small world; Opening Ceremony is the intellectual's source for obscure international labels.(Brief article)

Byline: Jane Herman

Once again, necessity proved the mother of invention. Humberto Leon and Carol Lim, co-owners of the culty downtown New York shop Opening Ceremony, started designing clothes because the countries they were spotlighting in-store each year (labels from Hong Kong were first; then Brazil, Germany, and the U.K.; they're now selling lines from Sweden) weren't showing everything the two retailers needed. So they began making their own pieces-a tall-collared coat here, a woven sweatshirt there. Clean, cool, and simple.

Only now, the duo's grown these bits and pieces into a full collection of "basics plus": urban-ready separates, tomboyish shoes and sandals, and jeans with straightforward silhouettes and unequivocal details. No longer designing just the missing links in their merchandise, Leon and Lim are putting the line in 30-some other stores, including Colette in Paris and Satine in Los Angeles. ...