AUGUST FIELD

I’m sitting here in the Frankfurt Airport Lufthansa Lounge, two legs into my journey back to India where I will be spending the next six weeks designing the AUGUST FIELD Spring/Summer 2014 collection.

Even as I’m halfway to Delhi, there is still a surreal quality to the realization that I’ll so soon be back in India. This will be my third trip to the country in two years - my first having been on June 1st of 2011 when I stayed for two months and became inspired to start the AUGUST FIELD line at the end of that séjour.

I’m excited for all that this trip will bring - the creative joy of designing, spiritual renewal, time to reconnect with friends and make new ones, and as always the promise of unexpected adventures.

My itinerary involves spending three weeks in Delhi where I will be focused on fabric sourcing and bringing to life my sketches for the new season. After that, I will be taking a break from the 110 degree heat to celebrate my birthday in Goa, a beach resort town on the Indian Ocean. The last two weeks I am leaving open-ended.

I’m looking forward to sharing details of my journey on this blog and hope that my foibles might inspire and entertain.

May 24

LAX - SFO - FRA - DEL

May 9

Yesterday AUGUST FIELD held its first trunk show at a stunning private residence in the Pacific Palisades. Guests enjoyed fresh fruit sangria cocktails by Pavan Liqueur and hors d’oeuvres from Taste that included tuna tartare, prosciutto wrapped dates, and squash tartlets while taking in a gorgeous scenic view.

On display was the Fall/Winter 2013 collection, available for pre-order as well as a selection of brocades for Spring. 10% of the evening’s proceeds benefitted the New Roads School.

Apr 8

BOMBAY NIGHT (Part II)

Thoroughly relaxed post-head massage, I returned to Ridhima’s flat where we rested, letting the harmony of faint car horns combine with the lounge playlist I had orchestrated, and later prepared for the night ahead.

Around 8 in the evening, we took an autorickshaw to Escobar, a trendy rooftop lounge in Bandra that features sweeping open air views, delicious mixed cocktails and a tapas-style menu. We were met by one of Ridhima’s friends, a banker in Bombay who persuaded us go to a place called “The Ghetto.” That sounded like a shady proposition in India (or frankly anywhere), but our friend assured that it was a good time (I believe I was even promised some Rod Stewart tracks).

The Ghetto was a short drive away situated in the back of an alcove off Bhulabhai Desai Road - easy to miss if you weren’t distinctly aware of its location. Apparently a classic favorite of the aisé Bombay set, The Ghetto is a Western-style dive bar replete with a billiards table and a Western rock playlist. Knocking back a Tuborg (a Danish beer I’ve come to enjoy in India), I wrote my artist requests and soon we were dancing wildly to Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark.” One of the things about “The Ghetto” is that they encourage all manner of graffiti - even handing out Sharpie’s so you can leave your lasting imprint on its concrete walls. You might look for a message I left on the ceiling above the bar one day.

It must have been around 11PM by this time, which meant that the night was only getting started in Bombay. After another Tuborg and a few more songs, we headed out once again - this time to a private club of which I can’t recall the name.

Clubbing in India’s cities is not for the faint of heart. Indians are a party people - hard drinkers who have a penchant for thumping house music. Combine this with a general lack of respect for personal space and you get the idea of a throbbing mosh pit. I think we made it through two songs before we were out once again, slinking into the night where we hailed an Auto which transported us in a thrilling open-air ride across the Arabian Sea on the Sea Link Bridge back to Bandra and back home.

Next week - shopping and the best brunch in Bombay.

"For sure, her backing can be a boon to a Seventh Avenue novice. “For a designer who wants to be taken seriously,” said Adrien Field, who presented his debut collection in New York in February, “a review from WWD is a stamp of accreditation that you can take with you into sales meetings and investor pitches. It’s worth its weight in gold.” … But Mr. Field, for one, is keeping close watch. “I would rather have a three-sentence write-up in WWD,” he said, “than the attention of 100 blogs.” Ms. Foley is, in his view, that rare fashion editor who remains above the fray, credible, knowledgeable and untainted by commercial interests."

- ADRIEN FIELD, “Bridget Foley Lives in the Seat of Power” New York Times 4/4/13 by Ruth LaFerla.

Apr 8

Apr 7

Roziah Latiff & The Jayhawkers - “Aku Keciwa”

Currently inspiring the AUGUST FIELD Spring 2014 Collection.

Apr 4

WWD says the Motorcycle/Bomber jacket is the statement piece for Fall 2013 - AUGUST FIELD offers this rich option in microfiber velvet with satin lining and lapels for luxurious adventures in hedonism and jet-set travel.

Mar 22

Yesterday I sat for a new head shot. I am wearing the AUGUST FIELD Fall/Winter 2013 smoking jacket. Photo by Isaac Sterling.

Mar 21

DJ/Socialite Caroline D’Amore wore the AUGUST FIELD Fall/Winter 2013 Soutache crop top with Katy Perry’s stylist for an upcoming episode of America’s Next Top Model.

Mar 21

I watched this highly entertaining documentary film last night on Netflix. ”Kumaré” from filmmaker Vikram Gandhi is a satirical look at the West’s mystification with Eastern spirituality.

Vikram, who is an Indian-American born in New Jersey, set out to expose the many false prophets that beguile willing believers based on his search for spirituality. To do so, he grows out his hair and beard to resemble a Saddhu and travels to Phoenix, Arizona where the people there are all too willing to accept this common man as “Sri Kumaré” - their spiritual leader. Affecting an Indian accent and accompanied by two female acolytes, he culls a small group of followers who are quick to put their faith in this exotic stranger.

In scenes equal parts hilarious and awkward, Sri Kumaré creates fake mantras, made up yoga asanas and a signature “blue light” meditation practice that his believers are eager to follow. While the man himself is a fraud, his message is one of truth. Basically preaching the Buddhist philosophy that we are each our own Guru and happiness is found within ourselves, he still manages to empower many of his followers to enact positive life changes.

Mar 19

36 Hours in Bombay

(Part I)

On my last sourcing trip to India in December, I had the chance to visit Mumbai - or Bombay as many Indians still affectionately call the cosmopolitan metropolis on the edge of the Indian Ocean.

I booked a flight on IndiGo, India’s answer to JetBlue with sleek marketing and single class cabins. This was my first domestic flight within India and as soon as I reached the airport, I was faced with some of India’s quaint bureaucratic idiosyncrasies - I was not allowed to enter with the digital e-ticket on my phone. Instead, the guard tersely informed me with hand singles and harsh Hindi that I had to circle the airport and go to the office where I had to pay 100 Rs ($2) for a physical print out of my ticket. By this point I had approximately 3 minutes before the check-in cut off time so was frazzled as I raced back into the airport with my paper ticket. If my memory serves me well, it was not even 7AM yet and I had awoken at 5:30 to begin the mad rush to the airport (everything in India seems like a mad rush when stuck in traffic).

Once inside, security was a breeze and I was soon on the two and a half hour flight south to the home of Bollywood. I arrived to a welcome warmer climate than I had been experiencing up north in Delhi where the daytime temperature peaked in the low 70’s and fell to the 50’s in the evening (I even found myself making use of the fur coat that I had brought for the first leg of my trip to New York that I never imagined needing in India).

Bombay was instantly seductive - it’s tropical climate and palm-flanked roadways reminded me of Los Angeles. At the same time, its compact buildings and smaller roadways reminded me of a European city, less sprawling than Delhi.

As I had only 36 hours to experience as much as possible, our first stop was lunch at the Four Seasons. We hailed an ambassador taxi (the roaming cabs sans air-conditioning that charge by the meter) and took a trip across town on the Sea Link, an expansive modern cable bridge that stretches over the Mahim Bay connecting Bandra to downtown Bombay. This breath-taking drive across the Sea Link became one of my favorite things about the city.

For the price of a casual lunch in Los Angeles, Ridhima and I enjoyed an Eastern-fusion meal in the chic environs of the all-glass dining room. Lunch wrapped and we were back in an Ambassador to spend some time in Bandra. Right next to Ridhima’s flat was a beauty salon - and I never miss the opportunity to spend some pampering time in India where treatments are incomparably more affordable than anywhere at home. I had a rejuvenating hour-long head massage for the price of a manicure in New York.