February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
This week Drogheda-born, New York-based fashion designer Antonia Reilly decided to trim the torment and scour two neighborhoods frequented by celebrities, stylists and fashion insiders to pinpoint their hidden gems.
The East Village — reverberating with its mid-80s counter-culture of glamour and sleaze — is her starting point.
“There’s something here for everyone,” says Reilly of the place where writers and political activists once gathered, galleries discovered Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, clubs launched Blondie and the Ramones, and St. Marks Place outfitted rock stars like Iggy Pop.
Delanee Koppersmith remembers it well. For 20 years this indigenous New Yorker and self-proclaimed lover of “oddball things” has not only stuffed her store, Cobblestones, with vintage clothing, shoes and accessories; she embodies the neighborhood’s quirky essence with quick wit and impromptu bursts of old Eddy Gomez songs.
Across the street and beside a psychic and a sign for $10 foot rubs (that could soon come in handy), is Japanese designer An Ren, whose lush fabrics and quirky details result in distinctive creations that make her, according to Reilly, “the place to go for a visual surprise.”
At Tompkins Square Park, Reilly turns south towards Nolita, the micro-neighborhood north of Little Italy that’s full of the local designers and chic restaurants that make it one of the city’s trendiest areas.
Reilly’s first stop is Kinnu on Spring Street, an exclusive Indian store owned by a husband and wife who weave their own fabrics to produce an elegant collection of unusual designs, that Reilly says are “perfect for public figures or people in the arts.”
Around the corner on Elizabeth Street, milliner Kelly Christie wraps ribbon and fur around a naked hat in the back of her little shop. She’s determined to give it a grandeur that will satisfy the hat fetishist, yet be elegant enough for a day at the races.
Modeling something different on Mott Street is Resurrection, the place full of competitively priced vintage designer clothes, shoes and accessories that Reilly describes as “a bit of glam for the glamorous who know what looks good on them.”
But for those who prefer new designers, one of the best finds on Mott Street is Find, the store that showcases the original but affordable trends that Reilly describes as “an eclectic mix suitable for the 20-to-30-something shopper who could buy a great piece with more edge than chain stores for not much more.”
The innovative dresser will feel like Audrey Hepburn at Rebecca Taylor, whom Reilly describes as New York’s “hot, hot designer” combining bohemian funk with “fabulous attention to detail” in an eclectically feminine style.
Lest Nolita be accused of snipping the men, across the street from the Albanese Meat Market is The Group — the more affordable casual line of the Seize sur Vingt designer suit collection.
“It’s for the man who likes to look good and knows how to dress,” says Reilly, perusing industrial designed racks that merge Italian leather with a dash of 70’s glam.
It’s getting late and only decision remaining is where to eat in a neighborhood spoiled for choice: perhaps Caf