Classic Leather With California Country Detail
A former documentary filmmaker and owner of a vineyard in Cuyama, Calif., Anouk Krueger designs a line of leather-based separates that reflects a classic style with rustic roots. Krueger launched her Anouk Fall 2005 collection at the Pool Trade Show in Las Vegas and has been picked up by several boutiques, including Pamela Barish in Los Angeles’ Venice district.
The Holland- and Switzerland-raised designer first came to the United States to attend film school at the University of California, Los Angeles. She produced documentary films on subjects such as carnivalesque freaks and pit bull fighting. But Krueger said the politics of filmmaking put a damper on her creativity. So, she moved to a vineyard for seven years, where she learned how to manipulate leather to make saddles for horses. This led her to begin fashioning leather belts and bags and then a complete line of leather separates.
Jackets anchor the Fall line. Classic styles are made more modern with surface interest and color. A mandarin-style jacket comes in an array of colors, from deep indigo blue to wine red, and its laser-cut surface spices up the otherwise simple tailoring.
“I like the laser-cut leather because it looks like funky-hippy old instead of when you see that they obviously scraped the fabric,” Krueger said. “The surface looks more worn, and the leather only gets better when you wear it.”
The details of the pieces further reference the designer’s country roots, with hand-sewn saddle-stitch trimming and buttons carved from bone or wood. Additional fabrications, including a cashmere/wool-blend lining on loose-fitting jackets and vibrantly printed Japanese silk lining on tailored blazers, lend to the durability of the leather.
Krueger complements the women’s line with matching unisex styles for children in rough-and-tumble stain-resistant upholstery leather. She designs the clothes to be sturdy hand-me-downs but said that even after all the kids in the family have grown, the line’s jacket can serve as a keepsake. “It’s a higher-end [price for children’s clothing], but it’s a piece you could keep. You could frame them, they’re so cute,” she said.
Krueger said the evolution of Anouk will always be based in leather, as seen in the Fall collection, in which all styles either are all leather or have some leather detailing, such as the suede trim on pin-striped wool trousers. But, adapting to the changing weather, Krueger’s Spring 2006 line will introduce light summery pieces such as button-down shirts to complement colorfully embroidered suede jackets.
Wholesale price points are $405 to $550 for laser-cut blazers, $525 for the saddle-stitch mandarin jacket with wool/cashmere lining, $205 for trousers and $150 to $250 for children’s jackets.
For more information, contact the Anouk Showroom at (213) 955-9050, or visit www.anoukshowroom.com. —Rhea Cortado
