dominos,” says Tisch. Now, she says, they’re expanding their roster of American designers—to those who are mostly cutting edge and young (including a lot of CFDA designers). he final piece of the puzzle has been connecting the designers with the consumers. “We’ve told people we don’t know, who signed up after they read something about us: ‘Please, there’s absolutely no pressure; you shouldn’t feel inclined,’” Tisch says. “This is a very friendly environment. It’s good for everybody to see what people respond to. It’s good for us, it’s good for them, it’s good for the designers to see what works, because you can sit here and draw something and have a vision, but it has to work in reality.” She adds: “We worked with Wes Gordon last season; a lot of people hadn’t been exposed to the clothes in a larger way, in a smaller way; and I think we built up a Wes Gordon following. He was here, and it was really interesting for him to see where people gravitated, where the customer really goes, and what the customer buys, and who the customer really is.” Kassel and Tisch had a strong opening season of back-to-back events, featuring designers like Bibhu Mohapatra, Libertine, L’Wren Scott, Prabal Gurung, Rodarte, Peter Pilotto and many more. They then opened their doors again to members
Entrance to Suite 1521’s closet
in January, starting with The Elder Statesman, and now have a full and impressive roster of designers—many returning, and some new to Suite 1521— lined up through May. They are also taking care to pair complementary accessories and fashion designers: Ostwald Helgason showed with Clarissa by Clarissa Bronfman. Rodarte and Iosselliani were teamed, as was Sophie Theallet with Edie Parker; and Peter Pilotto and Nicholas Kirkwood, to name a few. Kassel and Tisch have also started a “closet,” showing select
Kim Kassel and Lizzie Tisch with Preen designer, Justin Thornton.
pieces from the designers they work with that can be offered to clients at any point. “I will say, every time I get here in the morning, and I walk through the doors, I still get that rush where I can’t believe that an idea that existed in our heads two years ago actually exists. When I walk in here and I see that we realized the vision that we wanted. . .” says Kassel, trailing off as she momentarily becomes emotional. “Are you seriously crying??” interjects Tisch, lightening the mood. assel admits she is, then relates an anecdote to illustrate her and her partner’s opposite but complementary demeanors. “Richard Nicholas was in here and he had these sweatshirts; one said ‘strange,’ and one said ‘fragile,’” she recalls. “[Nicholas] said, ‘Not only is fragile for you, I’m buying it for you!’” Everyone laughs at the story, but Kassel is serious. “I really do still get that rush when I walk in the door, having evolved from that thought process and just talking about it around a table. “It was a tremendous amount of work to make this happen,” she continues. “It still is, every day. It follows you around, pretty much all the time; it’s a lifestyle. We read a lot about start-ups before we started; it’s like you have to live, sleep, eat and breathe it for it to survive. “I think we’re definitely doing that at the moment.” ✦ MARCH 2014 • AVENUE MAGAZINE | 81