My Piu Cara Friend, Sandra...

and her friend Vanessa just started this slick gorgeous line, KAEL. They also just opened a store in Belgrade under the same name - I'm so excited for her! I love the details in their debut collection - interesting sporty/bodycon lines, peepholes, great jackets and this pair of leggings with a cutout/gathering detail that is to die for. I have to talk to my girl about those...

Sandra Lalovic was one of my best friends at design school in Milan, we both graduated in '06 from Istituto Marangoni's 4 year fashion degree program. She's such a unique and lovely person and I was always very inspired by her design style. She has an eye for very modern yet sensual and sensitive lines with a subtle menswear/tailoring edge (something you'll see in the pieces). She was always the best in our patternmaking class and could cut anything with great intuition and a centered sense of fit... She was also always game for aperitivo (oh how I miss aperitivo! Someone needs to start an NYC aperitivo movement!) and/or a night out at Plastic :)

I miss her a ton (she divides her time now between Milan and Serbia) and am so proud of her! The collection is available at their namesake store in Serbia and I'll update on the possibility of it being available online and hopefully add a bit about Vanessa. I'm going to try to pull up some photos of their grad collections too. You can see the whole collection here at their facbook page. For now, here's a sneek peek of the debut collection and the KAEL store - enjoy!