Larsen Gray's Nora and Rachelyn keep it quirky

Posted by Melanie Bender on January 8 at 5:58 PM












Fashion is not a life or death matter. Rachelyn Porter and Nora Caliguri of Larsen Gray - one of our DMD Lab finalists - get that. Nora (left) - a fan favorite on Season 1 of Project Runway - and Rachelyn – previously filling a post at Chanel, in addition to dabbling in PR and as a stylist - met while studying at Pratt Institute, and parlayed their common love for fine art, music and global cultures into their Larsen Gray label. Launched in 2007, Larsen Gray’s approach to fashion is quirky and playful - think short & sweet shapes and geomteric cutouts – while being as eco conscious as possible.  This week we caught up with the designers – currently in New York working on their Fall 2009 Collection – and talked current obsessions, the importance of fine underwear and life after reality TV.

DMD: Does inspiration come in the middle of the night or the middle of the street? In other words, what really gets your creativity going?
Rachelyn Porter: With us, it's surprising, literally anything can spark something. For example, Nora takes these amazing pictures of things that she encounters in the street that really allude to something else - potholes that look like faces, gum on the sidewalk that looks like a bunny.  I’ll become nearly obsessive compulsive about something. We’re working on our Fall 2009 collection now, and I’ve become fixated on Martin Scorcese's documentary about The Band and have watched it about 8000 times.  That lead me to Big Pink - the house in Woodstock - and other things from that era, like William Eggleston and Alfred Maysels films.

DMD: Do you find that you merge different inspirations in one collection?
Nora Caliguri: Definitely.  For example, our Spring 2009 collection was about a beachcomber and wanderer.  It was the beginning of our grunge phase.  Picasso had a Blue Period, we have a Grunge Period. 

DMD: Why "Larsen Gray"?
RP: ‘Larsen’ is an ice shelf in the Antarctic Peninsula with unusual disintegration that is being attributed to global warming: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larsen_Ice_Shelf

DMD: Wow, so your charge of sustainability is actually really woven into your identity, it’s just not as overt as ‘Green this' or ‘Eco that’.
RP: Exactly! I think a lot of people are tempted to just throw ‘Eco’ onto something to get that catch of social responsibility.  We like to have a little bit of mystery, we definitely like things a little complicated.

DMD: And now the inevitable Project Runway question, any regrets?
NC: It was a very positive experience for me.  I learned a lot about people, and about myself.
RP: It made me really nervous watching because she wouldn't tell me anything, so I didn’t know the outcome or when she was leaving the show. 

DMD: After it was over, did you need some time away from designing to recharge?
NC: I took a trip home to my favorite place in Connecticut - my favorite beach - and took a week to live without cameras.  And when I was done, I came back and was ready to start right back up again.

DMD: And your first collection hit in Spring 08?
Both: Yes, we are really infants right now.

DMD: What's your up-and-coming designer’s take on the economic crisis?
NC: It’s been difficult for a lot of people, but I do think it's going to help us start thinking more globally. 
RP: I also think that in New York in particular, the era of Wall Street put an end to the era of artists and bohemians. I am hopeful that one result of the financial crisis will be a creative resurgence, and people will desire and seek out really special things.

DMD: Any New Year’s Resolutions?
NC: This year I am going to organize my life.
RP: I want to get my house together, start doing yoga and most importantly, wear nice bras and undies every day.  It may sound silly, but when I wear nice undies I feel so much better! 
RP: Maybe Larsen Gray underpinnings and bags are in the pipeline, because Agent Provocateur is killing my bank account.  Seriously.

DMD: Anything else you guys would like to add about the DMD Lab?
RP:  We are very excited for Fall 2009 and all the opportunities are totally humbling us.  And we want to express much much  much love to all the people who have logged on and commented in support of Larsen Gray.  We are really blown away by the huge amount of support people are showing! 



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Topics: design, fashion, green        SHARE: