Styled Show. Puppets & Puppets SS25

September 17, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Puppets & Puppets‘ Carly Mark left New York – a rather hostile city for emerging brands – for London, a place that’s resilient and way more supporting for creatives that think outside the box. There’s also an element of strangeness about Mark’s fashion (and accessories). The feeling of unexpectedness was delivered by the deliberately blunt clothes that were just… clothes. Boxy t-shirts, navy crewneck sweaters, skinny black jeans, plain lingerie sets and faux-fur trimmed hoodies. All that was styled with indie-sleazy fedoras (very girlfriend of an Arctic Monkeys member in the late 2000s), big sunglasses and gloves. Was Mark’s intention here an elaborate trolling exercise? Not quite.

Rather than think of a fashion presentation solely as a forum for presenting new designs, she sought to evaluate its merit as a conceptual and artistic medium. Her decision to present what she called “a styled show rather than a fashion show” was an exercise in distancing herself from a sense of obligation to create producible garments. Working alongside stylist Taylor Thoroski, looks leaned into Mark’s familiar style vernacular, drawing upon her own dress habits. “Something I’ve learned over the years is that the things that I put down the runway are stronger, in my opinion, when they’re in line with me,” she said. “I’ve been very into not having pants on in the past. So we were like, ‘OK, let’s keep going there.’ And I’ve been wearing really simple jeans,” she says, pointing down to a slim-fit H&M pair she was wearing. And that’s so refreshing to hear in 2024.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Not Just A Lady. Puppets & Puppets AW24

February 14, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

It’s so sad to hear that this was Puppets & Puppets‘ final collection in New York. Carly Mark is moving to London, and plans to shape her business around accessories. Unfortunately, of all the fashion capitals, New York is the least merciful towards emerging brands. And it’s a double-pity, because the autumn-winter 2024 collection was one of the finest works by Mark to date. Reducing all things superfluous and focusing on garment-making, the line-up offered some of the most brilliant ideas of this fashion week. There were lots and lots of tights, and that’s what the artist-turned-designer likes to wear when she’s in an Little Edie mood, just as she dons a hoodie and T-shirt when she feels like a basement lord. There was something seemingly haphazard about the lineup, which featured lots of wrapping and twisting and things tied on, while models clutched at their get-ups. This wasn’t to keep the clothes on, explained Mark backstage, but a gesture borrowed from fittings. Clutching one’s heart is also an instinctual movement made when things go south. Many of the patterns took the form of spirals; perhaps a metaphor for unraveling. Veils suggested an element of religion, which, if you think about it, has a twisted logic. For the time being, Mark is, in effect, becoming a fashion nun, in the sense that she’s abstaining from clothes making. Along with the more revealing looks were those that were almost proper. “Lady is a word we’ve actually been using a lot in the office,” said Mark. “When anything feels a bit lady, we fuck it up a little bit. But I think swans are an interesting conversation because Capote, in a way, was the puppet master to these refined women – or at least tried to be. I am really interested in not letting that happen to me. I am the puppet master. I am in control of my life and myself and the decisions I make. So if anything, I’m both Capote and the swan.” Looking forward to see what this exciting designer does next.

Here are couple of Puppets & Puppets designs you can shop before they become holy grails!

ED’s SELECTION:

Dallas Floral Sequined Short Pannier Dress

Small Rose Leather Top-Handle Bag

Windblown Wide Button Front Coat

Caroline Sequined Twin Hip Mini Dress

Mini Cookie Leather Top-Handle Bag

Chow Printed Mesh Top

Spoon Moc-Croc Leather Hobo Bag

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Chic Absurdity. Puppets & Puppets AW23

February 13, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Puppets & Puppets is one of these New York brands you can’t easily describe. Calling it “surreal” would feel somewhat flat. Elusive, weird, strange, dramatic? Carly Mark‘s universe doesn’t really need a label. One thing’s certain: she loves a cultural reference. Accessorizing a collection inspired by the Dead Ringers film with bags that have phone receivers as handles – that’s Puppets & Puppets behaviour. Then there’s a blow-up print of a 1783 painting, The Operation by Gaspare Traversi, which depicts the wild-eyed face of a screaming man being operated on seemingly without anesthesia. The gory details weren’t immediately apparent when the material was made into garments, even when large swaths of it were used on a sculptural dress that related back to one from last season. The designer also revisited the egg motif (on bras and shoes) introduced in her American Psycho-inspired debut for spring 2020. Despite a few macabre touches, the mood of the autumn collection was sunny-side up: playfully optimistic and sizzling. “I am designing with my body in mind,” said Mark. “The roses on the boobs or the egg bra, where nipples would be – it’s very suggestive. It’s very feminine, it’s very sexual, and it’s a conversation that I’m having with myself in an alpha role in a predominantly male business and world.” Two of the strongest looks were a dress and suit with sheer inset corseting, revealing the midriff; those tailored pieces succeeding in bringing masculine and feminine together, which was one of Mark’s goals. Besides the pannier-like dresses there were also sequin sheaths, a few frocks made in a retro paisley and some party-ready mini dresses. Not every idea from the collection felt refined enough, and there were some low points, like the python-printed jumpsuits and beaded head-wear. Mark tends to overwork her runway looks. Sometimes, madness needs some method.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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The New York Woman. Puppets And Puppets SS23

September 12, 2022 | Design & Culture by Ed

In just four years Puppets and Puppets has evolved from a fashion project by an artist to a bona fide fashion brand. Carly Mark’s Eyes Wide Shut-inspired spring 2023 collection was arguably her most wearable. What seems to be happening is that the designs are becoming more aligned with Mark herself, concurrent with her development as an entrepreneur. The designer made the switch to fashion because she was feeling isolated in the art world. “I like interacting with humans,” she explained at a preview. “So I knew I wanted to do something creative, but it needed to be in a way where I was interacting with other bodies and having conversations.” The name she gave the brand is a reference to a cyberpunk anime called Ghost in the Shell; over time her inspirations have become ever more cinematic. And there is a shift from a more illustrative take on clothing to a more photographic one, both in a metaphorical and literal sense. The “demon” print in the spring line-up, which looks anatomical, is actually a manipulated still from the movie Scrooge. If that seems random, you might recall that Eyes Wide Shut is set at Christmas time. This print shares space in the collection with a jacquard based on Gustave Doré’s engravings of Dante’s Inferno and a sweater with an abstract orgy theme (another reference to Stanley Kubrick’s film). The final look features moonbows that call attention to the bust at the same time that volume emphasizes the hips. One of the reasons the designer took Eyes Wide Shut as her inspiration was because Nicole Kidman was such a powerful presence. In one of the scenes in which the actress revealed her strength she was physically vulnerable, wearing only high-cut panties and a camisole. “I’ve been thinking about Nicole Kidman specifically this season because I just turned 34 and I’m growing a business and I’m growing my confidence; I have to in order to run a business,” Mark said. “So I think about being a woman who is sexual, and business minded, and living in a city, and trying to hold my own, and trying to be intelligent, and trying to connect with other people. It’s hard, and it’s funny, and it’s fun, and it’s difficult – and it’s all the things.”

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Subverted Reality. Puppets & Puppets SS22

September 13, 2021 | Design & Culture by Ed

Carly Mark‘s spring-summer 2022 collection for Puppets & Puppets indulged in a surreal spookiness – to a level-headed extent. Why were there saucers on the butt of a toile skirt? Why was a gymnastics leotard layered with a button-down? And why did that model have cheese on her head? But things aren’t as madly subverted as in the past collections of the label. Part of this season’s success has to do with Mark’s growing business awareness. She hired a production team and every piece on the runway was production ready; no more one-offs or art projects. Fruit printed denim, trompe l’oeil nude knits, and printed midi-skirts felt like her most salable items ever – even the hoop skirts had a new wearability. Then there were Mark’s kooky accessories. Her first to-market collection of chocolate chip cookie bags and Ferrero Rocher heels sold out on Ssense in few days. This season she’s offering shoppers a choice of Swiss cheese wedges, black-and-white cookie bags, and a cruller purse.