Above: Roy Caires, Koos van den Akker and Tommy Cole at Koos' studio 7/13/09
This past Sunday afternoon we had a surprise visit at the store from legendary fashion designer Koos van den Akker. A friend of Alter (who had worked for Koos in the past) thought he would appreciate the shop, so she brought him in to check it out. It was only a matter of minutes before we were intensly engaged in conversations of fashion, art, reconstructed neckties, and whatever else it is that we do. It was decided right there and then, that we would visit Koos at his studio in Manhattan the next day.
So today we headed into the city for our visit with Koos. He showed us garments from all stages of his career, old and new, finished and not. He gave us tips and advice on ways to work with fabric, and shared photographs of himself and his work over the last 70 years.
If you think you have never seen his work before, think again. Koos is the man who hand made the infamous sweaters worn by Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show.
To read his full story, visit his website: www.koosnewyork.com. You should also read this great interview with Koos from the Vice Magazine website.
Above: A Cosby-like sweater and a "work-in-progress" rain coat. The colors and textures on the sweater are done entirely by sewn down collaged fabric techniques, a Koos trademark.
Above: A dress made of "gutted and flattened" neckties starts to take shape.
We were thrilled and inspired to meet this amazing artist. There was even talk of some Koos originals hitting the racks at Alter sometime in the near future.
To be continued...
3 comments:
the man behind the cosby sweaters!?? that's so amazing. you must have been honored to meet him.
Very cool, boys.
You never fail to impress me.
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