In less than one hour, designer Bibhu Mohapatra will show his Spring 2011 collection at Lincoln Center.
I’ve no doubt it’s going to be smash hit — I got a sneak peek at his fabrics and inspiration several weeks ago, and Bibhu has all his stars aligned for success in this industry: experience, training, creative vision and – not to be sniffed at – the support of the VOGUE/CFDA Fashion Fund. But none of this would amount to much if it weren’t for the actual garments the models will wear — the wares that Bibhu produces and sells.
“This is business,” Bibhu told me as he worked on his collection. “It has no meaning if there is not commerce attached to this craft, this art.”
Bibhu at work in his studio on 38th Street
There’s been a lot of talk this week about New York’s role in the fashion industry, and the consensus seems to be that while Paris may be forever more refined, New York is the place for young designers to get their start.
Earlier this summer, I talked to Fern Mallis, the founder of New York Fashion Week as we know it.
“This is the only city in the world,” she said, “where you can get out of school – you need a few pennies in your pocket – but you can open a business and go down the street and find the pattern maker and a sewer. You could find a showroom and you can find all the trim and you can put it all together. You really can’t do that in the other city.”
That possibility, that comes with proximity to skilled laborers, is part of what attracts a diverse, innovative, and immensely talented stable of designers to this city. They have to work their tails off to make their dreams come true (Bibhu spent ten years toiling under Halston and J Mendel before he put his own name on the door), but they can still make it in Manhattan. My hope is that today’s webisode will attract a little attention to the people who make that possible.