Alexandre Herchcovitch (Q2594)
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Alexandre Herchcovitch is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Alexandre Herchcovitch |
Alexandre Herchcovitch is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Founder: Alexandre HerchcovitchYear established: 1994Known for: Everything from punkish streetwear to splendid gownsStocked at: His own website,loja.herchcovitch.com.br
20 October 2015
Founder: Alexandre HerchcovitchYear established: 1994Known for: Everything from punkish streetwear to splendid gownsStocked at: His own website,loja.herchcovitch.com.br
15 April 2015
Runway images inevitably won't do the craftsmanship of Alexandre Herchcovitch's latest outing justice. The veteran Brazilian designer has been plugging along with collections at varying levels of eccentricity for many a year now, but for Fall he went back in time. Backstage before his show, Herchcovitch spoke about looking to vintage camisoles and other underthings for inspiration. That wasn't the only throwback, though; where construction was concerned, he unearthed specific techniques of embroidery and lace crocheting that boggled the mind in their couture-like precison. The latter, handled by "little old ladies" in the north of Brazil, was particularly showstopping; one dress (Look 29) took roughly three months to create. A wearable and romantic prairie-gothic vibe was the order of the day, with plenty of Victorian flourishes, like jackets with sweeping, slashed muttonchop sleeves. Elsewhere, cashmere jersey camisoles trimmed in tiny crystals were worn half-on over scalloped embroidered button-downs. Amid a sea of peach, cream, tawny brown, and black, three stunning looks in sculpted scarlet and fuchsia wool were a reminder that Herchcovitch sure knows his tailoring. And perhaps most importantly, nearly every piece felt truly special.For some, the dreamy nostalgia and skivvy-inspired ensembles will be a bit much for everyday wear, but here's hoping that Fall's offering finally earns Herchcovitch greater mainstream recognition stateside. After this collection, he deserves it.
8 February 2014
Alexandre Herchcovitch has always been known for a punky aesthetic, but he's been cleaning up his act the past few seasons, and Spring felt decidedly grown-up and polished while still maintaining a subversive edge. Backstage before his show, the Brazilian designer explained that he "built the clothing by piecing together bands of fabric cut on different angles to flatter different parts of the body." The splicing technique added deconstructed appeal to the opening series of broken-stripe looks cut from couture-grade, heavy double satin, which Herchcovitch whipped into a rash guard-esque crop top and matching pencil skirt with frayed chiffon peeking out at the hemline. The designer experimented with a variety of silhouettes, including on-trend minidresses and slim cropped trousers with sheer overskirts. His most novel proposition was tank tops with lightweight coats attached to the straps, which fluttered like capes behind the models as they walked. Elsewhere, Herchcovitch mashed up zebra stripes and black lace on perfecto jacket-inspired dresses and re-created the same exotic pattern with caviar beading on tough leather sheaths. The lineup felt somewhat somber compared to many of the more uplifting shows so far this week, but Herchcovitch has always been a bit of a dark horse.
6 September 2013
Cite "flowers" as design inspiration and watch a crowd of fashion editors roll its eyes at visions of tea-party chintz. But for Alexandre Herchcovitch, the full flower—stamens, pistils, multifoliate petal structure, and all—provided the basis for an intellectual and intriguing Fall collection.The Brazilian designer showed a range of layered looks in which garments were not always what they seemed. The bodice on one "dress" was split down to the navel, so it could be peeled back and worn pannier-style over a full skirt, exposing the bustier beneath. A red chiffon blouse featured arms at both ends, with the second set tied around the waist and the redundant bodice falling to rest on the skirt below, like vestigial wings. Herchcovitch progressed this idea, peeling garments back layer by layer, so that by the end of the show, entire dresses floated around the models' hips.All that bulk and volume could get a little ungainly for a real-life wearer, all those extra wisps irritatingly extraneous, so there were more commercial pieces in the mix. A body-con dress with a chiffon peplum reproduced the layered look with all-in-one ease. Prints also provided a more palatable, 2-D way into the subject matter. Oddly haunting drawings of spider orchids and other tropical flora achieved beauty without any cloying associations. But for this designer, the experiment of deconstructing clothes with a botanist's precision seemed the chief interest—let the petals fall where they may.
8 February 2013
"Karma Chameleon." "I'll Tumble 4 Ya." "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?" The immortal Culture Club hits that looped on the soundtrack at the Alexandre Herchcovitch show today were plenty enjoyable; some attendees couldn't help but sing along. But you didn't need to hear the songs to know that this collection was Herchcovitch's homage to Boy George. Indeed, a huge part of the collection's charm was its overtness—Herchcovitch was wearing his heart on his sleeve, and his girl was wearing signature Boy George hearts all over her clothes. Still, the Brazilian designer's take on the Boy George look wasn't straightforward. Using substantial, couture-quality materials, he reinterpreted the singer's baggy, Culture Club-era ensembles as blocky tees, board shorts, jumpsuits, and shirtdresses. Early-eighties checks, plaids, and font prints were absurdly exaggerated, giving the looks a winning madcap affect. This show was a lot of fun—and not just because of the music playing in the background.
8 September 2012
A typical Alexandre Herchcovitch show cycles through a lot of looks and a lot of ideas. Today's show, in contrast, was pithy and straight to the point: His overarching concept was to combine unlikely materials such as lace and technical nylon or printed silk and shearling and apply them to clean, ladylike silhouettes.That strategy resulted in a lot of strong looks, in particular the outerwear paneled in tone-on-tone metallic leather and the baroquely gothic tiered dress in gold lace. Aside from the metallic theme, Herchcovitch limited himself—unusually—to a neutral palette, turning out his papery suede and shearling jackets in varying shades of brown, from plumlike to pumpkin-y, and tamping down the gold bling with a simple tan check print. All in all, this was a restrained effort from him, and a solid one.
13 February 2012
Alexandre Herchcovitch went ladylike last season, so much so that longtime fans may have arched an eyebrow. But though he continued in the well-kempt vein for pre-fall, here there was more of his usual oddity at play. The Brazilian designer mentioned the sixties as an inspiration, with nipped-waist dresses and fitted little coats, but he was also thinking of decoupage. That accounted for collagelike effects, like the patch pockets on those coats, as well as seams that were left raw and slightly raggedy for a Frankenstein effect—one that nicely set off the polished primness of those office-ready gabardines. It felt like a suggestion that under those demure pieces, some wildness beat beneath. And then, to underscore the point, the print on a series of a crinkled-silk tops and dresses: free-floating skulls and bones. Skeletons in the closet, indeed.
4 January 2012
To say that Alexandre Herchcovitch sent out a surprisingly ladylike collection today would be the understatement of the season. His nipped-waist embroidered dresses, bow-bedecked pencil skirts, and natty tops in lamé jacquard were so over-the-top soigné, it had to be some kind of provocation. Surely, there had to be something weird at work to inspire these clothes.Of course, there was. As Herchcovitch explained after the show, the genesis of this collection was his discovery of a trove of fifties-era fabrics at a shop going out of business in his native Brazil. He bought the lot, and used several of the vintage fabrics in the show. But he also developed photo-realist prints for his collection based on those fabrics, re-creating everything from their stitching to their stains. Even from the front row, it was hard to see the difference between the old and the new, especially given that Herchcovitch turned out both materials in looks that were almost identically patterned, and identically embellished.Sometimes there was a bit too much embellishment going on; a few of the pieces utilizing vintage fabrics were so covered in frippery, they came off camp. That may have been Herchcovitch's intention. But other pieces, like color-blocked red and pale yellow pencil dresses in cotton duchesse satin, had a timeless simplicity. And still others exuded the designer's trademark: A red-beaded dress with head scarf attached like a hood turned out to be made not from crinkled chiffon, but exceptionally fine anorak nylon. Meanwhile, the sportiness was self-evident in Herchcovitch's half-head, embroidered baseball hats, which he is producing in a special edition with the cap-maker New Era. The other accessories worthy of note were the sunglasses—round-frame specs that represent Herchcovitch's third collaboration with Mykita.
11 September 2011
Alexandre Herchcovitch is syncing up with American retailers and getting in on the annual Resort race. His debut vacation collection was much sweeter than what we're used to seeing from the Brazilian designer—if anything, this was a total 180 from his somber Fall lineup. While a high-necked shift with a dainty but sparse floral print and conservative sleeves came across as almost chaste, foxy bustier tops also popped up a few times; and a crepe de chine dress with corsetlike seaming at the bust that appeared to be layered over a sheer black T-shirt was actually just one piece. Other noteworthy looks included silver cropped pants knotted at the natural waistline for a flattering fit and a shrunken jacket with faintly blouson sleeves that paired like a dream with a matching pencil skirt in pearlized, pastel jacquard. All in all, Herchcovitch maybe played it too safe. But these cute and feminine pieces could very well sell better than the maverick designer's more directional ones.
7 June 2011