The SUH-TAHN spring 2009 Collection at LA Fashion Week

Text, Casi Densmore-Koon

Edited by Vivian G. Kelly
Images, Casi Densmore-Koon and also courtsey of Peter Tsai Photography

www.petersaiphotography.com

Day One: Sunday October 12th, @6pm

"The life of our collection transcends the inner workings of California: echoing the curves of our coast, the fluidity of the ocean, and the internal systems of beings in brilliant harmony with its surroundings." – Designers of Suh-Tahn

The designers, SHANNON NATA and DIMITRY TCHARFASD created a collection full of bright white, black, navy and denim that was simple yet a very innovative collection that was at once light and organic. Before the show we were able to catch up with the designers as we sat in on rehearsal. They could hardly sit still as they danced to the runway music and laughed with the models – we could all feel their excitement and the great energy they brought to the room.

DESIGNER INTERVIEW

CK: What is your design philosophy?

S-T: Our philosophy is to find balance.

CK: Do you have any differences collaborating designs or do you have split duties in the company?

S-T:In the beginning of each season, we get together and share our ideas with each other, we bring in pictures, objects, stories of anything and everything that has inspired us individually. From there, we piece it together once we find the direction for the collection.

NOTE: Shannon works more closely with the pattern maker and sewer, while Dimitry focuses in the business side.

CK: Due to the deep recession do you feel business is hard right now?

S-T: Business is tougher than what we would like it to be, but pretty much every industry is affected, and we are positive that things will change for the better soon. Taking into account that people are spending less now, we still try to create interesting pieces at a more affordable price. No matter what, we all need to dress daily!

CK: Do you have a favorite piece in the collection we should be looking out for when watching the show?

S-T: The standouts are our new silk voile/leather jackets, and the scuba dress with leather details.

CK: Describe your collection in just a few words.

S-T: Light, Sleek, Sexy…

CK: Where do you draw your inspiration?

S-T: From our surroundings. Having grown up in California, we really wanted to transcend that idea into the spring/summer collection. We incorporated the surf culture, the laid back attitude, with the translucency of a jellyfish, and the inner workings of a living organism.

CK: What kind of person do you imagine wearing your clothing?

S-T: Someone who's bold and confident. A person who enjoys clothes, and likes to play with their personal style. Someone who expresses himself or herself thru their self-styling.

CK: What can we expect to see in the future?

S-T: We are diving straight into fall/winter now, we will be expanding more on our men’s collections, and are planning to do a jewelry capsule collection to complement the next season!

THE RUNWAY SHOW: All about the layers It featured ultra-chic basics for the sophisticated city girl – New York or LA. We loved the oyster chiffon hoodpiece with white pin stripe tank and white scuba short and the tide dress paired simple with ankle boots. The denim pleated strap dress was a design you don’t see on every runway. Also noteworthy, the denim vest with white gully dress and silver cosmopolitan clutch. The white racer dress could easily be worn day to night and well as the white piperline tee and denim bubble skirt. Zippers will remain a trend; featured here on the black zipper dress and skirt. The black knit wing tank and white scuba legging seemed to be a crowd favorite; it was seen again in the show in different colors – black scuba leggings and white tank.

MENSWEAR

As for the menswear, we loved the black tank, denim trench and black waxed highwater [ie: pants.] The denim blazer and denim reverse short had a innovative design – it looked as if the collar was sewn into the jacket. THE

BOTTOM LINE: The high end fashion lines lives up to its definition: • Soutane – Noun – French word meaning “sacred robe” • Suh- Adjective – Feminine, of Arabic and Sanskrit descent, meaning “star, light” • Tahn – Adjective- Masculine, Greek rooted from Thanatos, meaning “darkness” To see more of what Suh-Tahn has to offer, visit their website, www.suh-tahn.com