Daily Gems & other musings — ready to wear

When we discovered Anaïs Jourden Mak's collection when creating our Diversity in Design StyleBoard series, we became instantly obsessed with the Hong Kong-born designers modern, unique take on femininity, something that felt so refreshing and new. Anaïs gained popularity quickly, with her designs seen on celebrities like Ariana Grande and Bella Hadid.  When we discovered her Ready to Wear collection, we were immediately drawn to elements like sweet polka dot details paired with edgy combat boots, classic bow accent on this super-modern fuchsia dress and a classic, feminine sweater set atop a sparkly black skirt. Perhaps our favorite discovery was when we discovered that,...

Image via eco-age.com Not only does Studio 189 create beautiful, colorfully printed pieces that we want to wear everywhere, but they are a beyond inspiring brand.  We discovered the brand when curating our Diversity in Design Styleboard Series, and immediately went to work to learn more.  Co-founded by Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, Studio 189 "is an artisan produced fashion lifestyle brand and social enterprise that focuses on empowerment, creating jobs and supporting education and skills training.  The brand currently operates a store in Accra (Ghana), an ecommerce site, a manufacturing facility in Accra, and supports various community led projects in Africa and...

Cozy knits, luxe sweaters, flowing palazzo pants and statement cutouts - it's almost impossible to pick out our favorite looks from the Peruvian designer Meche Correa's eponymous line, but these may just be our favorites.  We are also in love with her bold, large scale prints, statement hats and scarves.   We discovered Meche when curating our Designer Spotlight series on Diversity in Design and as soon as we stumbled upon her designs, we were instantly obsessed.  We love any collection that combines statement looks with everyday, wearable pieces, and her line achieves just that. The Creative Director of her brand, Meche...

As soon as we discovered Sandy Liang's collection when we were curating our Diversity in Design StyleBoard series, we were immediately inspired by the fact that she cast her own grandmother in her lookbook for one of her collections.  Connection to family has always been important to us as well, and we love that Sandy brought that personal connection into her collection. Born in the US and inspired by her Chinese roots, Sandy launched her brand doing her photo shoots in NYC's Chinatown.  Her aesthetic includes asymmetrical silhouettes and tomboyish looks, and with a background in architecture, she has said that "fashion, compared to architecture,...

"Elegance formed in joy." When we discovered Johanna Oritz's collection, we immediately loved the way she described her aesthetic as "elegance formed in joy," with her designs striking the most beautiful balance between the two.  We've been fans of her collection ever since we featured her look in our Diversity in Design Style Board series, and are in love her feminine and structural silhouettes. Johanna founded her namesake collection in 2003 in Cali, Colombia, and she "draws from the power of the feminine - the allure of complexity, the mark of individuality, and a celebration of the exquisite."  We love that Johanna's collections come from...