Homegirl

Maryland native Jhane Barnes is responsible for some of the most innovative textiles I've ever seen. Heck, she even invented a new process for printing them (OK, co-invented, but still) and is an expert weaving programmer. Her fabrics for menswear are nothing less than exciting. In recent years they've been a little heavy on the earthtones for my taste, but she's back with some incredibly vibrant colors and patterns for this season's shirts. At $200-$300 each it's doubtful I'll ever own one, but there's always ebay... Her current interior textiles are pretty awesome, too; she even designs furniture! The new ties are a little on the tame side (perhaps catering to the Ike Behar crowd) but are still some of the best designer ties around. This one is one of my favorites: the wavy bands of color, looking something like a polygraph or seismometer output, are actually composed of hundreds of vertical "spindles" of colored thread woven into the tie in two different weave patterns. There are even navy spindles at the bottom, which don't show up so well against the black background in the photo but do stand out in person due to the reflective qualities of the thread. You can get lost in the details of this tie (well, I can), it's a real tour de force. This is the first Jhane Barnes tie I have featured; there will definitely be more.