New Recruits: Wray

Founded in 2015 by Wray Cook, her eponymous label is a NY-based contemporary womenswear line that takes inspiration from sculpture, painting and beyond to create clothes that are focused on both form and function. We had a chat with our newest recruit to hear more about it. Can you tell us about how ‘Wray’ came about? I have always admired my Italian/American mother as a child and found her to be a style inspiration even as a small child during the late 80's and 90's. Growing up, it was a thrill trying on my mother and grandmother's clothing. Later on in life after studying design in San Francisco and Paris, I moved to NYC where I worked at Issey Miyake and interned at Rachel Comey. NYC cultivated my love for design even more. My Husband is a working artist and encouraged me to start WRAY. Together we collaborate on the line to bring our vision of the WRAY woman. Who is the ‘Wray’ woman? Our woman has a love for travel and a bold, fun aesthetic. She appreciates fine art and sculpture. She goes to art shows in Chelsea (NYC) and has cultivated a desire for food and culture. This woman is powerful and she is a feminist. She is traveling, she is strong, she is running around the city and hanging out at the racquet club in Connecticut with her family. She is the master of her own life. She is me and my New York City friends. What are you inspired and influenced by? We are very inspired by art. Ethan my husband and I have studio spaces right next to each other. At times, I find myself attracted to the yarn colours he is weaving over on his side of the studio. My pallets often come from there. Certain yarns he buys to make the paintings catch my eye and the marriage of colours within the paintings influences me. We both love fine art and are attracted to colourful paintings. Each season we usually hand-paint a print, our inspiration for these prints comes from our time attending art shows in Chelsea. My love of fabric and sourcing comes from our travel. Twice a year I source fabric from the markets in India and sometimes Japan. You currently reside in NY, what are your art & design hot spots for the city? We love Chelsea and gallery hopping but also like to take a page from the classics. On weekends we will head to the MET and stroll in Central Park. I love going to Bemelman's bar at the Carlyle hotel. On occasion Woody Allen will play piano there but there is always live piano playing every night. The best part of this place is its namesake. The artist and illustrator Bemelman who is famous for the Madeline illustrations. For design, we are obsessed with hopping around Soho to all of the furniture and sculptural showrooms. My husband and I are collectors of Danish and Italian furniture as well as sculpture. The Issey Miyake store and office where I worked was designed by Frank Gehry and I have always admired him. I encouraged my parents to move into the Gehry Building downtown for a while and they did. I used to visit them all the time and swim in the pool while looking up at the twisting building facade. Do you have a signature style? What’s your current wardrobe go-to? I always wear our carryover style Fielding Pants named after my husband’s middle name. Black is not really my colour and often times you will see me wearing browns, bright prints, pale pinks and rust colours from my collections. Anything but black (however we always offer it for those who wear it). Why Couverture? We feel like Couverture's curation and overall aesthetic aligns without New York sensibilities. It is the perfect marriage. The representation around other designers we admire is such a joy. Top travel tips for Summer? For us it's Hong Kong and then India. I highly recommend Maheshwar and to stay at Ahilia Fort. You are able to dine with a Prince, have afternoon tea on a boat in the river, and shop with the locals. We also plan on heading to Cape Cod with our family in Massachusetts, home of the lobster roll! Wray Spring Summer 2018 is available online now