Earlier this week, I got a peek inside the mischievous world of design duo and BFFs Ammerman Schlösberg. Eric Schlösberg’s studio in the Financial District was like the inside of a goth teenager's keepsake box stuffed with items, including a fishbowl with a unicorn inside (and a goldfish named Marie Claire), a stuffed Gremlins Gizmo toy, a shelf full of kinky platform heels, an oil painting of a bouquet with dildos blended in (painted by Eric), and a succulent garden garnished with a Barbie head on a stick. Inside this abode of whimsy, Eric sat cross-legged on the floor in a black Commes Des Garcons skirt and hot-pink eyeshadow, while Elizabeth Ammerman perched gingerly on the couch in a painfully cute velvet sailor dress and thigh-highs, her look topped off with glittery blue lipstick.
Needless to say, the pair are not your average designers nor are their designs. Their aesthetic is like tooth decay from eating too much candy, sugary sweet with a hint of sadomasochism. Soon entering their third season, the pair is taking the New York fashion scene for a spin and everyone is biting at their heels for a piece. Below, we chat video games, cosplay, and being a misfit in high school.
Shop Ammerman Schlösberg here.
Shannan Elinor Smith: How did you guys meet?
Eric Schlösberg: I was working at Seven New York on Mercer [Street] and Liz came in to buy a House of Holland dress. When she left my coworker and I told our manager that she was super cute and we should hire her. And then from there we started hanging out a lot and fantasizing about really, really cute outfits and then we decided we should do something together.
Tell me about fashion school. One of you went to Parsons and one of you went to Pratt.
Elizabeth Ammerman: I went to Pratt, for fashion design.
Eric: We met when we were in school. I went to Parsons.
Eric, I heard you didn't have the best experience at Parsons.
Eric: I got kicked out of the fashion program.
Why?
Eric: I made this blazer out of pig intestines, which was definitely one of the reasons. But also because I got so stoned the night before that I sewed the arms upside down and backwards, so when I put it on the mannequin the arms were backwards up in the air. So that's actually why I had failed, and my patterns were covered in blood water. Then I took up Fine Art and entered the double major program where I did a lot of installation-sculpture and performance. I would mix performance work with costumes; I used a lot of fine art techniques on the clothing, like using wire and dental floss.
Speaking of unconventional fabrics, the Spring/Summer 2014 collection we have at OC has some. Can you tell me about these? How did you pick them?
Liz: Well, we really like leather and latex. We always have an underlying theme of dominatrix and sex club.
Eric: It's always really sexy. We love plastics and really artificial fabrics but with really luxe and beautiful appeal. The crocodile vinyl is more expensive than the leather because it is really technically made.
Liz: The collection was inspired by The Matrix, but we wanted it to have an Ammerman Schlösberg take, so we did bubblegum pinks and baby blues, because when I think of The Matrix I think of something so serious, like black leather and shiny vinyl.
Needless to say, the pair are not your average designers nor are their designs. Their aesthetic is like tooth decay from eating too much candy, sugary sweet with a hint of sadomasochism. Soon entering their third season, the pair is taking the New York fashion scene for a spin and everyone is biting at their heels for a piece. Below, we chat video games, cosplay, and being a misfit in high school.
Shop Ammerman Schlösberg here.
Shannan Elinor Smith: How did you guys meet?
Eric Schlösberg: I was working at Seven New York on Mercer [Street] and Liz came in to buy a House of Holland dress. When she left my coworker and I told our manager that she was super cute and we should hire her. And then from there we started hanging out a lot and fantasizing about really, really cute outfits and then we decided we should do something together.
Tell me about fashion school. One of you went to Parsons and one of you went to Pratt.
Elizabeth Ammerman: I went to Pratt, for fashion design.
Eric: We met when we were in school. I went to Parsons.
Eric, I heard you didn't have the best experience at Parsons.
Eric: I got kicked out of the fashion program.
Why?
Eric: I made this blazer out of pig intestines, which was definitely one of the reasons. But also because I got so stoned the night before that I sewed the arms upside down and backwards, so when I put it on the mannequin the arms were backwards up in the air. So that's actually why I had failed, and my patterns were covered in blood water. Then I took up Fine Art and entered the double major program where I did a lot of installation-sculpture and performance. I would mix performance work with costumes; I used a lot of fine art techniques on the clothing, like using wire and dental floss.
Speaking of unconventional fabrics, the Spring/Summer 2014 collection we have at OC has some. Can you tell me about these? How did you pick them?
Liz: Well, we really like leather and latex. We always have an underlying theme of dominatrix and sex club.
Eric: It's always really sexy. We love plastics and really artificial fabrics but with really luxe and beautiful appeal. The crocodile vinyl is more expensive than the leather because it is really technically made.
Liz: The collection was inspired by The Matrix, but we wanted it to have an Ammerman Schlösberg take, so we did bubblegum pinks and baby blues, because when I think of The Matrix I think of something so serious, like black leather and shiny vinyl.