Puppets and Puppets is a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

based fashion label found in 2018 by

Carly Mark Carly Mark (born 1988) is an American contemporary artist and writer working in a variety of media including sculpture, painting, and video art, video. She is known for creating works that relate to commercial food packaging, specifically Hari ...

and Ayla Argentina, but is now run solely by Mark. In 2023, Mark was nominated for the Fashion Trust US St. John Knits award for ready-to-wear. In 2024, Mark announced her plans to relocate to London, downsize her team, and exit ready-to-wear focusing solely on accessories.

Work

Puppets and Puppets began as a shared creative endeavor between

and Ayla Argentina. Argentina did much of the sewing while Mark was the creative director and publicist. For British Vogue Mark explained that the creative division of labor as, “My main focus is the show itself and I oversee the art direction and decide the theme of the collection. It’s 50/50 creative input, but Ayla has garment construction ideas and fashion history knowledge that I wouldn’t think of.”Freeman, Liam
5 Fresh Names To Know From New York Fashion Week
British Vogue. February 12, 2020 By 2023 it was noted in the

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

and Business of Fashion that Argentina had left the label.

Name

Puppets and Puppets' name derives from Mark's dog, a

chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

mix named "Puppet." Both humorous and purposeful, Mark ironizes the weight of the word "puppet" in the fashion industry with the way models are treated and how trend followers act.Silver, Jocelyn
The Story Behind the Coolest Debut at New York Fashion Week

Paper Magazine ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and a ...

. March 11, 2019

Collections

Puppets and Puppets fluctuates between

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...

and "theatrical and humorous creations" The label has been noted for its dramatic silhouettes,

Grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

aesthetics,Sidell, Misty White
Puppets and Puppets, the Latest Label in New American Grunge Movement

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion".Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides infor ...

. February 9, 2019. use of recycled and reclaimed items,Silveria, Paig
Puppets and Puppets: fantastical costumes for a downtown fashion crowd
Document Journal. February 12, 2019. food themed details,Silver, Jocelyn
Puppets and Puppets Is Serious, But Not Too Serious

. February 12, 2020. and absurdist one-of-a-kind pieces.Bateman, Kriste
Puppets and Puppets is lighting up NYFW with its absurdist collections
Dazed. September 10, 2019. For instance, one notable accessory is the Cookie Leather Top Handle Bag. The bag is a simple leather bag with a hyperrealistic chocolate chip cookie adorned on its center. The fashion critic Rachel Tashjian has noted the brand's ability to encapsulate the chic yet comfortable sophisticated women living in New York: "I saw a staffer at the Puppets and Puppets show who was dressed exactly as I see a lot of cool, sophisticated women dressing now. She looked thirty-something, and had on a very preppy slightly undersized Puppets crewneck sweater with a pair of satin leopard-print boardshorts trimmed with black lace, and very tasteful, Princess Diana-worthy almond-toe ballet flats. Very pulled together in this offbeat way, and a bit boyish."

Harelquin

Puppets and Puppets first collection was an anti-

fast fashion Fast fashion is a term used to describe the clothing industry's business model of replicating recent catwalk trends and High fashion, high-fashion designs, mass production, mass-producing them at a low cost, and bringing them to retail stores qui ...

showing of "wearable art pieces hichmix a ’90s DIY aesthetic with over-the-top harlequinesque costume." The collection featured approximately 35% salvaged materials, either from

eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

, the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, or from Marks previous sculpture and video work.Tilley, John Martin
American Psychos
Office Magazine. October 5, 2019.

American Psycho Meets the Romanoffs

Inspired by Fabergé Eggs, the Romanoffs, and

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

, Puppets and puppets presented their collection at Prince George Ballroom.

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

commented on the recurring image of eggs throughout the collection by saying it, "...was like stepping into a Salvador Dalí painting filled with shoes fashioned from egg cartons and little bralette nipple coverings made to look like sunny side-up yolks." The shoes fashioned out of egg crates evoked the saying "walking on eggshells."

Moebius

Puppets and Puppets' fall 2020 collection was based on the sci-fi drawing of Jean Giraud, also known as Moebius, specifically his storyboards of the failed adaptation of

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

. Embellished with cookies and popcorn, the clothing was less commercial than their last two collections, but was more focused on story, with each model picking their character and Puppets and Puppets specifically designing a costume for them.DeMarco, Nicole
Inside the sci-fi fantasy world of Puppets and Puppets

i-D ''i-D'' is a British bimonthly magazine published by Vice Media, dedicated to fashion, music, art and youth culture. ''i-D'' was founded by designer and former ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'' art director Terry Jones (i-D), Terry Jones in 1980. The ...

. February 18, 2020. Although none of the looks from these early collections were put into production, the

trompe l'oeil A trompe is a water-powered air compressor, commonly used before the advent of the electric-powered compressor. A trompe is somewhat like an airlift pump working in reverse. Trompes were used to provide compressed air for bloomery furnaces ...

chocolate chip cookie handbag from this season was a commercial success for the line. It has become a signature item for Puppets and Puppets. New colorways and limited-edition variations are released regularly.

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Puppets and Puppets official website
Clothing brands of the United States