Major life events inevitably call for a new outfit: think a college-bound suitcase full of sparkly party garb, or an ill-fitting suit to commemorate your first office job. But the idea of a trousseau—a head-to-toe wardrobe designed to propel a young woman into adulthood and beyond—has long faded into romantic oblivion, at least until Brooklyn-based label Jackson, Johnston & Roe resurrected it for their Spring 2009 collection.

"We wanted to create a modern-day trousseau—the clothes you take with you to school, on an adventure, or to start a new life," says Sara Moffat, who co-founded the label with childhood friends and fellow artists Teo Griscom and Riley Salyards. Their interpretation is full of staples the trio hopes will live on for generations: preppy short-sleeved blouses with recycled wood and paper buttons, a matching blazer and shorts, a deep blue day dress made from worm-friendly 'Peace Silk', a sweet, side-buttoning car coat. Taking the nostalgic element even further, the collection's prints derived from a game of 'Exquisite Corpse,' a Surrealist practice where each designer drew a section without seeing the others, resulting in an eerily cohesive interior tableau.

With a small line of men's shirts also set to launch this spring, it's clear that there really is power in threes—and this is an adventure Moffat, Griscom and Salyards wouldn't embark upon without each other. "Working as a collective gives us a sense of motivation, creative tension and perspective," says Moffat. "Somehow, everything becomes possible."

Jackson, Johnston & Roe is available at Steven Alan, 638 North Robertson Boulevard.

- Erin Magner

Similar Topics:eco, LA designer, spring 2009

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