Emily Bode, Empress of China in New York

The Bode store located on Hester Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side is worth a visit. Clad in copper woodwork – coffee-stained Douglas fir wall panels – this den offers the spirit of the ready-to-wear brand founded by Emily Bode in 2016. The place, decorated in every corner with antiques and dried flowers, opens to an 1890 fountain found in an old Chicago building. The water flows gently, shaking the space with a little Zen music.

On the ceiling we find a fresco created by the artist Lucas Geronima. The decor is by Green River Project, the design studio of the designer’s husband, Aaron Aujla, and his partner, Ben Blumstein. Here and there are black-and-white photographs of Emily Bode’s mother and aunt in Virginia Woolf’s romantic blues. “They have always loved antiquity; Very young, I accompanied them to flea markets and flea markets. They had a very artistic streak, with a passion for handcraft, which influenced me greatly.” explains the designer from Atlanta, who in a few years managed to establish his unique touch of craftsmanship and Americana (emblematic clothing of the USA) in the men’s fashion landscape.

“I want to create works that combine memories, remember old rules, family traditions, a bygone era. » Emily Bode

Holder of a double degree in design and philosophy from New York’s Parsons School of Design, Emily Bode collects old fabrics – 1920s linens, old ticks, lace tablecloths, vintage saris, stitched comforters – and documents their history, their memory. , then transforms them into clothes. Unique pieces also represent 30% to 40% of the brand’s sales.

“Design is closely related to culture, our lives and upbringing, but also our way of thinking. Why do we think or feel this? Philosophy allows me to question my work., specifies the designer, who also develops his own fabrics, reproductions of old patterns, trying to preserve ancient craft techniques. Coat with 1940s enamel charm, coat with 15th century traditional Indian embroidery^e A century, tank top inspired by a sixties knit blanket…

Each part has its share of stories. ” I want to create objects that reflect memories, remember old rules, family traditions, past eras. concludes Emily Bode, who opened a second boutique in Los Angeles earlier this year, also clad in wood. Above the clothes rack, a sculpted dodo skeleton is an occasional reminder of the evils of overconsumption.