Cushnie (formerly known as Cushnie et Ochs) is an American

fashion house Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...

founded in 2008 by Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs, upon their graduation from

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

. Their signature looks are clean, modern cut-out dresses, sculpted knitwear, and tailored pieces best known for impeccable fit. Their work is described as a "sleek, sexy and modern," and the pair are known to wear their own clothing often. As members of the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessor ...

, Carly and Michelle utilize their unique sensibilities to create a shared creative vision and collections that juxtapose bold sensuality with minimalist sophistication. Cushnie et Ochs published their first ad campaign in 2011. The duo received a massive increase in publicity when First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama ( Robinson; born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as the first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017, being married to Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United Stat ...

wore one of their dresses to a holiday party in December 2011, and again in 2016 on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

''. Their pieces have been spotted on influential women ranging from

Blake Lively Blake Ellender Brown (born August 25, 1987), known professionally as Blake Lively, is an American actress. A daughter of actor Ernie Lively, she made her professional debut in his directorial project ''Sandman'' (1998). She had her breakthrou ...

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, cementing the brand as a staple in celebrity dressing both on and off the red carpet. In 2016, Cushnie et Ochs sold a minority interest in the company to Farol Asset Management and several other investors. The brand also opened its first brick and mortar location in collaboration with the

, in a temporary "Retail Lab" space in the

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

showroom in TriBeCa, New York City. After the February 2018 New York Fashion Week, in which Cushnie et Ochs presented its tenth anniversary collection, the brand announced that Ochs would be leaving the company. In May 2020 Cushnie launched a highly successful collaboration line for

Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...

. The collaboration quickly sold out, and gave the line broader brand awareness. The brand received additional support and awareness in 2020 as a black-designed and -owned fashion line. In October 2020, founder Cushnie announced the closure of the 12-year-old company. Cushnie said that COVID-19 hurt her business and it couldn't survive. In June 2023, Michelle Ochs was appointed creative director of Hervé Léger. She still runs her own line called Et Ochs.

References

Cushnie Cushnie {{Fashion-company-stub