Stefani Greenfield & Desiree Gruber
When you partner two creative talents together, such as Stefani Greenfield (founder of Scoop Stores, NYC) and Desiree Gruber (co-creator of Project Runway), the result just has to be awesome! Such is the case with Theodora & Callum, an accessories-based collection of very unique styles launched this Spring 2011. I was fortunate to get to chat with Stefani last month at Neiman Marcus and of course, we first played “retail geography”….she has quite a history, starting with DKNY launch for Donna Karan, Scoop, Gilt Group and TV shows such as Bravo’s Launch My Line and Curations on HSN. We then got into product-talk, my very favorite thing to do. She shared that their goal in this collection was not to be trend-based but collective of all the most beautiful things that they found and loved from their travels around the globe.
Their inspiration is drawn from Morocco, Bali, Turkey, India and the Mediterranean and is so apparent in their choices of color and design. They also found great inspiration from some of the fashion icons of the late 60’s and 70’s European jet set, such as Ali MacGraw, Bianca Jagger and what they would have worn.
They represent all categories of product, most made in the USA, including Scarves, large rectangles in fabulous colors and prints which were my personal favorites. Shoes and Handbags produced for them by Stuart Weitzman and Jewelry, in metals that complete the feel of this Bo-Ho Chic designs.
This collection, named for their two children, is ageless in its appeal. Stefani was clear to me that they were not about chasing trends but about sharing things that they loved as they saw them in their travels. Also, that they saw no limitations to the evolution of the brand. I asked about caftans, dresses, tops and much more and she said we would just have to wait and see. Said Greenfield, “We named it after our children because for them every day is a new journey” and that is what she sees in store for them.
We found all of these light cotton, colorful Bo-Ho items great for wearing now as playwear or beachwear and can hardly wait for what’s ahead for Fall…animal prints, maybe?! We’ll have to wait and see!
Special Note: For those of you that viewed Oprah’s final shows, Julia Roberts presented Oprah with HER favorite things and a scarf and jewels from this collection was one of them! To learn more about this site and these amazingly talented women, visit http://www.theodoraandcallum.com.