Unconventional Classics: Mhope
With its 1950s-inspired silk wrap dresses, apron skirts and French terry wrap dresses, Mhope is giving classic styles an upscale and unconventional twist.
The collection is currently sold in the Los Angeles area at Ron Herman/Fred Segal Melrose, Fred Segal Flair in Santa Monica and Planet Blue in Malibu.
When designer Marla Folbe set out to create Mhope earlier this year with business partner Darren Gold, the two wanted to create versatile pieces that could easily be worn at home or on the go.
Folbe (whose middle name is Hope) said it’s an expansion of the design concepts she created on various kinds of textured paper when she worked at Soolip Paperie and Press in Los Angeles. “There are a lot of similarities, mainly in sample making and choosing the right shades and textures,” she said, adding that she acquired most of her design discipline by working a brief stint as an assistant to Los Angeles designer Adriana Carass.
Folbe is an avid believer in living in the moment. She said she got that ideology from film stylist Adrianne Phillips, who, after seeing Folbe wearing a self-made circle skirt, called Fred Segal in Santa Monica to arrange an interview for the budding designer. Folbe wore her skirt to the specialty retailer and walked away with a consignment deal. The line just took off from there, she said.
Mhope’s 13-piece collection for Spring 2003 includes Folbe’s basic silk tank tops and hank tanks and camisoles (tank tops with a vintage scarf neckline and shoulder straps) matched with a Chanel-inspired woven silk skirt or lowwaisted, denim-colored cotton circle skirt—what the designer calls “made to go” pieces, which can easily be mixed and matched. She said marketing the line as a “classic collection on the go” is catching on with local retailers.
The collection uses men’s suiting fabric such as tweed and pin stripes. Other retro-inspired pieces, including wool safari jackets with matching bottoms and Chanel-inspired woven silk pants, will also be included in Mhope’s Spring 2003 collection. Wholesale price points range from $52 for a hank camisole to $200 for a silk wrap dress.
Gold (who previously worked as an indie film producer in Los Angeles) and Folbe are active members of the Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD). The pair, who officially debuted their collection at CLAD’s Fall 2002 fashion show, are planning to showcase their collection throughout the summer, beginning with New York’s Designers & Agents’ West Coast show Annex during Los Angeles Market Week, followed by the POOL show in Las Vegas Aug. 26–29. The pair will meet up with D&A on the East Coast in September.
For more information on the collection, call Natasha2 at (323) 868-9111. —Claudia Figueroa
