Tome (Q9357)
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Tome is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Tome |
Tome is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
After a couple of seasons of presentations and one on the Paris calendar, today Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin brought Tome back to New York. A few rows of white benches faced a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows, and as the looks came gliding down the runway, it was like watching a modern and enchanting dance performance. Tome’s clothes always have a certain flow to them, and they fit any body shape.Lobo and Martin like to begin with references to female artists, and for Spring they were inspired by Mary Cassatt and Berthe Morisot, two of very few female Impressionist painters who worked in France. Female empowerment is a touchstone for the designers, and they drew from Cassatt and Morisot being women in a boys’ club. They showed a menswear-inspired suit vest that came decorated with three tassels at the front, striped men’s shirting, and slouchy trousers. To touch on the actual work of Cassatt and Morisot, there were not-too-tight corsets and late-19th-century silhouettes.Rose, hibiscus, and marigold tie-dye appeared on a new range of canvas bags, all made with natural dyes formulated with temple flowers found throughout India. At Tome, sustainability is key, and this season the label incorporated organic hemp, cotton, and linens into its lineup. The tassels used for several of the pieces were made by refugee women who have resettled in Texas.Despite its artistic intentions, the collection had a natural, earthy vibe, especially in the long white shorts and tie top ensemble, as well as the blue and yellow tie-dyed dress. (This mood was also emphasized by the new fringe-embellished Teva sandals that grounded the looks.) The clothes were almost beach-ready at times, and Spring was an homage to the idea of what Lobo and Martin call “modern leisure.” Their direction, like that of many American designers, has moved away from complexities and into garments that just work. Here there weren’t any neons, prints, logos, or intimidating layering techniques. Lobo and Martin may have put on a bigger show than usual this afternoon, but where they really succeeded was in bringing a little lightness, prettiness, and soft beauty back into fashion.
11 September 2018
Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin are always looking back in an effort to move forward. They pick apart the pieces they’ve designed in the past and reconstruct them for a new moment, building on their brand DNA in a way that doesn’t seem forced. This season was probably one of the finest examples of their self-referencing; their signature pleating and wrap styles took on a new life for Resort 2019. Lobo and Martin were inspired by the artist Eva Hesse and her serene, pastel-tinged color palette. Riffing on Hesse’s minimalist work, the designers incorporated layered stripes and check prints on micro-pleats and sashes to mimic a 3-D surface on the garments. The signature shirting and trousers had a new kind of volume that was as dynamic visually as some of Hesse’s most provocative sculptures. Specifically, Lobo and Martin made note of one of the artist’s breakout exhibits, which was built from found objects left behind in the old German textile mill in which Hesse worked and resided for a period of time.The idea of sustainability and using discarded objects (as Hesse did) to create new pieces of clothing is of extreme importance to the Tome designers. This season, they’re using new materials like recycled polyester generated from PET bottles, recycled cotton blends, and linen and hemp from women-owned mills in Peru. Livi and Martin are also working with their original muse and model Rachel Rutt, along with Kath Davis and Kim Pearce, who all launched the Possibility Project together, which promotes a circular fashion economy. This season, the clothes were lovely, but the real draw was in the bottom line: taking discards and using them to create something new with an innovative edge.
6 June 2018
The Tome guys are all about change at the moment. Not permanent change, per se, but experimental departures led by creative impulses. For one, Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin have decided to do a salon presentation in Paris this season instead of a show in New York. They insist, however, that this isn’t because everyone else is doing it, and it doesn’t mean they won’t return home next season. For them, the collection itself informed their decision to show in Paris. Overall, Tome’s Fall outing is an intriguing break from their brand’s minimally minded DNA. As such, it deserved a fresh, slightly exotic arena in which to be seen. Lobo and Martin are known for their sharply structured, architectural silhouettes, and now they’re hoping to be noticed for something else—something in the realm of “more is more” fashion. It’s not so much that ’80s excess we’ve seen come down the runway in droves these past few weeks, but instead, a feeling of heft and a swirling together of prints, fabrics, and colors.Collaging was what pushed Lobo and Martin to create their Fall collection and, specifically, the work of Harlem-based artist Tschabalala Self. The designers met with her, consulted with her, and ended up casting her in the lookbook. Self uses materials like old textiles and painted fabrics to create mesmerizing mixed-media works. You could spot her vision in the patchwork zebra and leopard jacquard jackets, the intarsia knits, and the heavy wool blankets wrapped around models like protective cocoons. The graphic pattern on some silk garments was inspired by the work of feminist artist Judy Chicago, while others borrowed from the quirky, brilliant aesthetic of the Cameroonian photographer Samuel Fosso. Everything was handmade in New York and, as the designers willingly admitted, the process was at times quite painstaking. This was Lobo and Martin’s version of a couture collection, in which the typical confines of their brand heritage, their show schedule, their subtle materials, and their monochromatic color palettes were thrown out the window in favor of something a little more daring, a little more kaleidoscopic. This new Tome look might not last forever, but it was a commendable switch-up. Anyway, what’s so wrong with taking a little trip out of town and out of bounds?
27 February 2018
Runway show locations have gotten somewhat out of control. Coming off of a brisk, late night that involved standing on the streets of Bushwick for an hour past the scheduled showtime for Alexander Wang, all while getting corralled and hollered at by ornery security guards, the Tome presentation today was quite the treat. There was no party bus, no secret location, no far-off venue or elaborate set. Not a Nicki Minaj or Kim Kardashian West in sight. Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin are just not about that life. For Spring, the designers chose to stage a quiet, intimate dance performance choreographed by one of their favorite and longtime muses, Pam Tanowitz. Inside a small theater space near the West Side Highway, models flanked the stage while at center lithe bodies moved to the sounds of drums, violin, and piano. It was, in a mid–Fashion Week haze, a calming environment to say the least.It was also enthralling, not only because of the dancers but also because of Lobo and Martin’s lovely clothes. Just as Tanowitz’s work focuses on deconstructing and reconstructing classical ballet, the designers took the colors of the rainbow, broke them apart, and pieced them back together again by incorporating gorgeous pleating, floral prints, and patterns like stripes and plaids. The range of vibrantly hued and pleated dresses were especially dreamy, as were the asymmetrical wrap skirts. Shirting and knitwear were also strong, especially the pieces that came in pops of red and yellow.Appropriately, Lobo and Martin’s collection looked easy and effortless and ideal to move around in—whether dancing on stage or running to and from another show in some remote part of New York. The new wares from Tome were a pleasure to look at, and Tanowitz’s performance was a hypnotizing joy amid the chaos.
11 September 2017
Like many designers showing at New York Fashion Week, Tome’s Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin were inspired by this year’s Women’s March on Washington. Unlike some of their peers (mainly those focused on big business), their inspiration came through in a way that felt genuine and not part of the latest trend of opportunistic philanthropy. They also gave some serious love to the Guerrilla Girls, an anonymous all-female art coalition fighting for women’s rights around the world. Martin mentioned that they’d actually had the chance to meet with a couple of its members after the march. As a cheeky nod to the group and their work, the designers embellished the backs of blazers with bananas and glistening “GG” initials.Other than the funny fruit, the rest of the sustainable collection was devoid of any obvious ornamentation. The most appealing pieces were those anchored in simplicity but elevated by Lobo and Martin’s easy playfulness. The clothing equivalent of statements like “Free the Nipple!” and “My Body My Choice!” was a structured two-button black blazer with fur arms and lining, with a subtle white silhouette of a naked woman’s bust and torso on the front. There was also cropped white shirting with corsetry that purposely didn’t cling too tightly. Jersey dresses featured circle motifs placed just so over the chest and the ubiquitous pussy-hat-pink made a nice cameo on three light and airy day-to-night dresses.“Right now, women and their bodies are under attack,” Lobo said backstage. “I think it’s important, that no matter whether you’re a fashion designer or an activist, that you make a statement and speak whenever you have the opportunity—all of our choices this season were very deliberate.” Tome has always been a brand that caters to all women, no matter their shape, size, or age. Today it was the female form that gave them their aesthetic strength. Models who walked the show included three plus-size women and one older model with slicked-back gray hair. But the designers eschew the label of embracing diversity. “I think inclusiveness is a more interesting word,” Martin said, moments after the show. “Diversity suggests outsiders, whereas inclusiveness is just about acceptance with no questions asked.
”That attitude translated well into a show produced with an array of references in mind—the music included activist-songwriter Harry Belafonte and hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa singing “Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing,” while stylistic tributes were made to artists like Dorothea Tanning, Louise Bourgeois, and Alina Szapocznikow, and their artistic renderings of dismembered female body parts.Tome’s efforts were refreshingly honest and the smart garments proved as much. The collection had power, humor, insight, and plenty of battle-ready bodies.
12 February 2017
As this reviewer has often noted, one of the bonus pleasures of talking to designers about their collections is that you often get exposed to influences of theirs you might never have known about otherwise. Such was the case today, as Ryan Lobo and Ramon Martin introduced their latest offering, which took the paintings of Austrian artist Maria Lassnig as its jumping-off point. Lassnig, who passed away in 2014 at the ripe old age of 94, is hardly obscure. But neither is she a household name. Her work is well worth checking out. So too theTomecollection it inspired.What Lobo and Martin got from Lassnig, in general, was this collection’s vivid palette and its languid, body-conscious quality. That’sbody conscious, notbody-con—though the new Tome pieces in black jersey were certainly svelte and the ribbed knits undeniably formfitting, the looks were more suggestive than bodacious. Meanwhile, the lineup was nicely balanced between those slinky items and ones with a more romantic sensibility, conveyed either through flowing volumes or coquettish ruffles or flounces. The consistent element was this collection’s focus on the waist, nipped in variously by bows, soft corsetry, lacing, ties, and wraps.Lobo and Martin weren’t rewriting the Tome script here. That was by design—their primary focus this season was to update a few core ideas, like their signature shirting-inspired items and the broad karate pants they’ve shown more or less consistently since the brand’s launch. As they explained, an appreciation for consistency was one other note they took from Lassnig, who circled a few of the same things again and again, from varying angles, over the course of her long career. And the duo are doubling down on the idea: Next week they’ll be launching Classics, a range of evergreen pieces that will be for sale on the Tome website.
9 December 2016
It was a few seasons ago thatTome’sRyan Lobo first told reviewers that he and his design partner, Ramon Martin, were looking to defy the perception of their designs as overly academic—“all white shirts and black separates,” as Lobo put it. Today, Martin and Lobo showed a collection that, yes, still had plenty of black and white, but this one put sensuality first. It’s been five years for Tome, a milestone for any brand, and there was a real sense of joy that rang through the clothes, which boasted geometric prints inspired by Bridget Riley’s artwork alongside frills and frippery at the shoulders, cuffs, and hems, seemingly all just for the fun of it. And when it comes to fashion, never underestimate the appeal of “fun.” This is, after all, an industry that operates first and foremost on desire.Which isn’t to say that Lobo and Martin abandoned their particular brand of female-first idealism: The show’s notes came with a Germaine Greer quote calling for a female-led political revolution culled from a Sinéad O’Connor song, and backstage, both designers took care to mention the many women artists who’ve inspired them, from Louise Bourgeois and Pina Bausch to Tina Chow and Madonna. The collection’s prints fittingly came from Piece & Co., a women’s collective in India, and handbags and leather bracelets were created in a partnership with Intel that imbued them with a chip that measures environmental toxins, ambient temperature, and air pressure—technology meant to make women feel safer in their communities.Inspiration for this collection came, as it always does for the duo, from the relationship between women and art. In a break from tradition, two of the artists mentioned today, Malick Sidibé and Seydou Keïta, are men, though Martin argued that since the subjects of their photographs are women, it doesn’t count. “Plus,” he added, “it’s our fifth birthday, so we get to cut loose.” If the brand’s excellent, inclusive casting—among them “a transgender model, a model in her 60s, a curvy model,” as Lobo recounted—and irreproachably romantic slit-open gypsy skirts and 1930s-style lace wiggle dresses are any indication, this season, they should really have something to celebrate.
11 September 2016
Ramon Martin and Ryan Lobo typically look to a female artist for inspiration when they’re designing their collections forTome; it’s much rarer that the artist looks back. But such was the case on Tuesday, when Lobo took this reviewer on a tour of The FLAG Art Foundation’s exhibition of Patricia Cronin’s “Shrine for Girls,” which he and Martin had initially seen at the 56th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale. Cronin, who was on hand at the gallery (and later at Tome’s studio) to discuss her work, was inspired by three recent tragedies that had to do with the global plight of exploited women—the 276 Nigerian Chibok schoolgirls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014; two teenage Indian girls who were gang-raped, and lynched at the edge of their village,Katra Sahadatganj,in 2014; and the “fallen” women who worked in forced labor during the 20th century at Ireland's Magdalene asylums and laundries (memorably shown in the 2013 filmPhilomena).In Venice, the installation consisted of what Cronin called three “shrines” that she created by heaping garments on the marble altars of Venice’s 16th-century Chiesa di San Gallo: brightly colored saris for the Indian girls; hijabs for the Chibok girls; and gray and white aprons for the fallen women in Ireland. Small photographs set off to the side of each depicted scenes from the tragedies, and there were three large-scale painted portraits of a victim from each at the other end of the gallery, part of Cronin’s intention to magnify what is called “the identifiable victim effect.” Naming a victim makes them more sympathetic, and thus harder to ignore. As the exhibition came to New York and continues on its international tour, the Venetian marble altars have been replaced by wooden crates, in which the clothes themselves are packed and sent.Cronin's shrines bring to mind a massacre, a genocide, a reckoning; one realizes that a great quantity of discarded clothes in large, careless piles is never a good sign. “Clothes felt especially powerful, because they’re so personal,” said Cronin, “and we know the form they’re supposed to take, what they look like in [Tome’s] studio right now, for instance—and this is not that. This is powerful because it reminds you what is absent, which are the bodies.
”Which brings us back to the point of this review: Those looking to clothe their own bodies will do well with Tome’s latest collection, which relayed those three shrines not into any literal translation, but into a celebration of textile as totem, the personal becoming (somewhat) political. “We’re very invested in sustainability,” explained Lobo. This season, that meant more up-cycled denim (here with some recycled leather accents) and responsibly sourced cashmere, but above all, creating pieces that women will want to buy and wear again and again (often inspired by Tome’s own customers, who, for instance, clamored for a resurgence of pink tulle from Spring, here shown in a pleated skirt). The best examples here? Charming cabana-striped cotton jumpsuits with generous bows tied at the waist, Malhia Kent tweeds woven into trousers and jackets, and the easy shirtdresses and sexy-yet-easy sheaths that laced up the sides to a waist-whittling effect, and promised to take all of the drama out of day-to-night dressing. All the better to focus on what really matters.
14 June 2016