Inside Mia Vesper’s Haunted Manor Fashion Show
When designer Mia Vesper opened her debut Lower East Side store in May, she told WWD she was looking forward to expanding the one-of-a-kind styles she’s been well-known for since launching her artsy, upcycled label in 2017.
On Oct. 26, the designer displayed this expansion during her first store-set Halloween-centric “Haunted Manor” runway show. The 16-look fall collection, topped with Vesper’s ’50s German glass jewelry and Halloween masks, homed in on a new assortment of what she calls, “one-of-a-kind,” “two-of-a-kind” and “few-of-a-kind” fashions.
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Starting this week, Vesper noted that approximately 12 of the looks will be available for purchase in her store (in individual and limited quantities) and via her website with prices ranging from “around $600” (for those she can produce in small batches), with the rest of the line sitting between $1,000 to $4,000.
Since opening the store, Vesper said she’s enjoyed connecting more closely with her customers over her various one-of-a-kind textiles (currently, Vesper is working almost entirely with deadstock, vintage, artisan-made and her own deadstock fabrics). Her fall line’s new “body-con” strapless dresses leaned into this idea.
“If you want to buy one, you just buy your size and then you tailor it,” Vesper said. “Going into this new realm — or this new old realm of tapestry, I get to talk to the consumer in a unique way, such as, ‘If you’d like to buy this piece, part of the onus is on you, part of it from me. It’s got a rip in the shoulder and it’s got these unique details.’ It’s a much more nuanced conversation than when you’re working with ready-to-wear,” she said.
Other textiles within the line (as seen on new and reimagined shapes across dresses, two-piece sets and blazers) include Uzbekistan-made silk velvets, beach towels, Mexican cotton hand-loomed serape, Italian wedding blankets, French hearth rugs and more.
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