Rochambeau: from the Streets of New York to the Hills of the Hmong

Designers Michael Venker, Joshua Cooper, and Laurence Chandler met at Parsons’ senior thesis show in 2007, afterwards launching the label Rochambeau, which is Egyptian for the popular game of rock-paper-scissors.

For spring/summer 2011, the Rochambeau collection takes us to the Far Eastern hills of Asia where the Hmong people dwell.

I first became acquainted with the Hmong in university when I was teaching refugees fleeing Laos, many of whom were Hmong. I then lived amidst the Hmong in China where they are readily called Miao.

The dress of the Hmong depends on the tribe, but what is pervasive among most Hmong tribes are colorfully embroidered garments and batik, which is fabric dyed with wax-drawn motifs.

Rochambeau incorporates the colors and other isolated garments into the 2011 spring/summer collection with draping, panels, and vesting.

Check out the entire collection here.

Photos Copyright Rochambeau.

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Category › Joshua Cooper , Laurence Chandler , Miao fashion , Michael Venker , US designers