New On The Catwalk

Cushnie et Ochs

Cushnie et Ochs provide sartorial assistance for braving that inevitable uptown/downtown cab ride every new yorker must take. In a city of eight million, where did the designers find inspiration? The answer is in themselves, and their own cosmpolitan lifestyles. Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs are two parsons graduates, who, joining forces while still in school, won the coveted CFDA Scholarship, the SAGA award and Parsons Designers of the Year in 2007.

"Confidence and a strong sense of one-self are the key elements to good style."

With this impressive collection of top honors piled under their skinny leather cinches, Carly and Michelle went on to receive the best graduation gift any young designer could ask for. Even better than a diamond encrusted watch or a ticket to Cambodia, the young women were featured in a major Women’s Wear Daily cover story.

"The diverse backgrounds of both designers together with their strong sense of form and function with precise tailoring results in a collection that exudes sophistication with a simple sexy aesthetic."

Blessed with such an auspicious beginning, it’s no wonder that Cushnie et Ochs’ clothes radiate confidence. They desire to show off the body yet also keep things elegant as they pay homage to classic designers such as Madame Grès and Geoffrey Beene. Cushnie et Ochs strike the perfect balance between metropolitan chic and metropolitan mettle.

  • cushnie et ochs Interview

    ___ if you could design anything else other than fashion, what would it be?

    Carly Cushnie: for me it would definitely be interiors. it was never something i thought about growing up, but something i have been really drawn to. Michelle ochs: i have always loved building things, so if not fashion it would have been product design.

    ___ many designers today say that fashion is a kind of storytelling. if so, what story were you tell- ing with your last collection?

    Michelle ochs: creating a collection is very much like building a story and letting it unfold. for us, it was a road trip out west that inspired this fall winter 2011 collection. we imagined this sultry vagabond traveling across the american landscape... Carly Cushnie: ... and this western traveler adventures into native american territory.

    ___ how do you feel about experimental fashion as art as compared to the fashion necessary for commercial success?

    Carly Cushnie: they are both necessary; however, experimental fash- ion is not art entirely as it still has to function as clothes on the body. art doesn’t have to function because it hangs on the wall. Michelle ochs: commercial fashion is relevant because of the rapid pace that fashion moves in our world today. they are both necessary and appeal to different customers.