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Mar 07, 2024

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Upstate: Though Upstate is her company name, artist and prop stylist Kalen Kaminski has found a home in her Chinatown studio for the past decade. Her unique textile, clothing and glassware goods are

Upstate: Though Upstate is her company name, artist and prop stylist Kalen Kaminski has found a home in her Chinatown studio for the past decade.

Her unique textile, clothing and glassware goods are all made in New York. Textiles are hand-dyed with botanical dyes (think tree barks, roots, cochineal and marigold flowers) in her Chinatown studio and the pieces are sewn in Midtown with long-standing sewers. Seen in signature swirls on tulip glasses, for one, and cosmic radial designs on silk pillowcases, the brand is meant to be a meditation on all things natural.

Upstate’s latest collection (spanning glassware, raw silk napkins and table linens) just launched and is carried at stores like Mara Hoffman.

Additionally, Upstate hosts botanical dye workshops once a month for $120 per attendee.

The Series: As a brand centered on the exploration of domesticity and traditional women’s work with a modern lens, The Series has found a Gen Z audience.

The Series works with a network of female artisans in New York to rework crochet blankets, quilted tops and vintage bedding into one-of-a-kind, seasonless and genderless garments. As with other New York-based slow fashion labels like Stewart Enslow or Ian Greer, The Series intends to reinvigorate fashion with resourceful techniques that cut waste.

The Series recently held a press picnic in Central Park, teasing the chunky, soon to be-launched spring 2024 crochet handbags (with one shade reminiscent of Barbie pink). The current season’s shoulder bags retail for between $218 and $224 and features an array of one-of-a-kind charms.

New York Made: The Garment District Alliance is next scheduled to meet July 21 to decide the allotment of a $4.5 million grant awarded by New York State to support equitable recovery. GDA and stakeholders met earlier this week, with members of the community speaking to the district’s value and history.

An underlying focus for the Garment District’s revival is new talent, and some organizations like Custom Collaborative are promoting exactly that. The fashion workforce development organization will host its graduation the evening of July 20 at Riverside Church in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood to celebrate its 11th cohort.

Not unlike the namesake fashion schools, Custom Collaborative’s graduation offers a moment of pause for its all-female cohort to celebrate their final projects (demonstrated in a fashion show) and launch their fashion careers. The organization’s mission is one of preserving craft and carving out equal opportunities in New York’s fashion sector.

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