What's black and blue and effortlessly cool all over? No, I'm not talking about Amy Winehouse the morning after. Rather, the Fall 2008 collection from Farahbella, an Osaka-based emerging womenswear line that's a collaborative effort between Rick and Alnea Miskiv, a husband and wife team who met as students at the California College of Arts in San Francisco.

"My inspirations for the collections are often series of ideas and feelings that reveal themselves over time," explains Alnea, who plays the role of lead designer (Rick, who holds an M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts, is art director). "'Imploding Volumes' started with a dialogue with my husband about one of his paintings, which have layers upon layers of paint and are often deconstructed to reveal the history of the older layers. I kept seeing these apartment buildings in the process of being torn down, and it was a continuation of that idea. The buildings imploding became a metaphor for my emotions at the time, and an inspiration for the fall silhouettes."

"Also, going through Japan's harsh winters motivated me to make pieces that could be worn in layers to keep warm yet still be stylish," she continues. "I'm often on-the-go and prefer clothes that allow for maximum movement. I love pieces that are versatile, and can be worn from morning to evening depending on the way you accessorize them."

She might live halfway around the world, but that's spoken like a true New Yorker.

Farahbella is available at Pixie Market, 100 Stanton Street, 212-253-0953.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:fall 2008, fashion

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