For their Spring 2011 Fashion Installation, Candela designers. Natalia Kuks-Jacobs and Gabriela Perezutti-Isacson transformed the Jane Hotel into a trading post out of the early 1900s. Shoes and accessories were displayed on barrels and shipping crates, interspersed with jars full of buttons and burlap sacks. “It’s Native American inspired with Victorian elements. We chose a trading post because that’s where both cultures would have mixed. Communication was new, travel was new.” The Native American and Victorian influences were very strong throughout the collection, although some of the dresses could have been designed in the 1920s. Natalia herself wore a sheath from the Fall 2010 Collection that could have been hand stitched for a flapper in 1922.
But despite these deep-seated influences, there was a timeless quality to the clothes. “Anything is wearable, and can be worn in 10 years or 10 years ago,” said Gabriela, and she’s right. I would have gladly walked out the show wearing any of the outfits. And while some of them looked straight out of a Brooklyn flea market, the quality of the stitching and draping kept them modern and unique.
