Taunina Atelier Launches at Barneys New York

In a modern-day fairytale come true, South African lifestyle brand Taunina is launching its handcrafted soft toy collections at iconic luxury department store Barneys New York.

This legendary specialty retailer located on Manhattan’s prestigious Madison Avenue is every fashionista’s best friend – the ‘go-to’ store for sought after designer brands. Taunina’s exquisite collections will be unveiled in March 2013, taking center-stage in Barney’s show-stopping Easter display - a coup for the Cape-based design house.

Arguably, the coolest department store in the world, with a deftly blended mix of cult-followed designer newbies and established luxury brands, Barneys’ A-list clientele includes chart-topping pop stars, Hollywood actresses – Sarah Jessica Parker, Reese Witherspoon and Halle Berry, fashion celebrities and New York City socialites. 

“It is a 9-story magical castle overflowing with beautiful, timeless and unique pieces of art. The perfect hideaway for our artists’ enchanting creations,”said Tracey Chiappini-Young, co-founder and CEO of Taunina.

Established in 2011 the sustainable luxury brand based in the hip suburb of Woodstock, employs underprivileged women skilled in its signature artistry to handcraft its heirloom-quality collections. Each piece is one-of-a-kind, created by a single artist over a four to seven day period and embellished with exquisite embroidery and appliqué detail.

"We are delighted to offer our one-of-a-kind Taunina treasures to Barneys' discerning clientele, and to provide them with the opportunity to serve as ambassadors of social good and protagonists for a better world,”said co-founder Karen Jansen. They meet the growing needs of disadvantaged communities through employment creation and authentic empowerment.

Besides paying the artists above market-related salaries, Taunina is structured so that 30% of the before tax profits flow to the artists: 20% through the Bear Essentials Fund to pay for housing, healthcare, and education, and 10% in the form of productivity-related bonuses.

Each Taunina creation carries the initials of the artist and is a manifestation of the artist’s inspiration and dreams for the future, providing her with financial security and the ability to transform both her own life and that of her family. 

“The unique beauty of each collection piece lies in how it transforms the life of the women who made it, and establishes a lifetime connection between the artist and the purchaser,” said Chiappini-Young.

Taunina’s soft toy collections made their New York City debut in September 2012 at premier children’s boutique store Bundle where these South African hand-made collectables flew off the shelves within a week. Taunina will be releasing its home décor range in April 2013.

Taunina collections are available for sale online at www.taunina.com and Bundle NYC  and at Barneys New York.

About Taunina

Taunina is a sustainable luxury atelier synonymous with social impact and timeless artistry. The name Taunina is an anagram of the African word “tau”, meaning “lion”, and “NINA”, an acronym for “No Income, No Assets”. Taunina gives women who were once without income and assets the power to become lions of their own destinies. Fashioned out of luxurious heritage fabrics from iconic textile houses. Gifts with soul. Gifts to be passed from one generation to the next. www.taunina.com

Maiyet - African Luxury Fashion Label With Heart

Maiyet, named after the Egyptian goddess of truth and harmony, is currently working with groups of artisans in five countries: India and Indonesia for textiles and embroidery, Colombia for silver jewelry, and Kenya and South Africa for accessories carved out of bone and horn.

Co-founder Paul Van Zyl, a lawyer and former executive secretary of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, founded the fashion house with the label's president, Kristy Caylor.

“We don’t want to be a pity product,” Caylor told The Associated Press in an interview. “It’s not sustainable. It lasts a couple of seasons and then the customers stop coming back. “We are about making things that people genuinely desire, regardless of whether they’re ‘good’ or not,” she said.

 

Launched with a runway show during Paris fashion week, Maiyet aims to promote development through high-end consumption, by tapping into the skills of artisans in developing countries to churn out sleek, desirable luxury clothes, handbags, shoes and jewelry.

“We don’t tell them, ‘do this faster and cheaper,’” Van Zyl said ahead of Sunday’s show. “We say, ‘do it slowly and carefully and better and we’ll put it on a rack at Barneys.’”Final products are put together in small factories in Italy, the Mecca of the luxury industry.

Because artisans in the developing world often don’t have the tools or training necessary to churn out luxury products that meet international standards right away, Maiyet is working with an organization called Nest that provides training to help craftsmen and women hone their skills, Caylor said. She added that artisans in three additional countries — Liberia, Togo and Mexico — are undergoing training and could soon be contributing to Maiyet.

The idea for the label grew out of Van Zyl’s experience of being named a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in 2008. After a grant provided initial seed money, Van Zyl went searching for people with top fashion pedigrees.

Enter Caylor, a merchandising executive who had worked at The Gap, Banana Republic and the L.A.-based fashion label Band of Outsiders, among other leading brands. Deals are in the works for the brand to be carried at some top retailers in the United States, including the exclusive New York department store Barneys. Meanwhile, Van Zyl is dreaming big."I want it to be an absolutely gigantic success,” he said, with a grin. Visit Maiyet online.