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Welcome Our "Best in Show" Newcomers for Spring 2006 For the past two seasons we have noted the designer of a remarkable collection debuting at the ENK Children's Club show in New York City with a "Best in Show Newcomer" citation. Both of those awards went to girls' collections, but this season, so many new boys' lines wowed us that we've included a "Best in Show Newcomer" for boys, too. Our criteria for making it to the top remains the same. We look for designers whose garments reflect a strong personal style, not someone who is a slave to the latest trends. Whether their collections are comprised of several groups or just one, each piece must work with several others in the collection so a retailer can merchandise the line effortlessly. We want someone who is willing to deviate from current color trends, but still produces salable garments, and when it comes to workmanship, only perfectionists need apply. Our "Best in Show Newcomer" for a girls' collection for Spring 2006 is awarded to Nichole Rairigh of Ashor's Room, who exhibited girls' and boys' groups. We also loved Burwell New York, a collection for preppy boys with an edge, so our "Best in Show Newcomer" for a boy's collection goes to designer Caroline Burwell. Congratulations Nichole and Caroline! Your collections reflect the best of modern kids' design at the ENK Children's Club show this season.
"BEST IN SHOW NEWCOMER" FOR A GIRLS' COLLECTION WINNER: ASHOR'S ROOM DESIGNER: Nichole Rairigh Sizes: 2T to 12 years; Wholesale prices: $24-$50 Rairigh is an original. This designer possesses an uncanny ability to mix styles, eras and materials with aplomb. Her three collections: "Organics," cotton T-shirts and blouses, many printed with a dove motif; a girls' sportswear collection that pairs ornately patterned and tiered tops and dresses with simple pants; and her well-edited boys' group with carefully detailed shirts and jackets and pants for the 2-to-12 set, reflect a one-of-a-kind quality. It's no surprise then that Rairigh sold a collection of deconstructed jeans and Tees for women, created with real vintage textiles, before reworking the look for children using accessible materials and marketing under the Ashor's Room label.
Outstanding Pieces: While her dove printed T-shirt over a multi-tiered skirt packs a wallop of color and pattern, it seems like a natural pairing. This nubby textured "Hanky" dress in leaf green is treated to the coolest "corsage" at the show.
2043 West Wabansia Avenue Chicago, IL 60647 773-486-2253 E-mail: info@ashorsroom.com
"BEST IN SHOW NEWCOMER" FOR A BOYS' COLLECTION WINNER: BURWELL NEW YORK DESIGNER: Caroline Burwell Sizes: 6 months to 8 years; Wholesale prices: $16-$55 Head-to-toe preppy looks are a bore, and boys' outfits that are self-consciously hip can seem a bit forced. Mix the two together though, and you've got something intriguing. Burwell, a former preschool teacher, delved into her boyfriend's, dad's and four brothers' closets, as well as her childhood memories of 1970's pop culture, to produce a collection that blends classic seersucker suits with animal printed T-shirts in colors that do not include bright lime, pink or navy. There's a right-off-the-golf course madras plaid set that could be named "Chip Jr." if it weren't teamed with a faded green T-shirt printed with a bright red rabbit. If a Tee is too casual, her collection includes short-sleeved, cotton shirts in solids and simple patterns that straddle the line between nerd and cool dude.
Outstanding Pieces: The baggy seersucker suit worn with the horse-printed cotton shirt. There's a little George W. Bush and a lot of Kerry in the look - call it the Independent. Does the rabbit Tee and those country club-style shorts suggest a poetry writing frat boy or a rocker with a prep school education? Either way, it's the mix of sensibilities that makes Burwell's collection a winner.
77 Bleecker Street New York, NY 10012 Tel: 212 217-6212 E-mail: info@burwellnewyork.com
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