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Entering Fine Fabrics
is a bit like walking into a gourmet chocolate shop or an expensive perfumery
-- a feast for the senses. Especially this August, when a rare exhibit
and sale of Solstiss
lace from northern France inaugurates the textile shop's new Kimball Street
location......The Solstiss swatches themslves --
created by a consortium of four of France's most exclusive lace makers
-- are works of art and inspirations for wearable masterpieces. One gossamer
panel
in silver and mauve incorporates shimmers of beads, wisps of multicolor
hains, and tiny tiny of leather -- "my favorite piece," admits
[Proprietor Susanne] Chess. "Its an ecclectic but feminine pattern."
Another panel has sequined tendrils of pale green, like a sring garden
fantasy, while a third in rich urple and pale teal, shot with metallic
detailing, is something out of Arabian Nights.
Of course, all the
shop's usual textile temptations are still there: designer
Italian fabrics.... made for and used by Armani, Cavalli, and Missoni;
handmade batiks from Sri Lanka.... traditionally dyed fabric.... produced
by a woman's cooperative in Mauritania; to say nothing of Santa Barbara's
best collection of shell, horn, metal and other beautiful buttons -- Joan
Tapper for Santa
Barbara Magazine, Aug/Sep 2008, p. 54.... In the same issue of
Santa Barbara Magazine is an interview with Luis Estevez, "The
Man Behind the Seams " by Dale Kern, with portraits by Coral von
Zumwalt
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OOH LA LA LACE!
Santa Barbara Independent,
Best Bets, July 2008 and
Stylephie,
May 17, 2007
Spotlight On: Solstiss
at Fine Fabrics ..... Design Center Fine Fabrics ... host[s] an exclusive
reception featuring the .... collection from legendary French lace purveyor
Solstiss, a consortium
of the world’s finest lace-makers. While you may not know the name, you
only need to go as far as your nearest fashion magazine to check out their
work. The company is known for supplying its wares, which often incorporate
intricate detail and unexpected materials, as well as conventional materials
used in unexpected ways, to the likes of Cavalli, Dior, Gaultier, Givenchy,
LaCroix, Posen, and Valentino. Style icons Coco Chanel, Empress Eugenia,
Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and Gloria Swanson all donned Solstiss
for portraits, and Grace Kelly was married in a gown of the luxe stuff.
Each piece of Solstiss’s lace is a work of art, and the opportunity for
the public to check it out in its raw form is rare, and not to be missed.
The collection will be available for viewing .... , and the beautiful,
handmade creations will be available for aspiring designers to purchase
and incorporate into their own designs. Or, for a truly special indulgence,
have a gown designed and made for you by Fine Fabrics’ couture service.
Call 966-2488 or [request
access to view the prive' collection online] at FineFabrics.com
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COUTURE COUP
by Bethany Hopkins
Santa Barbara News Press
Monday, June 4, 2007
The laces of Solstiss,
the French company that traces its origins back to the 19th century techniques,
are not usually easy to come by. Seen on runway models and in high-fashion
pohotos, its collections are shown to designers but never to the retail
public. Until now....... Susanne Chess, owner of Fine Fabrics of Santa
Barbara ..... has achieved a notable textile coup. Her store will show
the ..... Solstiss collection of laces ..... with pieces on display at
Fine Fabrics of Santa Barbara, 715 Kimball Street,
Santa Barbara ........ and on-line at FineFabrics.com
prive' (request permission
to access) .... The reception... features 200 to 300 pieces of the collection,
most of them with intricate details such as beads, metal, leather, even
pearls and crystals added to the lace. The textiles range in price from
around $[100] to [$6,000] per yard....... "It's the best," Ms.
Chess said. "That's why this is so exciting.... It's a real fashion
event."
"The Solstiss
company was created in 1974 by four lace-making families from Caudry in
the north of France. The high-end designs of Solstiss are the descendants
of first lace, an open-worked, patterned fabric, which began appearing
in Europe in the 16th century. Thin threads of materials like cotton,
silk, linen, or even silver or gold are twisted and crossed, either by
machine or by hand, to create intricate designs. Solstiss uses Leaver
looks, based on the machine created by Englishman John Leaver in the early
19th century, top produce its high-end lace..... continued.
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Couture Coup
continued......
"It's a difference
of craftsmanship," Ms. Chess explained. She turns over a piece of
less expensive lace with beading to reveal an untidy criss-crossing of
threads and visible stitches. She turns over a piece of Solstiss lace
for comparison, noting its neat and far less visible threads.
A glace through the
Solstiss .... magazine reveals glossy photos of the company's lace on
the recent runway shows of Paris, Milan, London and New York. Valentino,
Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Chloe and Roberto Cavalli are just some of
the top fashion designers who make use of Solstiss for their creations.
Celebrities who have worn Solstiss include Coco Chanel, Audrey Hepburn,
Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly, who wore a gown embellished with the lace
on her wedding day.
When people say lace,
they think bridal," Ms. Chess siad. "They think feminine. You
can't separate 'feminine' from any of these".....
She added that she
hopes to plan more events like the Solstiss reception in the fuure at
Fine Fabrics, a store that she first opened three years ago to fill what
she saw as a void in the community.
"When I moved
to Santa Barbara, there were nine fabric stores," she said. The number
has dwindled since she came to town 30 years ago, but she has seen people's
image of such stores remain stuck in the past. As someone who has sewn
all her life, making her very first dress at the age of 5, Ms. Chess is
trying to change people's idea of the craft.
"It's fashion
-- it's just taking fashion to a creative level," she said. When
community members come to her for private sewing lessons, she doesn't
start them on patterns for pillows or curtains -- she hands them a fashion
trends book and asks them what they want to make. Then, stp by step, she
takes them through the process of creating their own version.
"We want people
to think of it more as a creative process than a technical process,"
she said. It's more of a design center."........more
press
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