Houston...We have a fashion show!

On October 5th, students at Kent State University’s NYC studio received the privilege of listening to designers, Alexander Koutny and Lucy Falck, speak about their exciting careers. Alexander Koutny is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. He started in the fashion industry with patternmaking. This led him to his own high end men’s line in 1990. Koutny was turned off by South Africa’s commercialism and moved to London to attend Central Saint Martin’s to further develop his skills. Since 2007, he has been based in New York and successful in developing his newest collection. Like Koutny, Lucy Falck is also from Johannesburg, South Africa. She started off as a designer, but later moved to styling for photo shoots. Falck has now relocated to New York where she is a freelance patternmaker for womenswear, while still doing styling projects on the side.
Koutny and Falck, who are long time acquaintances, reconnected and collaborated for the 2009 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. This team was only given a couple pieces of inspiration from the stylist, Charlotte Stockdale and costume designer, Todd Thomas. Everything else was entirely their own vision, which shows their immense talent. The theme for the show was “Star Trooper”, which I feel was a much harsher look for Victoria’s Secret. The talented team became influenced by space and futuristic artwork. During their eight month long design process, Koutny and Falck created seven different and unique looks for this famous show. These looks covered every facet of outer space, including a rocket, a flying saucer, an exploding star, and a space suit. To create these one-of-a-kind looks, the designers were required to take multiple steps from developing and sketching the design, to creating a final prototype. After the final product was made they had fittings with Victoria’s Secret models, such as Miranda Kerr. During the fittings, the press attempted to get their million dollar shot; making the fitting process more difficult.
On the day of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show designers, models, producers, and camera crews were running in every direction trying to make everything flow smoothly. Falck claimed that the hardest part was making sure the garments, especially the metal and metallic pieces, were fingerprint free. Ultimately, the thirty minute $10 million fashion show was a complete success and everyone loved Koutny and Falck’s “out of this world” designs.
As these two masterful designers reminisced about the Victoria’s Secret show, Falck remembers her favorite part. “I loved the research and development and the construction of new materials because it was such a challenge and test of my skills.” I believe this would be my favorite part too because I could put my innovative ideas and creativity to the ultimate test. Koutny took a moment of deep thought, and then announced, “Although the show was fun and interesting, I wouldn’t do it again. It’s not a career. There’s too much commitment with no other place it can go and I don’t want to be a wardrobe designer.”

 

          - These are three of Alexander Koutny and Lucy Falck's designs from the 2009 Victoria's
             Secret Fashion Show.  These looks were inspired by a space suit, shooting stars, and a rocket
             ship.

Photos from:

Getty, Corbis and daylife.com