The Bode store, located on Hester Street, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, is worth a visit. This copper-clad den – wall panels in coffee-stained Douglas fir – offers a synthesis of the spirit of the ready-to-wear brand founded in 2016 by Emily Bode. The restaurant, decorated in every corner with antiques and dried flowers, opens onto an 1890 fountain, found in an old Chicago building. The water flows gently, lulling the space with a little Zen music.
On the ceiling, we discover a fresco made by the artist Lukas Geronimas. The decoration is signed by Green River Project, the design studio of Aaron Aujla, the designer’s husband, and his partner, Ben Bloomstein. Here and there are black and white photos of Emily Bode’s mother and aunt in romantic Virginia Woolf blouses. “They have always loved antiques; very young, I accompanied them to markets and flea markets. They had a very artistic streak, with a passion for handmade that influenced me a lot “, explains the Atlanta designer who has managed, in a few years, to impose her unique touch, tinged with craftsmanship and American (the emblematic clothing of the United States) in the panorama of men’s fashion.
“I want to create pieces that contain memories, that recall old ways of life, family traditions, past eras. »Emily Bodé
Holder of a double degree from the Parsons School of Design in New York, in design and philosophy, Emily Bode collects antique fabrics – 1920s linen, old mints, lace tablecloths, vintage saris, patched duvets -, documents their history, memory, then turns them into clothes. Unique pieces also account for 30% to 40% of the brand’s sales.
“Design is intimately linked to culture, to the way we live and how we have grown, but also to the way we think. Why do we think this or feel this? Philosophy allows me to question my work “, specifies the stylist, who also develops her own fabrics, reproductions of old samples, trying to preserve ancient craft techniques. Jacket studded with enameled pendants from the 1940s, coat made with traditional Indian embroidery from the 15th centuryAnd century, tank top inspired by a sixties crochet blanket …
Each piece has its share of stories. ” I want to create objects that contain memories, that recall old ways of living, family traditions, past eras “, concludes Emily Bode, who opened a second boutique in Los Angeles earlier this year, also paneled in wood. Above a hanger, a sculpted dodo skeleton casually recalls the misdeeds of overconsumption.
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