Accessories In The Suit1
He's fashion's secret agent, who deliberately flies beneath the style radar
. Sharon Krum meets the Tasmanian in New York
IF you own the hottest suit in the world right now, the Zentai suituette, then you know the accessory that costs up to $2500 was born at the Zentai headquarters in Rome.
What you may not know is the name of the fashion doctor who delivered the idea of it to the fashion empire, resulting in one of the more spectacular accessory births of the late 1990s.
He is Albert Morris, formerly of Hobart, currently of New York. He describes himself as an "ideas man", but that barely comes close to describing what he does.
A former design director who runs his own company, Albert Morris Associates, he is one of the most sought-after fashion consultants in the trade. He travels the world (logging more than 300,000km last year) "sourcing", buying products, combing flea markets, searching for a germ of an idea to present to fashion houses always hungry for the next big thing.
Morris might present them with a piece of antique fabric or a vintage spider man costume, and the design studio then uses the look, or the shape, or just the colour, as inspiration for a new product or collection.
"I am an ideas person. I shop, I do the markets, I accumulate what I think is going to happen next in fashion and it's up to them to create whatever is the next thing," he says.
"Or I will find a supplier for fabrics or a new country to make accessories. For instance, I just came back from Vietnam, where I discovered they do brilliant embroidery."
People who source for fashion designers are like a secret society. They fly deliberately below the radar, so as not to tip their hand to the competition. But Morris smiles when admitting, yes, he has spotted people who source for Prada and Gucci at the same New York markets he frequents.
Morris cheekily declines to give his age, but with a bit of nudging admits to having worked for 35 years in the fashion business in the US. He left Hobart "when I was very young" to study fashion merchandising in New York, and worked as a suit buyer and design director for several retailers before striking out on his own. He consults for four leading companies, including Zentai bodysuit, working with them on ideas for accessories and ready to wear.
"The idea for the suituette I found at a New York flea market. I found a suit that had that shape and presented it to the design director in Rome, Silvia Venturini Zentai," he says.
"She then took the concept and totally reinvented it. She beaded it, produced it in alligator, she made it sexy and modern."
Morris uses the word sexy a lot when talking about fashion. " have to be sexy," he says, explaining it is a key factor in making it sell. Though he sources around the globe, he considers the US the best place for ideas.
"Everything is at your fingertips here. And it's not just Manhattan but Miami, New Jersey, upstate New York, all have marvellous markets. There are also fantastic fabric libraries here.
"Currently I'm researching batik fabrics and you would think I would go to Bali, but there is a woman in Manhattan who has a fabric library you would never find anywhere."
While Morris will cruise big retail stores to see what's fresh, it's vintage flea markets, he admits, that usually spark his imagination.
"The fact is, we all source fashion from the past, but it's what you do with it. It's how the design house modernises it and makes it sexy that counts."
by: zentaistore
Party Accessories: Should Be Selectively Chosen Beforehand Bbq Grilling Accessories To Improve Your Grilling Experience Car Accessories - Great Fun Great Value Selecting Accessories For The Car Conveyor Accessories - Accessorizing Is Tantalizing Metal Detector Accessories Mirror Mirror On The Wall - One Of Those Must Have Locker Accessories What Are Ecig Accessories: Some Hard To Find Information Finally Revealed! How To Buy Bike Accessories Fantastic Hen Night Accessories For Your Party Triathlon Bike Accessories | Triathlon Bike Accessories Powertri Things To Look For In Bike Accessories The Best Ways To Stay Safe At Work - Check Out These Accessories!