Chris Han

Maybe it's taken you a while to catch on, and hey, np. Coutorture, aside from the writing, the photo galleries, the videos, and the network, is producing it's own photo shoots, refreshed a few times each week, to give you our say on fashion (without you know, too much of the pedantic say). That's right we're shooting and shooting, and barely breaking for lunch (although Dumont burgers have been known to be ordered), and in the midst of this madness, we've enlisted some of our friends and heros to shoot for us as well. This week, we're featuring a Coutorture exclusive by Wayne Liu, a photographer whose subjects do not catwalk nor pose. Hell, that's one of the main reasons why we wanted to work with him. For a fashion website, we kind of like that sort of thing.


The shoot took place on one sunny Saturday in a former public school house (now studio space for artists), in the Lower East Side. Liu brought his ICP (no, that's not the Insane Clown Posse) friends/colleagues/assistants (who can tell these days) and we all drank a couple of pots of coffee and ran around the place. There were photographers, models, photographers who were models, artists who were wondering why these strange faces were drinking coffee in their doorways. Liu was not drinking coffee, but shooting in the crooks of the place. We swear, we only saw an elbow, bootlace, and wisp of hair from him all day (we caught up later).


For the shoot, we've dressed the models in some pieces from the Chris Han Spring/Summer 2008 collection. Han's ethereal inspiration, her ability to make clothes that are wearable but still beautiful, coincided nicely with Liu's ability to bring out a haunted rawness in his subjects.


Links:
Haunted by Wayne Liu
Chris Han Spring 2008 Collection
Chris Han Pre-Fashion Week Studio Visit
Chris Han Fall 2008 Collection & backstage interview
Chris Han Spring 2008 In Brace Yourself

We've become good buddies with the talented and gracious Chris Han. We visited Han for our pre-fashion week video series, attended her Fall 08 runway show after interview her backstage (see below!), and featured some of her S/S 08 garments in today's Coutorture photo shoot. We've actually one more (well, at least for now) Chris Han trick up our sleeve, but you'll have to wait a few days before we let you in on that secret. Han's 2008 collections were inspired by the ethereal, but for this shoot we chose the black basics Han is so skilled at creating. Even though her garments suit the conservative professional doesn't mean they can't be seized for the opportunity to stir up some Friday afternoon mischief.

Coutorture produced a lot of videos this fashion week. We had runway videos, backstage makeup, and designer interviews, making us very busy bees for most of the week. Check out some of our favorite designer interviews including Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein, Chris Han, Isaac Mizrahi, Tory Burch, Naeem Khan, Michael Kors, Joanna Mastroianni, Monique Lhuillier, John Varvatos, Donna Karen at DKNY, Ashleigh Verrier and our very favorite Oscar De La Renta. We have a ton more so please check out all of our video coverage of Fashion Week!

Chris Han, one of the subjects for our pre-fashion week video series, showed her A/W 08 collection in the tents last night. Angelic images served as inspiration for the collection and if it were someone else, you might expect weightless frocks and feathered headbands. Han, though, presented a collection that was angelic in a darker, more classical sense. The pieces, a dusty plum transparent shell top, a pair of sleek wool trousers, a stained glass yellow blouse, came together to create a collection that was more dynamic than one would expect to come from angels (though not from Han). Though some textures where particularly high fashion most of the collection was wearable and accessible.

Maybe you haven't shaved your legs, maybe your planning some laying-in-the-grass time, or maybe you just feel like having some extra fabric floating as you stride. The maxi dress appears every season (sometimes abundantly so ) because the shape compliments many body types and many activities. Although this season, everyone's screaming about other trends and patterns, the maxi dress has definitely made more than one appearance. Here are our favorites, by Twinkle, Chris Han, Sue Stemp, and Yigal Azrouel.

One of the designers in our pre-fashion week video series is New York designer Chris Han. Han's traditionally dark palate in trim silhouettes, is not without a particular lightness (manifested, in the past, with chiffon, beading, and draping) that make her designs well-balanced and, therefore, well received. This time around, Han tells us about her A/W 08 collection, inspired by angelic imagery, and her preparations for fashion week. Fashion week is just around the corner, so here's a taste of what it takes to make it happen.

More: Pre-fashion Week Studio Visit With Joanna Mastroianni
More: Pre-fashion Week Studio Visit With Sue Stemp