Rachel Comey

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Rachel Comey is an American independent fashion designer based in New York City. She is the founder of Rachel Comey, a clothing, shoes, and accessories brand known for its "intellectual, arts-and-crafts aesthetic." [1]

Contents

Early life

Comey was born outside of Hartford, Connecticut. [2] In 1994, she graduated from the University of Vermont, [3] where she focused on Asian studies, printmaking, and sculpture. [3]

Career and brand

After college, Comey worked at an art gallery in Vermont and designed a line of novelty underwear. [3] [4] In 1997, she moved to New York, where she worked as a freelance production assistant and later as a design consultant at Theory. [5] During that time she began making costumes for her then-boyfriend Eugene Hutz's band, Gogol Bordello. [5] In 2001, after her designs caught the eye of a stylist friend, Comey was commissioned to make two hand-painted shirts for musician David Bowie. [6] She charged him $100 per shirt. [6] Soon after, Comey was fired from Theory for performing outside work. [7] [5]

In September 2001, Comey presented her first menswear collection. [8] In 2004, Comey expanded her brand to include womenswear. [5] [9] Of her Spring-Summer 2004 ready-to-wear collection, Vogue published, "The overall mood was pure summer, and the collection full of confident, easy clothes for cool customers with discerning eyes." [9]

In 2009, Comey was inducted into Council of Fashion Designers of America. [5]

Her clothes have been worn by celebrities and artists including Miranda July, [10] Rashida Jones, [11] Lady Gaga [12] and more.

Fashion shows

Comey's first official fashion show took place in September 2001, days before 9/11, near her studio in Tribeca. [8] The ad-hoc, menswear-only show was held on the street and featured models including Waris Ahluwalia and Devendra Banhart. [8]

To present her Spring-Summer 2014 ready-to-wear collection, Comey hosted a sit-down dinner at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, Brooklyn [13] featuring a performance by Justin Vivian Bond. [8] Thus began a series of untraditional presentations taking place at venues including Hauser Wirth & Schimmel in Los Angeles, CA. [14] To celebrate the brand's fifteenth anniversary in 2016, Comey presented her Spring-Summer 2017 ready-to-wear collection on the sidewalk of Crosby Street in New York City, [15] a nod to her first-ever fashion show in 2001. [8]

In addition to choosing unconventional venues, Comey is also known for casting unconventional models in her fashion shows. [16] For her Spring-Summer 2016 ready-to-wear show, Comey included "artists, eccentrics, dancers, and businesswomen" in addition to professional models. [16]

Unisex line

In March 2017, Comey introduced a line of unisex clothing [17] – "because clothes are for everyone." [18]

Pop culture

In 2002, Comey appeared in a documentary short about Gogol Bordello. [19]

In 2014, Comey played herself in the "Rachel" episode of the web series High Maintenance . [20]

Personal life

Comey lives with her husband, Sean Carmody, [5] and two children in New York's SoHo neighborhood. [21]

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References

  1. ↑ "Rachel Comey Goes West". The Business of Fashion. February 2, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Rachel Comey - About". www.rachelcomey.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Vermont, University of. "Vermont Quarterly : University of Vermont". www.uvm.edu. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Fashion Week Questionnaire: Rachel Comey". Interview Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Aleksander, Irina (November 13, 2013). "Rachel Comey Aims for a Bigger Slice of Fashion's Pie". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "How Rachel Comey Turned Two Shirts For David Bowie Into One Of New York's Coolest Brands". BuzzFeed. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Rachel Comey Shoes Designer - Career Advice" . Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Hyland, Véronique. "Rachel Comey Has What Every Indie Designer Hopes For". The Cut. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Borrelli-Persson, Laird. "Rachel Comey Spring 2004 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show". Vogue. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Rachel Comey Pictures and Photos | Getty Images". www.gettyimages.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Rachel Comey - Backstage - September 2016 - New York Fashion Week Photos and Images | Getty Images". www.gettyimages.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  12. ↑ "8 Outfits That Prove Celebrities Dress for the Season They Want, Not the Season They're in". August 3, 2017.
  13. ↑ Ashlock, Jesse (September 5, 2013). "Rachel Comey's Intimate Dinner to Kick Off Fashion Week". T Magazine. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  14. ↑ WWD, Marcy Medina | (December 23, 2016). "Rachel Comey to present her fall 2017 line in L.A." Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  15. ↑ Singer, Maya. "Rachel Comey Spring 2017 Ready-to-Wear Fashion Show". Vogue. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "One Of Fashion Week's Biggest Show Had 2 Yoga Teachers, 13 Dancers, & Only 7 Models". September 10, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Rachel Comey - Unisex". www.rachelcomey.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Rachel Comey on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  19. ↑ Comey, Rachel; Donaldson, Susan; Ferguson, Eliot; Hushion, Ryan (June 9, 2002), Gogol Bordello Documentary , retrieved March 13, 2017
  20. ↑ Sinclair, Ben; Blichfeld, Katja; Stevens, Dan; Comey, Rachel (March 26, 2014), Rachel , retrieved March 13, 2017
  21. ↑ Harris, Elizabeth A. (June 17, 2010). "Rachel Comey Buys SoHo Loft". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 12, 2017.
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