Creatures of the Wind

Congratulations are in order for a group of young designers including Joseph Altuzarra, Bibhu Mohapatra, and Wes Gordon, all of whom are in the American finals for the 2014 International Woolmark Prize.

The group of finalists, which includes seven other design houses, will compete for the opportunity to go up against designers from Australia, China, India, and Europe in Milan next year. One American designer will be selected to represent the United States this July, when the 10 finalists present competition collections made with merino wool.

The prize for breaking through the other finalists and into the last round of competition is $100,000 toward that designer's next collection; the international prize is another $100,000, plus the opportunity to sell the winning collection in stores all over the world.

A look at who else is in the running, here in the gallery.

For Fall 2013 Fashion Week, the models at Creatures of the Wind portrayed the ultimate cool girl. While the clothing was filled with utilitarian military fabrics made in Japan, the makeup (by Nars) was the opposite, with shining metallics taking focus. Hair, by Odile Gilbert for Kérastase Paris, was tousled yet sleek, with sunglasses used as hair accessories.

The look: Matte skin, a nude cat eye, and "flat volume" hair.
The inspiration: '80s Memphis-style furniture, Teddy Girls from the '50s, and candy.
Who should wear it: The cool girl who loves menswear and goes to art galleries on the weekend.

— Additional reporting by Maria Del Russo

For Creatures of the Wind's Fall 2013 collection, designers Chris Peters and Shane Gabier showed an eclectic mix of geometric and painterly prints, checks, plaids, and bold stripes of color that were sometimes mashed together in colorful patchworks. But this show, their second on the runway, also drew on clean-lined menswear staples. More than one model walked out wearing a notch-lapel topcoat or a white dress shirt with stripes of vinyl on the sleeves. The combination of the quirky ideas that have gotten them so much attention — and made them runners up for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2011 — with the need to make clothing a wider audience can relate to made for the duo's most polished collection yet.

Opposing forces came together at Creatures of the Wind this season for a look deemed "monstrously beautiful" by Nars lead artist James Boehmer. To offset the tailored, feminine look of the clothes, both hair and beauty channeled a more lived-in, cool-girl vibe, perfect for your inner wild child.

The look: Cranberry eyes; sharp, angled hair; and matte blush nails.
The inspiration: Japanese Godzilla movies.
Who would wear it: Riot grrrl 2.0.

Chris Peters and Shane Gabier placed a special emphasis on shape and technique when designing their Spring 2013 collection for Creatures of the Wind. "We wanted to push the feminine silhouettes toward these almost hard and aggressive volumes and proportions, but keeping them light and airy," Peters said. To that end, he and Gabier offered generous skirts, dresses, and coats that tended to swing away from the body, but kept them girlie with bright colors and plenty of eye-catching geometric prints. Sharp tailoring created the edge the designers were after, while detailing like the snakeskin arms on a crisp white blazer and the Swarovski crystals decorating the bottom of one cream-colored skirt kept up the visual interest.

In honor of the US Open Tennis Championships, which started in New York on Monday, Vogue asked designers including Pamela Love, Peter Som, and Eddie Borgo to design tennis balls with elements of their signature motifs. The one-of-a-kind balls are decorated with everything from cloth flowers to rhinestones, lace, leather, and aggressive metal studs. Love shot an arrow through her design ("I have four arrow tattoos, so I thought, why not?" she says), while Som's sparkly entry takes inspiration from a diamond tennis bracelet. Dana Lorenz's Fenton ball, with brass chains and pearls, takes inspiration from Christian Lacroix and the glamorous supermodels of the '90s. A selection of our favorites from the project here in the gallery.

Photo via Vogue.

Last but certainly not least: Creatures of the Wind's much-anticipated mini collection for J.Crew has finally landed. The collection — the third and final installment of this year's CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund capsule series — features four limited-edition pieces inspired by '60s psychedelia and rebellious youth culture. There's a glittery pair of oxford lace-ups ($295), a chambray and floral print zip dress ($350), a boldly striped tee ($195), and — our favorite — a matching cashmere cardigan ($245). "We wanted to design pieces that were totally functional but could add an interesting element to anyone's wardrobe," the designers explained. Click through to see the entire offering, all available now at jcrew.com and at the retailer's 5th Avenue flagship.

>> J.Crew's collaborations with Joseph Altuzarra, Pamela Love, and Creatures of the Wind will make separate retail debuts in the coming weeks and months, but you can order the Altuzarra capsule online at Jcrew.com this Thursday. The Altuzarra capsule then hits J.Crew's 5th Avenue store Monday, April 23; Pamela Love's capsule will be available May 17 and Creatures of the Wind's on June 14.

Altuzarra told Vogue his striped collection was inspired by the clothes Jean Seberg wore in Breathless and by pictures of "Brigitte Bardot walking around St-Tropez in espadrilles and a slouchy boy's sweater." Pamela Love — a jewelry designer by trade — created clothing for the collaboration as well: a shrunken jacket, a pair of distressed jeans, and a belt. Shane Gabier and Chris Peters, who design Creatures of the Wind, created a colorblocked twinset and a floral Summer dress.

While there's no information yet on how much the pieces from Love and Creatures of the Wind will cost, Altuzarra's collection is priced between $145 for a striped dress and up to $345 for a pair of platform wedge espadrilles.

See all of the pieces from the Altuzarra collaboration here in the gallery.

>> There's girls gone wild, then there's the Fall 2012 collection of Creature of the Wind, which is more like grannies gone wild. Vintage-inspired duds were vibrant in color and print and modest in silhouette and cut. The off-kilter collection included mixed prints, A-line styles, midcalf lengths, and menswear-inspired cuts. Plaid-on-plaid lent an eclectic touch, while ruffled frocks and circle skirts served as demure counterparts. And of course, it wouldn't be granny-chic without a little crochet.

Creatures of the Wind, a Chicago-based fashion duo, is quickly picking up buzz as they continue to show at New York Fashion Week. The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund runners-up presented their Fall 2012 collection at the Desmond Tutu Center, and the beauty look was just as creative and offbeat as their designs. The hair alone was dramatic, complex, and remarkable — making it the perfect pairing for these rising stars.