C’est vrai! New vintage from France

The latest addition to the Angel Vintage collection comes by way of France. It is a gorgeous and richly varied selection of silk dresses, vintage scarves, and one-of-a-kind, hand-painted artworks.

These new prints are right on-trend, with so many truly special pieces – so please make an appointment today.

Contact Rachel Ouillette at 212-937-7676 or rachel@angelnyc.com.

 

Angel Tech Brief No. 2: Screen vs Digital Printing

Prints are our specialty here at Angel. How we get your print onto the fabric is up to you, but there are two basic ways of printing fabrics: screen and digital printing.

Screen Printing:

• Screen prints are created by pushing different-colored inks through different screens – which are not unlike stencils – onto the fabric one at a time.
• Screen prints are generally less finely detailed, but the colors can be more vibrant, because screen print ink is mixed to an exact match, and applied in a thick layer.
• The number of colors that can be printed is restricted, due to the fact that each color needs its own screen.
• For many design houses, screen printing’s greatest appeal lies in its price: although digital is becoming more competitive, screen printing is still considerably less expensive.

Digital Printing:

• Prints are created by applying ink directly onto the fabric using a digital inkjet printer.
• Digital printing is best for prints that require a high amount of detail, and/or a wide range of colors.
• Digital can speed up the development process, as screens do not need to be engraved.
• Though it allows for an unlimited range of colors, digital printing can be a bit less vibrant because the ink is applied in a thinner layer.
• Digital printing tends to be more expensive due to the high cost of digital inks, and the slow process of printing directly onto fabric from the printer.

As the prices decrease, and the capabilities expand, digital printing is gaining popularity – for the reasons above, and because direct-to-fabric printing opens up new possibilities that designers are only beginning to explore.

We can help you decide which technology will work best for your next developments; please call Sarah Woodruff at 212-937-7772 for more information.

It’s Show Time!

It’s that time again, and we’re gearing up the collection to show at Indigo next Tuesday and Wednesday.

We’ve added some new additions to our most popular categories:

• Ethnic Wood-Block
• Indigo Blues (which are already selling out!)
• Retro Florals for swim
• Asian Kimono Florals
• Beautiful Paisleys
• Cute new Conversationals

Come see us at Indigo (it’s at the Metropolitan Pavilion, 125 W. 18th St.; we’re in booth A13).

Or better yet, contact Rachel at 212 937-7676 for an advance viewing (or email rachel@angelnyc.com).

 

Kimonos are chic at Tokyo Fashion Week

From Tokyo Fashion Week, WWD reports that kimonos were rampant on the runways – whether worn traditionally, or modernized into a wild layered look.

Kimono prints have been one of the strongest, and most popular, parts of our vintage collection. We constantly add new references every month (though we never seem to have enough!) – so we are very excited about the latest Asian-inspired print trend.

For an appointment, please contact Rachel Ouillette at rachel@angelnyc.com, or (212) 937-7676.

Angel Tech Brief No. 1: Acid vs Reactive Dye-Stuffs

Note: This is the first in a series of technical articles that will be appearing on Print or Dye.

At Angel, our main business is printing and dyeing on a wide range of fabrics. We often have clients ask us the types of dye-stuffs we will use. We use both acid and reactive dye-stuffs for our print and solid programs; which type is utilized is dependent on the job.

Acid dye-stuffs:

• We use acid dye-stuffs when dyeing or printing on protein based fibers, such as silk and wool. We also use acid dyes on some of our nylon items.
• The fantastic thing about dyeing with acid dye-stuffs is that there is an extensive color range; this allows us to get more variance, as well as much brighter and vibrant colors.
• The best care method for acid dyestuff is “Dry Clean Only,” because many of the acid dye-stuffs are not colorfast against water.

Reactive dye-stuffs:

• We use reactive dye-stuffs when dyeing or printing on cellulose based fibers, such as cotton and linen.
• Reactive dye-stuffs do not have the same color range as the acid dye-stuffs  but they are generally more stable; this makes them more workable for washable fabrics.
• As mentioned, the advantage of reactive dye-stuffs is the fact that they are much more colorfast. This means that fabrics that are dyed with reactive dye-stuffs are generally machine washable.

 For more information on how we can put our expertise to work for you, please call Sarah Woodruff at 212-937-7772.

NY Fashion Week: DvF features our custom-developed jacquard

In addition to the lovely jacquards on our Angel and Plum lines, we also do custom designs. We were happy to see that Diane von Furstenberg made a beautiful blouse with the one we developed for her – and featured it in her runway show.

To explore what we can do for your line, contact Sarah Woodruff at sarah@angelnyc.com, or (212) 937-7772.

Anna Sui Fall 2013

Anna Sui’s Fall 13 show was Wednesday night, and as always her runway was full of vivid designs printed by Angel and Plum.

We’re proud, as always, to be a part of her amazing vision.