by Ian MacKintosh

Born in Greenbrae and raised in Novato, California, Andrew Wedge has a long list of accomplishments. He completed an Intensive Program at Parsons School of Design with Honors, studied at Pratt Institute and returned to California and to pursue his dream to become a fashion designer when he joined the Academy of Art University in 2006.

The 24 year old designer has worked as an intern for Bay Area designers Sara Shepherd and Selfmade Apparel and in 2009; he was nominated for one of the most prestige fashion awards in San Francisco, the “Visionary Fashion Designer”. His latest women’s wear collection was created to give any woman a sense of power and strength.

PINK caught up with Andrew in San Francisco, where he plans to spend the summer before heading to Paris in the fall.

PINK: How old were you when you came out?
Andrew: 14 years old

How was growing up gay for you?

Well, growing up is always a difficult process, however, I was lucky enough that the gay part of my growth really was a non issue. My friends and family were incredibly supportive of me, and really didn’t make an issue out of it one way or another. Even when I played waterpolo, not one guy ever made a comment or joke. We were all friends, and my sexuality was simply not an issue.

Any advice you would give young gay readers that you wish you had?

Be adaptable. Rarely does life work out the way we had planned. However, if you are able to adapt and grow from changing circumstances, then you can really accomplish anything.

Gay Pride is coming up. Do you have any plans and do you feel its important to be a part of pride activities?

For San Francisco Pride, I really don’t have many plans yet but I will be volunteering at the Folsom booth one of the days. I think Pride can be very important. It is an amazing opportunity to meet new people, to give back, and to celebrate. Why would anyone want to miss that?

You were born and raised in the Bay Area and then moved to NYC, a city considered the fashion capital.  What made you return to San Francisco?  Are you inspired by San Francisco?

San Francisco will always be my home and will always inspire my work. It is one of the most diverse, fascinating, inspiring, and beautiful cities in the world. Living in New York was an amazing experience, most importantly in that it gave me a new found respect for San Francisco.

The inspiration for your collection came from the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916 and the fear of great white sharks in general.  You said that you wanted to channel this fear into the collection and create a look that gave the wearer a sense of power and strength.  The power and strength is clear in your collection but explain how the great white sharks come into play.

As the collection developed, the inspiration really split into two paths. One was creating a collection that would transform the wearer into a strong powerful predator. A woman, who, like a great white, would instantly create a sense of awe and really radiate an inner sense of confidence and power. The other path was to reflect on what happens during an attack such as the thrashing of the shark, the churning of the water, etc. It was important to me that every single detail within the collection reflects those two concepts.

Who are some of your design influences?

My very first introduction into the world of fashion was through Tom Ford during his early Gucci years. He was my earliest fashion hero. I admired his work and his views on what fashion should be.

You launched a line two years ago, The Andrew Wedge Collection, but have put it on hold to grow more as a designer.  Is your current plan to apprentice at a design house and then re-launch your line in the future?

In the fashion industry, I feel that apprenticeship is an incredibly important step. As designers, we all have such strong perspectives on culture and fashion. I was fortunate to have assisted fashion designers Sara Shepherd, and the late Linus Mendenhall. Approaching fashion through their eyes was an amazing experience and gave me a fresh look at how, as a designer, I view the world. I would love to have that opportunity again.

Have you thought about designing men’s wear?  There is something about you that makes one think of you as a men’s wear designer.

Menswear is something I have always been very curious to try. As a gay man, much of what I see everyday is menswear. As a result, my collections have strong menswear components within them. I believe it could be a very interesting experiment to do a menswear collection.

What is next for Andrew Wedge?

I want to apprentice at a design house either back in New York or in Europe.

NYC’s finest Fashionistas, thirsty to get their ‘shop on’, will crowd the streets near 5th Avenue,  at the ultra trendy 7W Venue located at 7 West 34th Street at 5th Avenue for the next installment of the Sassy City Chicks Fashion Bash. Chic summer fashions theme up our new NYC 2 day Fashion Bash, as various top design labels will sell at unbelievable 30-80% off retail prices. Designer labels, up and coming designers, and online stores will be busy selling their trendy fashions. Shoppers will experience an unforgettable evening filled with shopping, sipping on complimentary Offley White Tonic Port cocktails and Crispin Hard Apple Cider and getting mini-spa treatments at the trendy and elegant RANI Spa Lounge.

Fashionistas can listen to the beats of DJ Marvilous, and the evening will feature hip photography from Positive Light Promotions. This event is designed for the fashion-forward women of New York longing for a ladies night out. Shoppers who attend this event with a Sassy Tote Ticket ($20) will receive our fabulous Tote with a bevy of trendy goodies valued at over $50. We are excited to introduce our “Shopper Preview” from 5-5:30pm for the first 150 ticket purchases per day, allowing them early access to the showroom floor. General Admission tickets are also available to purchase in advance or at the door for $10.

Wednesday, June 2nd & Thursday, June 3rd (5-10pm)
Thursday, June 3rd: Exlcusive Media Preview 12-2pm
@ The 7W New York 7 West 34th Street (at 5th Avenue) New York, New York 10001

By Duane Wells

Since launching in 2001, the Robert Graham brand has combined high style, sublime tailoring and whimsical design in a manner beguiling fashion watchers around the globe.  But then again, such was to be expected from the label’s designer Robert Stock, who partnered with Ralph Lauren in the mid-1960’s and ultimately launched the wildly successful Chaps collections which almost single-handedly caused a fashion revolution.

In keeping with the spirit in which Stock’s signature Robert Graham collection was created, the designer whose playful, uber-patterned shirts with their colorful and contrasting reveals at the collar, cuffs and hemlines have been worn by every one from rapper 50 cent and Gilles Marini to Jorge Posada and Cherry Jones, has created a new line of shirts, themed to specific MLB teams.  Take note, sports fans because Included in the RG MLB designer shirt line are the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, St Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins.

For each team, there are 3 different shirts styles:  The oxford shirt, which retails for $198; the oxford with an embroidered baseball player on the back, retailing for $248, and the Limited Edition All Star which also retails for $248.

Robert Graham is carried in more than 1,500 outlets globally including Saks Fifth Ave, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Harvey Nichols, Harrods, Frank Stella, Fred Segal, Mark Shale, Lee Newman, Lauretta’s and Harry Rosen.

The RG MLB shirts will also be available at MLB.com, luxury boxes at stadiums nationwide, as well as on the new, soon to debut MLB Network.

In other RG news, rock n’ roll fans will be over the moon to know that Graham has also designed  exclusive limited edition Elvis Presley shirts for Lansky at The Peabody .  There are only 50 each of the  ‘Elvis’ shirt  and the  ‘Presley’ shirt—both of which retail for $298 and  are only available at Lansky’s retail store in Memphis or through the company‘s  website www.Lanskybros.com.

For more information on the latest Robert Graham collection, visit www.RobertGraham.us.

Former Heatherette designer debuts menswear collection

Photos courtesy of Traver Rains

by Duane Wells

As co-founder and half of the creative life force behind the Heatherette fashion label, Traver Rains has been a guest judge on Project Runway, hosted America’s Next Top Model, launched a signature MAC make-up line and dressed everyone from New York socialites like Paris Hilton and Lydia Hearst to Hollywood favorites on the order of Gwen Stefani, L’il Kim, Pamela Anderson, Rihanna, Nicole Richie and the late Anna Nicole Smith.  But at heart,  Traver is admittedly more of a cowboy than a  city slicker as evidenced by his personal collection of cowboy hats and his affection for the rural farm in Montana where he grew up.  It is no surprise then that Traver’s two newest ventures were actually inspired by the place he calls home rather than fashionable flavor of the month trends.

Last month Traver launched T. Rains, his first menswear collection, which is chock full of sexy tees, hoodies and tanks emblazoned with  Pop Art-inspired images of cheeseburgers, hot dogs, horses toking up and others inspired by the Sex Pistols , iconic slogans and pop culture in general.  With rare exception, each of the images in the T. Rains collection were shot by the designer himself.  After years of watching photographers shoot his collections and dreaming up the creations that would land on the covers of magazines Rains decided to take up photography with gusto again.

This past February Traver celebrated the fruits of his labor with an exhibition of his work at his Los Angeles studio, which is aptly named ‘The Ranch’.   In attendance were Aubrey O’ Day, Alan Cummings and bevy of other notable and distinctively hip Angelenos.

I stopped by Traver’s studio recently for a chat about his foray into menswear with the T. Rains collection, his photography and what he’s going to get up to next.  Here’s what he had to say:

So before we get to the collection, what inspired your recent interest in photography?

I was in Montana a year and a half ago and I was helping my mother with the foaling and calving.  On our property there are all these amazing old buildings — not to mention the fact that Montana is just so beautiful in general — and there was this old barn that I had grown up around that had kinda fallen down during the winter and they just burned it.

They burned this amazing barn wood that’s like a hundred years old and super weathered.

So I kind of wanted to capture these buildings from the Homestead era that were built when there was absolutely nothing in the Northwest.  And I wanted to do it in a unique way so that it was like a fashion story.  That’s really what inspired me to fly a model out and make the dresses and put the whole thing together.

And how did you come to decide to blend your photography with your new men’s collection?

Design is still ingrained in my brain after doing it for the last ten years so as I was taking the photos I started thinking [these images] would make great graphics for t-shirts.  Then I started thinking about it more and more and I thought,  T-shirts are easy, I can do that.  So I put together a little collection of images and then I’d think of a good image that I’d want to put on a shirt and then I’d go back to photography.

How do you describe your photography and the images you’ve chosen for this new line of T-shirts?

I don’t know.  I feel like it’s sort of a mix of the Andy Warhol pop thing but at the same time it’s a little bit more rustic with my western vibe, a sense of humor and some playfulness.  And then the underlying tone of the line is very sexual.

Did you always envision getting into the world of menswear?

With Heatherette we always intended to do a men’s line but never had the opportunity to do one.  I designed most of the menswear that you would see in the shows and we always had boys in the shows because it’s fun to cast the boys. [Laughs]  But it also kept the shows interesting even though [the boys] were more of an accessory because the meat and potatoes was always the girls.  So yeah I always had an interest in menswear.

It feels like this collection is an extension of your own personal style?

Oh yeah totally. I like making things I want to wear. [Laughs]

Right now your collection includes tees and hoodies, but are there other things we should expect to see in a Traver Rains men’s collection in the near future?

It’s so funny, but everybody says cowboy hats, so I have a feeling that’s coming. [Laughs]

Well  they are  kind of your signature.

I don’t know, do you think cowboy hats are a trend?

I think you’d definitely have to start that trend but there is something to be said about the fact that in  the new hit FX series Justified Timothy Olyphant runs around doing good wearing a cowboy hat, so who knows?

Oh my gosh, you’re right. I guess I better hop on it.

Find out more about Traver’s new men’s collection at www.T-Rains.com.  And be sure to check out his photography at www.TraverRains.com.

Dockers launches a  hip new line of re-mastered classic khakis

By Duane Wells

Forget what you thought you knew about khakis because Dockers is about blow away every preconceived notion you have about the pant that has  in recent years become more commonly thought of as  dad-friendly than fashion forward.

For the first time ever Dockers is debuting a collection of premium products in the U.S. that promises to rival the more au courant looks that style watchers have been glimpsing from the brand all over Europe and the rest of the world for the better part of the last decade or more. Beginning  this weekend, Dockers new Khaki  collection will be unveiled  in a special installation that  promises to usher in a new era of khakis made with an unwavering commitment to impeccable craftsmanship.

The new Dockers collection is deeply rooted in products that re-imagine vintage styles and are executed with a pedigree of authenticity. That said, the Dockers collection which will celebrate its exclusive public debut on March 27th at L.A. hipster fashion emporium, American Rag Cie, is centered around the brand’s quintessential khaki pant: The Dockers K-1 Khaki.

At the event, this preeminent khaki  will be re-introduced in 8 different styles and 16 new colors. With fresh silhouettes that redefine any preconceived notions you may have about khakis in general or Dockers in particular and a singular attention to detail, the collection features an array of styles including the K-1 Cramerton Rigid (a clean, rigid finish); the K-1 Cramerton Affected (a vintage look with resin-baked whiskers and unique staining); the K-1 Acadia (a rip and repair destruction with multiple dyeing processes on flat twill); K-1 Cords (a vintage look with various wash and dye methods and buttery soft texture); the K-1 Hull (a canvas with a three dimensional finish and whiskers); the K-1 Jaspe (a granite jaspe fabric with a distressed finish); the K-1 Sepia (a sepia finish for an authentic, rust stained pant); and K-1 Frosted (an over-dye khaki with multiple tinting and drying processes).

Next up, expect a new flow of khakis to hit the floor direct from the Dockers line this August. This U.S. exclusive includes the D-1 Pocket Cargo and the Slim Tapered Pleat.

On the subject of why Dockers decided to launch its new line of khakis at American Rag, Jennifer Sey, Vice President of Global Marketing for the Dockers brand  simply said of the company‘s decision, “We are thrilled to get our khakis in front of new consumers at American Rag.  It’s exciting to see a leading retailer with a highly discriminating consumer select Dockers as their khaki brand of choice because of its authenticity, authority and relevance.”

Jennifer Althouse, Buyer for American Rag Cie echoed that sentiment saying, “This is a groundbreaking moment for American Rag Cie and Dockers. We can’t wait for our customers to discover the great new line of khakis, and are certain that these pants are a cut above for the LA market.”

After seeing these new khakis first hand and examining the workmanship and attention to detail , this new assortment of khakis is a perfect fit for American Rag Cie and its discerning clientele, as the classic khaki has been given a thoroughly modern and unmistakably cool twist at long last.  Hoorah!

To celebrate the launch of this trailblazing collection of khakis, on March 27, 2010 from1 PM – 5 PM shoppers at American Rag Cie can enter to win special in-store prizes and take an exclusive peek at a few of the first pairs of khaki products made by LS&CO., as presented by Lynn Downey, the Levi Strauss & Co. Historian. A private cocktail party will follow that evening, where guests will experience the timeless luxury of a great pair of pants.

The product presentation will play off of the store’s eclectic aesthetic and diverse selection of contemporary apparel. American Rag Cie will transform the area near the entrance of their world famous “denim bar” into a special shop-in-shop installation, where the collection of Dockers® khakis will be permanently and prominently housed. The environment features the signature Dockers® wing and anchor hanging from the ceiling and illuminated by hanging light bulbs, and the rustic space will be accompanied by a window display that runs along La Brea Boulevard.

About the Dockers® Brand

The Dockers Brand has embodied the spirit of khaki for more than 20 years. Quality? Always. Authenticity? Check. We make khakis that do their job so you can do yours. We’re talking good-looking pants in a full range of fits, and the essential goods to go with them, for men and women. No compromises in quality. Just versatile, essential style. Day to night. Monday to Sunday. In over 40 countries around the world. Wearing the pants has never looked so good. For information on Dockers® and it’s products call 1-800-DOCKERS or visit www.Dockers.com.

Orlando Carreras may be the most well known designer you’ve never heard of—until now

Orlando Carreras sits limber but confident on the couch in his Hell’s Kitchen showroom. Chances are you’ve got something that he’s designed somewhere in your wardrobe without even knowing it; the boyishly good-looking, out and proud designer was, for 12 years, the head of Gap Design. For six of those years he was head of men’s design at Old Navy and since 2007, he’s been the designer behind his own independent label, Orlando Carreras.

The label has steadily been winning fans within the fashion industry—for its relevant and innovative men’s collections—as well as from common folk who could care less about what season they are wearing but who do know a good shirt when they see one. PINK Magazine has been watching Carreras since he flew the coo at Pacific Sunwear and are most dazzled to discover that at such an early stage in his label’s development, he struck a deal to supply the wardrobe for legendary gay PBS show, In The Life.

Why would anyone leave their plum job at Gap and dive into the treacherous seas of self-employment, especially in the volatile world of fashion? It is clear that while Carreras has the talent and skill to lead one of the world’s largest clothing manufacturers, his vision is such that it could never be so constrained.

“Everything, from the time I was 15, was geared towards fashion design. Since then I knew I wanted to have my own label,” says Carreras of his intentions. But after graduating college (he went to both Parsons and FIT) he was met with the stark reality that starting up your own business is, to be blunt, expensive. “I took the jobs that would look good on my résumé, never losing sight that one day I would be able to hopefully branch out on my own,” says Carreras of why he opted to design for mainstream businesses like the Gap and Pacific Sunwear.

But don’t let his reluctance to join the world of commercial fashion fool you; he’s distinctly proud of the years he spent building Gap, Old Navy and Pacific Sunwear. A glow in the eye and a subtle smile appears on the designer’s face while modestly downplaying the successes he reigned over at said companies. Creative types never like to admit they’re part of a machine, even if that machine produces something everyone wants.

“What I do today is the complete opposite of the Gap” Carreras is quoted as saying to DNR, the industry standard for menswear. While any casual observer might beg to differ—his label offers wardrobe staples and important key pieces—Orlando Carreras is a clear departure from the staid and mass-produced garments offered by his former employer. Conservative staples such as button-ups, plaids and knits appear but are at once thrown out of wack with unexpected seems and fine-tuned with luxurious fabrics. Micro-gingham shirts, lightweight knits and zigzag seeming are just some of the ways Carreras is able to make fashion-forward menswear without being gauche. You won’t find any over-embellished T-shirts in this collection just things like “Seersucker gone-wrong” (describing one piece with horizontal rather than vertical grooves).

“It was a combination of two personal tragedies (his father’s death and his sister getting cancer) that finally made me realize that I needed to start doing what I wanted to do, and it was at that point that my label was born,” says Carreras of what finally pulled him back to where he once saw himself as a young man. So Carreras packed up his belongings and moved out of his home in L.A., left his job at Pacific Sunwear and took one of the biggest chances of his life. He moved back to New York City and began Orlando Carreras.

The gig with In The Life is surprising because most designers with young collections would be fearful of attaching themselves so closely to a gay TV show, nonetheless a gay TV show that discusses politics. “I wasn’t looking to get my clothes on In The Life, it’s actually kind of serendipitous how it happened (Carreras met the crew while seeking out a new showroom space) but they saw my Web site and loved my stuff,” says Carreras of how this all came about. “Part of what inspires me to design has to do with honesty and backbone, and when I met the host of In The Life, I knew that he was just this kind of person.”

Once one understands more deeply the kinds of things that make Carreras tick, one realizes that his designing for the show was always meant to be. He’s not one to let an outside trend dig its way into his mind and force him off his naturally born course. “When I’m designing, I’m not thinking the economics or how I can get someone to buy my next season. I follow my inspirations. I get inspired by anything important to me—like the fight against Prop 8—to anything that makes me smile, like Barack Obama.” Heady subjects for fashion inspiration, but nonetheless, they certainly put Carreras on the right path for success as his garments manage to be both interesting and wearable all at once—something the industry considers the holy grail of men’s fashion.

“I’m thinking of the guy who thinks outside the box. He is maybe not so creative by day but does something very different outside of his 9-5,” Carreras says of who he envisions wearing his clothing. “There are more people like that than you think,” says Carreras, “I keep meeting them everyday.”

From taste to temerity, it has become clear that Carreras is the kind of designer worth spending a few extra bucks on. Most men want clothes that will help them look handsome or smart—something Orlando Carreras does with ease—but it is the added bonus of knowing that there’s a little bit of gumptious gay pride in each stitch that truly pulls us into the orbit of this rising star.

For retail information and more on Orlando Carreras log onto Orlandocarreras.com.