In seemingly stark contrast to nearly every other designer in New York, Mona Kowalska of A Détacher has based her business on creativity, not consumer demand. She has done this to such an extent that, as the designer explained in a recent interview with fashionista.com, she has always wanted to keep her label small, and when it comes to marketing and sales "Sometimes we try doing outreach to stores, but I don’t know that we have ever gotten through that way, so we stopped doing it. We’re a tiny team. We don’t have a lot of time to waste. Basically people find us. Generally when people contact us, they’re ready to buy, and they buy. That is the way everyone has kind of come to us."
This business practice is important to keep in mind, when sitting in the audience at an A Détacher show, (or viewing the pieces online) as it explains what otherwise might seem like a fashion tragedy; the fact that Kowalska isn't nationally heralded as the masterful creative design genius that her contemporaries like Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung and Rodarte are.
Instead, knowing the designer intentions, viewing the collection feels like a gorgeous secret that we are lucky enough to be in on. This was definitely the case for the Spring 2016 show, where Kowlaska showed off all of the exquisite attributes to her particular design point of view. Incredibly pretty prints combined with razor sharp pleating and plays with volume and shape all made their presence known in the collection without overpowering one another. Added luxury via supple suede bags and wooden-heeled clogs that tied around the ankle rounded out the looks for a pitch-perfect execution of each look.
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All images: S. Whittle for Style Wylde