Goodbye, My Name Is Carl

‘I choose my choice! I choose my choice!’ were Charlotte MacDougal’s words in an argument with her friend Miranda Hobbes, from HBO's Sex and the City’s episode ‘Time and Punishment.’ Charlotte decided to leave her job as a Soho art gallery director to pursue an ideal — homemaking and hopeful motherhood. Miranda thought Charlotte was relinquishing her own identity that did not cow to her surgeon husband’s expectations. It could be argued Miranda was right. Charlotte’s defiant screams maybe tuned out her friend, yet could not mask her doubts.

It could also be argued outgoing New York resident Carly Mark of fashion label Puppets and Puppets has acutely switched perspectives from Charlotte to Miranda. Mark decided to trade a certain Charlotte ideal as the starry-eyed ‘Downtown New York Fashion Designer’ for hardscrabble Miranda Hobbes realism by leaving New York behind for Europe. Over five years, Puppets and Puppets is recognized as the place where fine art intersects lightheartedly with distinctive style. Mark has lived in New York for 18 years. She has reached a point in her relationship with New York where the expensive obligation to succeed on expensive New York terms no longer overrules her well-being. To keep the Puppets — and herself — operational, she is choosing her choice decisively.

Puppets and Puppets clothing, with their band of cookie and cake accessories, have a cultish audience. They appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars All-Winners, Season 7. Andy Warhol, Lisa Frank, Martin Margiela and Aphex Twin all loom large in Carly Mark’s universe. The Puppets Season five collection even predicted the corsets as shirts trend that Versace popularised one year later. Unfortunately a fledgling fashion operation cannot eat on clout alone. Therefore, after finishing up with Season 10’s current delivery schedule, Puppets and Puppets will indeed leave the city. Since Mark is rarely rude or inconsiderate, she sent out a farewell in fashion forms for A/W 24, or Puppets Season 11 .

The new collection has been Puppets and Puppets’ most acclaimed show to date. Yet there are fashion critics well, one New York critic, who thumbed their nose at Mark for pausing Puppets to Europe. They found the decision irrelevant in the historic wreckage of ‘more talented’ independent designers who could not hack New York. Excluding this new collection, they found Mark’s clothes poorly designed, ill-fitting and not good enough for primetime. Looking at the moral dimension within constructive criticism, hollow versions without context makes a critic look ill-equipped to simply review toast. Detailed analysis to fashion design, or textiles that speak to a wider importance a garment has gives consideration to the critic’s job, the designer’s job and their audiences.

To that end, cool Antwerp fashion onomatopoeias whispered loudly in the Puppets Season 11. Marina Yee’s broken beat outerwear dysfunction blended into a Raf Simons’ ‘Black Palms’ ravaged, searing graphicism leaning against sliced, angular tailoring for clubland from his own final collection, ironically staged in the Puppets future home of London. The Martin Margiela influence on the Puppets Season 11 was a heartfelt union of shared idols between best friends Marks and the designer Chris Peters. Vented dresses, rejiggered front facing fake fur and Marks’ own trademark caps-as-scarves dresses were joyful celebrations on discovering personal selves by shutting out the noise. Baseball socks turned into leggings grounded the collection’s affirmation that intuitive style is the Puppets and Puppets’ national pastime. This is the talent American fashion is losing. And it kinda sucks.

Here is Carly Mark of Puppets and Puppets, in her own words explaining how she came to choose her choice…

On Carl, on clarity:

'I was born Carly, but always meant to be Carl. I really fight for Carl. I spend a lot of time fighting for Carl. You know who you are on the inside. People will perceive you a certain way on the outside. And I have a strong desire to be seen clearly. I have been fighting for that and will continue to fight for that.'

On that Critic:

'I kind of loved it. When I first read it, there are lines that are jarring. But you know, it's how she is. I gave it a minute. Then I read it again. Although there were moments where she was explicitly saying, ‘I never liked this,’ I think the overall message of that article was that this is important. This person is important. In New York, creativity is important. We are losing something. The question was ‘Does [my leaving New York] matter?’ I think the article rounded out to say yes, it does. She is not necessarily my audience. I have so much respect for her. I think she's a brilliant writer. If she doesn't like a dress that I make, it doesn't really matter because a big editor sitting to the left of her loves it.'

'I was actually incredibly flattered by some of the things she said, not necessarily the jabs, but things she thought were negative about the brand. I think it was ‘the clothes kind of feel like they're half falling off or they are half done.’ And I thought ‘Oh my God, you get me!’ You are describing the type of fashion I love. I love style. I love gestures. I love the big conversation that fashion is — What is fashion? What is style? How do people wear things? What are clothes?'

'I had a New York Times article last week. [Now] I have a second one. I've got two big New York Times articles in one week. I'm honored. I could not ask for better press.'

On garment construction abilities:

'Something that [NYT critic] pointed out — and I was proud of — is that I'm not classically trained. That I was learning before our eyes. That is true. I'm not afraid of being vulnerable, not scared of many things. I am not afraid to grow up in front of you. So she pointed out that this collection was better. That I was getting better. I love that. I think she was really right about a lot of things.'

'It has always been a strength that I don't know what I'm doing. If that offends or doesn't sit right with certain people who don't like that I am not queen of construction, I don't care. I have the sample in my closet now. I am going to enjoy wearing that, walking down the street eating a croissant in Paris.'

On the new collection’s perfect harmony:

'The last three seasons, I got my team right. I have been working with Chris Peters from CDLM. He really listens to me. He understands me. Alex Harrington, my stylist, is another brilliant friend. Part of what works well is when people like Dick Page and Jimmy Paul are working with you. They have worked together for many years. They speak each other's language. The process is effortless. This was my third season with Chris and my fourth with Alex. Everything kind of flows in the right way. I always say people are islands and we all speak a different language. We are all learning each other's language. This season we were all speaking the same language, and I think that makes something special. Chris is a brilliant designer. We knew this was going to be the last season so we just kind of said ‘Fuck it.’ We worked on things that I wear, like oversized t-shirts.'

'I did not have to please anyone this season. I did not have to think about buyers. I did not have to think about retailers. I just thought ‘What do I want? Who am I? What am I wearing?’ And that is exactly what we did. As we were styling, if something felt too left of center for where I am right now, that was not the vibe. We move on.'

'There is a lot of ego in fashion. I think people want you to bend over backwards for them, but then when you don't, it's better.'

On arriving late to the Puppets and Puppets party:

'It is interesting because this was my 11th collection. I have never had better press than this season. Not just the amount, but the accuracy of the press. There were zero people demeaning me through misuse of language. No article has felt out of sync with who I actually am, which has been the case in past seasons. It almost seems people are taking me seriously now because I have made a brave and bold decision.'

'It is kind of like when you date someone, it is great, easy and you're just like ‘Eh.’ Then you break up with them, look back on the situation, you're like ‘Fuck! They were actually amazing and I fucked up!’ I kind of feel like that is happening right now.'

On leaving New York:

'I have spent five years pushing a boulder up a hill in the most difficult city that is getting exponentially more expensive, less safe, dirtier. Whenever I am in Europe, I think ‘Well gheez, this is nice.’ Why wouldn't I choose that life, especially when I am not getting sponsorship money here? I am not understood by critics here. My sales are great right now. My DTC is incredible. My sales with retailers in Europe and Asia are hurting because when clothes ship out of the US, they are taxed heavily. At this point, I think it is clear New York is not it. I am not going to stay at a mediocre party when I think there is an unbelievable party down the street. Hello! I want to have the most fun. So I'm out.'

On the New York fashion system:

'I have a friend in Paris paying €850 a month for a studio. She lives alone. I choose that, you know what I mean? I choose that life. I am not saying fashion is any easier in other cities. Fashion is hard everywhere. I just think I am my priority now.'

'There needs to be more support for young designers from the top. I think that there is more support for bigger brands here and less support for young designers. I think that this system needs to support young creatives in a way that is not happening at the moment. Last year, I watched my good friend Elena Velez put out a brave article with The New York Times. It changed things. When I was nominated for the CFDA emerging designer award this past year, my second time, they gave us a grant just for being nominated. I really believe it was because Elena spoke up. We are pressured to make too much stuff when the environment is failing and people are not shopping as they used to. We are on a hamster wheel that has long been running. The hamster is really tired. Maybe we should take it for a walk. Maybe we put it in the grass and let it sniff around.'

On ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’:

'Many creative people living and working in the city have been reaching out to say ‘Thank you for being honest. We relate to your article. New York is struggling and we feel the same way.’ You are not supposed to lift the veil. You are not supposed to say ‘New York has this shiny facade, but if you lift it, it is actually a junkyard full of cockroaches and rats.’ I was nervous about the first New York Times article because you never know how it's going to be perceived. But I was willing to take the risk because I am not a liar.'

On ‘fashion,’ on fortitude:

'I like style way more than I like fashion. I do not care what you're wearing. I care how you're wearing it. I really commend bravery, and so I commend people who are willing to try anything.'

'I do look at fashion, but do not care about fashion that much. I find kids on Instagram putting weird outfits together because they also like Miguel Adrover. That is who I am looking at. I know young designers like me are on the mood boards of the bigger brands. People are always asking if that upsets me. I am actually pretty flattered.'

'I really care about bravely being myself. I have had people love it and people not. At a certain point, the more you are purely, honestly yourself, the less you care about other people's opinions, and live life for yourself. And that is what I'm doing by moving the brand to London. I am leaning into what is working so that I can survive.'

On the best Puppets and Puppets collections:

'My favourite collections are the bookends. This one — Season 11 — and Season 1. One was so exciting. I have to ask Vogue to put it up online. It was so unfiltered and just, like, pure. New York was better. We had just come off of Hood By Air days and it was great. Then it got harder and harder and harder and harder and harder. I do think I am bowing out of New York at the perfect time.'

On the next Puppets and Puppets stage:

'It is not a hard stop. It is not even a soft pause. I'm such a freak. I am going to figure something out. It is going to look different, to be different. Maybe I will go back to 100% fantasy. I don't know. It is about how I feel once I get there. I do not believe this ends because I think I can kind of spidey-sense-feel something in the future will reveal itself. But the backstage was a bit sad.'

On how to order the Puppets and Puppets Season 11 collection:

'You don't. You get bags.'