses and cropped hand-knit sweaters and tuxedo jackets. A pair in cement gray, with sailor-pant-inspired lacing up the back, is a must-have for Spring; they may even sound the death knell of stovepipes. With the sundresses and diaphanous long skirts, Lippes went so far over the horizon of pretty, he wound up back at edgy. (Pretty does feel subversive, after all the spiked platforms and leather leggings of the past few years.)Standouts included a long skirt of pleated chiffon, printed subtly in gray on the top side of the pleat, and left plain cream underneath. The skirt had plenty of movement, given the play of hard pleats and soft chiffon; the print/plain contrast gave it unexpected dimension, too. Another highlight: spaghetti-strap sundresses in white eyelet and a toile-esque chiffon, with fishtail hems as an added surprise.While all that sounds sweet enough to threaten diabetic shock, Lippes cut the treacle with rough linens; punctuating colors of rust, copper, and chambray blue; and dense hand-knits—coincidentally from Uruguay—that had a feeling of real earthiness.
Less effectively, he tried to toughen up his collection with Celine-esque leathers and the embroidered sweatshirt jerseys his line has been known for. Both felt out of place. In general, however, this outing had the snap of good sense. That may be an odd thing to say about a brand that is overtly romantic, but it is probably the correct thing to say about a designer with an unerring sense of the relevant.
10 September 2010
"This season, it's less about a certain travel or inspiration," Adam Lippes said at his showroom, "It's about the girl being refined, but still at ease." That refinement can possibly be traced to Lippes' booming business in London, which includes recent launches at Harrods and Browns. A focus on relaxation, meanwhile, is not hard to achieve in his serene new studio overlooking the Hudson.Whatever the origin of his ideas, Lippes turned out sleek long gowns—including a great strapless red crepe number—paired with flat sandals; bright yellow sweater sets; an inky silk shirtdress; and a pair of cotton jackets that could effortlessly take the wearer everywhere, or nowhere, as the case may be. It's this kind of real-life approach to dressing that should continue to spell fair weather ahead for the brand on either side of the Atlantic.
6 June 2010
If Adam Lippes isn't the first designer who comes to mind when you're seeking an understated darted shift or a timelessly polished wrap dress, his latest effort could change those expectations.Lippes stretched himself beyond the young, simple-and-sporty basics (jumpsuits, sweatshirts, and blazers) he's turned out in the past, skewing toward a more luxe and detailed look. The outerwear—including a fatigue jacket lined in coyote and a striped peacoat with shearling trim—was impressive; blouses and dresses were intricately embroidered with sequins. Cropped cable-knit sweaters and a few billowy maxi dresses, meanwhile, hinted at classic ADAM and gave the collection some familiarity."My woman is stronger this season," the young designer said backstage. "The collection is more sophisticated; the emphasis is on fashion this time." It's too soon to tell where this new maturity will lead, but kudos to him for pushing his own envelope.
12 February 2010
If Adam Lippes' 2010 plans are anything to go by, we can call an end to the recession. The designer has a swanky new showroom, a third boutique recently opened in Philadelphia, and a Nantucket outpost is coming this summer. His pre-fall clothes, by contrast, are slightly more muted than usual. Instead of the vivid jewel-toned tank dresses and slouchy tees he's known for, Lippes emphasized menswear-inspired tailoring in subdued shades. A charcoal pantsuit, slim black jackets, and a pair of dusty turquoise tweed trousers proved the designer has range. He has good business sense, too: These pieces were cut in lightweight wool-silk blends, allowing for a smooth transition from the easy-breezy summer wares they'll be replacing on the sales floor. As for the flirty little frocks—Lippes' bread and butter—he's done some thinking there, too: A silk T-shirt dress with a pleated chiffon skirt unzipped at the waist, making it three pieces for the price of one. With smart ideas like that, it's no wonder the brand is on an upward trajectory.
13 January 2010
Now in his fourth season showing on the runway, Adam Lippes is clear on his "mythical muse," as he puts it: the gyp-setting girl who's equally at home in New York City, Paris, or a tiny hut on the Indian Ocean. For Spring '10 she traveled to Lamu, Kenya (where the designer vacations). Lippes trimmed a miniskirt in raffia and wood beads and worked a mud-cloth embroidery pattern on a laid-back organza tank dress. At the heart of the collection, though, were his city-girl staples: draped twill shorts, sporty rompers, and slouchy tees, all in bright, saturated hues. Clothes women will wear, to be sure—but, unfortunately, modern basics don't make for the most exciting runway show. Lippes might want to flex his creative muscles a bit more with his next effort.
11 September 2009
Silk shifts with braided satin rope embroidery and wavelike chiffon miniskirts were elements of Adam Lippes' "new take on nautical" for Resort 2010. You might wonder how many fresh explorations of those well-charted waters there could be, but Lippes' easy-breezy maxi dresses in shades of lemon and papaya had us dreaming of the seaside. When paired with cropped trenchcoats and slouchy sweatshirts bearing beaded epauletlike shoulders, the result was a vibrant sportswear collection the "gyp-setting" ADAM girl can pair with the existing contents of her closet or suitcase.
1 June 2009
"This is the center of the American design industry," Adam Lippes replied when asked why he'd decided to bring his latest show to the Bryant Park tents now, in this season of discontent. "It felt like the right time to be here."Lippes also thought the time was right for bright, upbeat shots of primary color—and he didn't hold back. Inspired by an exhibit of Japanese photography at Boston's Peabody Museum, he interpreted images of samurai warriors and Mount Fuji into sunny, wearable separates (many bedecked with layers of sequins) for a fun-loving girl.ADAM does a brisk business in outerwear, and the oversize felted wool blazers and realistic faux-fur jackets were just the sort of attractively priced basics that recession-weary shoppers could be convinced to shell out for come autumn. With the recent opening of a second boutique, this one in his native Buffalo, N.Y., Lippes appears poised to become a torchbearer for a new generation in American sportswear.
13 February 2009
Not even a last-minute tropical storm-induced shift indoors could ruffle Adam Lippes' feathers. "I think the colors will pop even more against all this brown," he said of his 11th-hour venue, a Victorian Gothic church in Chelsea. And pop they did, in hues inspired by Museum of Modern Art's color-chart exhibit earlier this year. Lippes was at his best when he kept it bright and uncomplicated—with a cerulean georgette gown, for example (a shorter version in amber was also nice). Other standouts included a pair of groovy shift dresses, one embroidered with a rainbow of molded plastic beads and another with clear Lucite shapes that swished like fringe down the catwalk. With the exception of some distracting straps and buckles, this solid collection should spell fair weather ahead for Lippes.
5 September 2008
"I just want everything to be easy," said Adam Lippes of his ADAM Resort collection—not surprising from a designer who began with T-shirts. But here Lippes achieved T-shirt ease with khaki cotton sateen cut into a smart little dress or cropped pantsuit; great pieces like a quilted bolero with tulle-covered crystals (still refreshingly simple in all white); and maxi dresses in buttery jersey or featherweight taffeta. Despite his vacation bent, the designer stressed the wear-now factor, particularly in multitasking knits that will be right for Barbados and the Bowery.
18 June 2008
If anyone should understand sophisticated American style it should be Adam Lippes, an alumnus of both Ralph Lauren and Oscar de la Renta, right? For Fall, he borrowed a page from the former and set out into the country for the weekend. There were hand-knit sweaters, herringbone pants, and buffalo-plaid jackets for the girls, and L.L. Bean duck boots for the boys. One of the strongest looks was an ombré mohair wool coat that blended in with the mural of trees on the runway's backdrop. Unfortunately, nothing seemed truly signature or unique, the proceedings were a bit repetitive, and Lippes got rather lost in the woods.
2 February 2008
Witness the buffing and polishing of a young sportswear line: In August, Adam Lippes announced he'd be changing the name from Adam + Eve to the more user-friendly ADAM; this week came his first runway show, after three seasons of lower-key presentations; and later this fall, the doors to his first freestanding store, in New York's Meatpacking District, will swing wide.And while the wheels of his business have been strategically churning away, Lippes has, of course, been at work designing Spring. He showed a relaxed easy-dressing collection in a scheme of mostly cream and beige shot through with bright color. Japanese influences were evident in the kimono sleeves and obi belts, while gestures in the direction of the Abstract Expressionist Morris Louis—colored stripes and the like—rounded out the agenda. Pairing breezy, to-the-floor dresses and wide-leg pants with chic flat sandals and gauzy head wraps, he set a laid-back tone sure to strike a chord among the contemporary Adams and Eves who buy his clothes. It was appealing and wearable—exactly what contemporary sportswear should shoot for. The hand-painted, striped knit pieces and the dégradé silk dresses will blow out of stores come spring.
4 September 2007
Adam Lippes' Fall collection embraced the sporty collegiate life—a theme familiar to those who've been following his line. Cozy cable-knit sweaters—enormous, and thick as duvets—were paired with slouchy tweed coats or a shrunken rain slicker. A wool trench with a tie-dye effect would make a cool cover-up for day or night, on- or off-campus. The rebel might be drawn to a patent-trimmed, cropped jacket or a gathered sack dress studded with brass spheres; the party girl would favor the cocktail dresses, particularly the black taffeta bubble with sequin trim or the triple-tiered plissé mini with glittery dots. While Lippes' vision remains fixed, his execution and materials have climbed to a higher level. Now let's hope for some deviation from the schoolgirl theme in the future.
4 February 2007
Presenting his sportswear line, Adam + Eve, for the second time, Adam Lippes chose the Banchet Flowers shop in the far West Village as his venue. This made for a cramped, if fragrant, show location. But despite the crush, the clothes looked smart. Inspired by the rich fabrics and photographs from a long-ago trip to Kenya, Lippes balanced an organic, natural element—with obvious African roots—with his all-American sensibility. This juxtaposition of earthy and clean came to life in a knockout cream satin shift with distressed-metal embroidered trim.A bright, Afro-centric print on cotton voile was cut into a breezy blouse and paired with crisp pleated shorts. Thick, embroidered cotton eyelet, meanwhile, was hand-painted white to give it a touch of earthy texture, and it showed up in a strapless top as well as a ladylike dress. Combining a bit more sophistication with a solid dose of the sporty edge on which he founded his line, Lippes' collection is evolving each season.
10 September 2006
Buddakan, soon to be the latest addition to the 24-hour open-air club/mall known as Manhattan's Meatpacking District, was the location of the Adam + Eve presentation. This was the first public outing of the company's ready-to-wear line, which was introduced to retailers last spring. Adam Lippes, a former Oscar de la Renta creative director, initially launched the company in 2004 as an underwear and T-shirt line, and it seems to be growing rapidly—having taken just two years to expand into sportswear.Lippes set out to create "luxury basics," rather than follow trends, and the presentation featured great, collegiate-feeling pieces for both men and women. A fur vest would be great for tailgating, and jackets had three-quarter sleeves—all the better to layer over longer sweaters, many of them striped and V-necked. Dresses, like a pintucked tank number with feather embroidery at the hem, were worn with comfy alpaca cardigans, projecting an attitude of ease.
5 February 2006