For New York label TOME, fashion is less about feeding the frenzied demands of the runway than it is about achieving sartorial symbiosis and satisfying intellectual and artistic aspirations.

By Alison Kubler FEB 2016

There are clothes and there is fashion– and sometimes the two can be the same, but different. That is to say, clothes are a necessity, a requirement even, whereas fashion is not (depending on whom you consult) a necessity. Fashion, rather, is an inherent characteristic of clothing, an embellishment of clothing’s true purpose that creates the illusion that we require more clothes regularly. We do not. It is true, also, that there is fashion, and there is Fashion; the former is a cyclical concept that renders itself redundant. Fashion will eat itself. The latter conceives of clothing with something approaching intellect and rigour, with a view to making garments that improve upon what clothing can be.

New York-based label TOME falls into the latter category, which is not say their project eschews an economic outcome, but rather that TOME’s approach to fashion is not solely motivated by the bottom line. Instead, it’s a byproduct of the commitment to making something exceptionally well. Designers Ramon Martin and Ryan Lobo have created a label with international significance that hinges largely on the perfecting of simple ideas – the white shirt for example – as part of a larger philosophy about what women need and want. It is important to note that they are both cognisant that women need and want so much more than clothes, but a good white shirt is the most appropriate place to start.

Born in 2010, the brand is realistically still in its infancy. Of course, fashion favours youth, yet this alone is not enough to guarantee success. Despite being a new kid on the block, TOME has garnered what many ... Subscribe to read this article in full